43030 runs alongside the Kennett & Avon Canal at Froxfield on 20 June 1984 with the 1A65 06:00 Plymouth to Paddington service. The Yellow Water Lilies add interest to the picture, although they have slightly got in the way of a perfect reflection of the train. At this time the canal had not yet been reopened for navigation, so there was no danger of a passing boat getting in the way of the picture at the critical moment!

43030 rounds the curve at Miskin on 15 April 1995 with the 1A81 16:32 Swansea to Paddington service. The train is just crossing over the River Ely, while in the background, the surprisingly traffic free M4 motorway can be seen amid the trees.

Not quite the picture I was intending to take, but an interesting comparison of 125 mph train designs. I know which one I prefer! On 10 September 2009, 43030 Christian Lewis Trust leaves Oxford with the late running 1P56 13:11 Hereford to Paddington First Great Western service, while 220022 arrives with the 13:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Strangely the HST had arrived off the Cotswold Line exactly to time but then sat in the station for ten minutes! Ironically the Voyager was bang on time, resulting in this unplanned passing shot

A storm is brewing at Uffington on 28 August 2010, as 43030 Christian Lewis Trust heads west with the 1C13 12:00 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads First Great Western service. It wouldn't be long before it was time to put the camera away and start the long walk back to the car!

Dramatic lighting at Uffington on 23 November 2010, as 43030 Christian Lewis Trust speeds west with the 1B42 14:15 Paddington to Cardiff Central First Great Western service. The dark clouds had gradually been building up over the Didcot area, but just a little way further west where I was stood only the odd cloud was interrupting the sunshine.

43030 Christian Lewis Trust speeds past Denchworth on 24 March 2011 with the 1G38 13:48 Paddington to Cheltenham First Great Western service. The Christian Lewis Trust after which 43030 is named is a children's cancer trust set up in memory of Swansea cancer victim, Christian Lewis. The power car was named at Swansea station in July 2000.

On 15 August 2009, 43031 pulls out of the down platform at Moreton-in-Marsh and runs 'wrong line' to the crossover, where it moves onto the up line. A few minutes earlier it had arrived with the 11:21 First Great Western service from Paddington, which would normally carry on to Great Malvern. However, the line from here to Evesham was closed for engineering works in connection with reinstating the double track, and a connection was being provided by buses. After the HST had moved onto the up line, it then proceeded back to the station (with 43193 leading), ready to form the 13:48 departure for Paddington.

43031 heads south from platform 2 at Banbury on 2 January 2011, running 'wrong line' out of the station with the 1B20 08:15 Paddington to Carmarthen First Great Western service. The driver had just changed ends after arriving from the south via the Chiltern Line. These lengthy diversions were the result of an engineering blockade at Reading, which saw the line closed for most of the Christmas and New Year period.

With the appropriately named Brunel House (a former orphanage), dominating the background, 43032 leads the 1E30 06:30 Plymouth to York service past Horfield on 13 March 1989. As can be seen by the wide trackbed, this was once a four track mainline, the track having been rationalised just a few years before this picture was taken.

43032 The Royal Regiment of Wales leads the 1A57 12:45 Paignton to Paddington service past Teignmouth on 25 May 1996. It was generally a dull day, but just as this train appeared it brightened up slightly, before the clouds in the background turned the lights out again! The sea wall here is an ideal location to photograph eastbound trains, however you are a little too close to westbound trains, and it isn't advisable to try to get more to the side, as its a long drop into the sea!

43032 The Royal Regiment of Wales passes Chilson, on the Cotswold Line with the 06:09 Abergavenny to Paddington First Great Western 'Cathedrals Express' service on 10 August 2007. Note the use of a hired in set of Midland Mainline coaches, used to augment the FGW fleet while their coaches are being refurbished. Unfortunately one element of this refurbishment is an increase in the seating density, somewhat detracting from the HST's quality image.

Naturally after all three railtours had passed Goring on 12 April 2008, the lighting was at its best, with the cutting free of shadow, and dark clouds in the background. However, unlike a lot of photographers, who only seem to take pictures of freight and special workings and ignore the commonplace, I am not averse to taking pictures of HSTs, especially when they are in clean condition, such as this example. 43032 leads the 06:29 Swansea to Paddington First Great Western service past Goring in perfect light.

43032 passes the site of Yarnton Junction with the 10:42 Paddington to Hereford First Great Western service on 7 December 2008. The former Fairford Branch Line joined the Oxford to Worcester route just behind the tree on the right. About the only real clue to the existence of a station on this site now is the presence of the Scots Pine trees visible behind the train, a characteristic feature of Great Western station sites.

43032 heads west near Uffington on 10 February 2009 with the 1B28 11:45 Paddington to Swansea First Great Western service. Despite the overnight rain there was still a surprising amount of snow lying about, particularly in the fields away from the gritted roads. Although it entailed a long trudge through the snow, I decided to visit this spot near Uffington, as it is one of the very few  locations in the area I had not previously visited, despite it being in view from other visited spots.

43032 leans into the reverse curves at Wootton Rivers on 20 October 2010 whilst working the 1A76 05:05 Penzance to Paddington First Great Western service. Next stop Reading on this train's five hour journey from the West Country to the Capital.

I'm not quite sure the expression 'Rest in Peace' is totally appropriate here! 43032 disturbs the tranquility of Little Somerford cemetery on 6 March 2012, as it heads eastwards with the 1L52 10:28 Swansea to Paddington First Great Western service. The rest of the village of Little Somerford is on the opposite side of the railway line.

On a damp, misty 10 September 2005, 43033 Driver Brian Cooper 15 June 1947 - 5 October 1999 accelerates away from Cheltenham station and passes Up Hatherley with the 09:30 Cheltenham to Paddington First Great Western service. This picture is taken from the footbridge linking Hollis Road with Reddings Park.

43033 Driver Brian Cooper 15 June 1947 - 5 October 1999 speeds past Baulking on 12 October 2006 with the 1G38 13:48 Paddington to Cheltenham First Great Western service. The leaves of the aptly named White Poplar trees in the background really stand out at this time of year.

43034 passes the site of Ashbury Crossing, near Shrivenham on 21 April 1988 with the 11:30 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington. The train is typical of the period, with a complete rake of original blue and grey stock, sandwiched between two new liveried power cars. Often at the time this would be the original 'executive' style colour scheme, but here we see two of the recently introduced 'InterCity Swallow' examples, which would soon come to dominate the national network.

In superb crisp early morning light, 43034 arrives at Kemble leading the 08:30 Cheltenham to Paddington service on 27 October 1994. An unusual survival at this quiet Cotswold station is this fine GWR water tower, which for many years supplied water to Swindon Works, 14 miles away. Kemble was once a double junction, with branch lines going to both Tetbury and Cirencester. The bushes in the background mark the course of the Tetbury line. Kemble is now a very busy commuter station, with direct trains to London such as this as well as purely local services.

43034 The Black Horse emerges from Ardley Tunnel on 5 November 1994 with the Chiltern Railways 08:10 Paddington to Chester '125 Awayday' railtour, with 43042 still deep inside the tunnel on the rear. HSTs were (and still are) very scarce on the Chiltern Line, and it is ironic that nearly sixteen years later I was back at the same location for another rare visit of the class. Incidentally, in 1994 there was obviously more spare capacity in the HST fleet, as there was another railtour running on this day - the Hertfordshire Railtours 'Coast to Coast', using 43063 & 43076.

One of the few remaining unrefurbished First Great Western HST power cars, 43034 The Black Horse races past the site of Shrivenham station (between Didcot and Swindon) with the 1C13 12:00 Paddington to Weston-super-Mare service on 15 November 2007.

With the threat of rain in the background, 43034 TravelWatch SouthWest (not my capitalisation and word spacing!) speeds past the site of Uffington loops on 27 August 2008 with the 1L52 10:29 Swansea to Paddington First Great Western service.

Not so much the Golden Valley, but more like the Green Valley at Frampton Mansell on 20 June 1987. Rightly famed for is display of golden foliage in the autumn, the line through the valley of the River Frome is a little less colourful in high summer. 43035 leads the diverted 1C14 09:00 Paddington to Swansea service down the gradient, having just crossed over that well known local landmark - Frampton Mansell Viaduct (hidden behind the bushes beyond the vintage tractor). Some of the houses in Frampton Mansell village can just be seen on the extreme right.

43036 takes the Westbury line at Fairwood Junction on 20 April 1988 with the 07:30 Plymouth to Paddington service. The complete train is in the second livery applied to the class, the so called 'executive' livery, which was applied from 1983 onwards. This was the last livery to use the 'InterCity 125' branding, and when in clean condition looked particularly smart and suited the trains well, particularly bearing in mind some of the colour schemes they have had to carry subsequently! 43009 was pictured at the same location three years later in the next variation of this livery.

The weak setting sun provides some backlighting for 43036 as it passes South Marston on 24 June 1999 with the 16:30 Swansea to Paddington First Great Western service. This viewpoint has changed considerably since this picture was taken. On the right the first preliminary earthworks for the rail connection into the Keypoint Railfreight Terminal & Honda car plant can be seen. A rail junction with the mainline now occupies this site.

43036 in original First Great Western livery leads a rake of new liveried stock on the 12:45 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads service on 9 October 2003, seen here passing Circourt Bridge, Denchworth. Just visible in the background, the signals by Denchworth Bridge are showing all three aspects. Red on the up relief as 47799 had just passed by light engine, and was obviously waiting at Wantage Road, green on the up main as 43129 was approaching with an up train, and amber on the bi-directional down main, as it is always like that!

Ideal winter photographic conditions at Uffington on 10 February 2009 as 43036 leads the 1C13 12:00 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads First Great Western service through the snowy landscape. The Longcot to Uffington footpath passes under the small bridge below the third coach. A deliberately wide viewpoint was chosen here to show plenty of snow in the foreground, after all you don't get many opportunities to take this kind of picture. Although obviously a tractor has been across this field since the last snowfall, needless to say I was the only walker to trek the long distance from the nearest road to get to this spot!

43036 glistens in the severe backlighting at Challow on 16 July 2011, as it heads towards the capital with the 1L67 15:00 Cheltenham to Paddington First Great Western service. I wouldn't normally bother with such a backlit picture, but the brief burst of sunshine amidst the dark clouds has highlighted the rippling bodywork of the power car, making for a slightly different and interesting picture.

43036 climbs Campden Bank and passes through a fine avenue of trees at Mickleton on 26 March 2012 with the 1P56 13:14 Hereford to Paddington First Great Western service. Prior to the reinstatement of double track this had been a rather restricted location, but pending the regrowth of the young ash tress in the foreground, an impressive new viewpoint has been created.

43037 bursts out from under the bridge at Hay Lane near Swindon on 15 September 1979 whilst working the 13:45 Paddington to Weston-super-Mare service. Hay Lane was once the site of a temporary terminus for the Great Western Railway during the course of its construction between London and Bristol, nearby Swindon being only an insignificant village at the time. Between 17 December 1840 (when the line was extended from Challow) and 3 May 1851 (when the extension to Chippenham was opened) this remote spot was a hub of railway activity.

43037 Penydarren speeds past the junction to the Keypoint Industrial Estate at South Marston on 22 June 2010. It is working the 1A12 09:29 Weston-super-Mare to Paddington First Great Western service. The name Penydarren commemorates Richard Trevithick's pioneer steam locomotive of 1804.

43037 Penydarren passes South Moreton (Didcot East) on 13 September 2012 with the 1L46 09:55 Cardiff Central to Paddington First Great Western service. Whilst the loss of Didcot Power Station's chimney and cooling towers after decommissioning may not be too much of a loss for this view, the erection of the overhead electrification wiring certainly will be.

43038 passes the site of Finedon station with the 07:55 Leeds to St Pancras service on 1 August 1992. 43038 is painted in an unusual variation of the InterCity livery, with yellow covering virtually all of the front end, and most surprisingly a white cab roof. As can be seen from the condition this is in here, white is hardly the most practical colour for an HST power car roof. When the power car is at he rear of the train the exhaust gets pulled down by the slipstream with obvious results. The exhaust deflector plates fitted shortly after the class was introduced were supposed to alleviate this, but obviously they are only partially successful!

43038 races through Drem station on 4 October 2001 with the late running 1E08 08:00 Aberdeen to Kings Cross GNER service. Not the most photogenic of locations, but as I had stopped off specifically to photograph 56032 on the 6B44 11:15 Oxwellmains to Powderhall Binliner empties, I thought I might a well get a shot of one of the stylish GNER HSTs passing through the station.

To anyone familiar with the Swindon to Didcot line in recent years, this picture will come as something of a shock. On 21 June 1980, 43039 leads the 08:45 Swansea to Paddington service past Baulking. Just compare this wide open view with the same scene in 2007. In 1980 the southern cutting side resembles a meadow, with not a single bush visible. This allows a clear view to the site of Uffington station in the background, complete with original 'bow string' road bridge (since replaced).

A slightly different angle on the well known lineside location at Berkley, and one that can not now be repeated because of the installation of a huge communications mast right in the foreground of this view. 43040 approaches the ivy clad bridge on 9 January 2000 with the 1C31 10:15 Paddington to Penzance First Great Western service.

43040 Bristol St. Philip's Marsh passes Manningford Bruce on 12 April 2007 with the 1C85 13:05 Paddington to Plymouth First Great Western service. A couple of months later, 43040 would be called to Brush for refurbishment and would loose this tatty original version of FGW's purple livery in preference for the later simplified version.

The track across the field in the foreground adds an interesting composition to this picture of 43040 Bristol St. Philip's Marsh speeding towards Bourton on 29 March 2012 with the 1A16 12:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington First Great Western service. Note the recent embankment strengthening work.

43041 passes Shrivenham (Ashbury Crossing) on 16 December 2006 with the 12:15 Paddington to Cheltenham First Great Western service. The City of Discovery nameplate appears to have been removed, leaving just the crest. The nameplate was one of the cheap looking 'tin' plates, and the backing plate seems to be still in situ.

Regrettably I took very few pictures on the East Coast Mainline prior to electrification, but on 21 April 1984 I recorded 43042 passing Abbots Ripton with the 11:50 Newcastle to Kings Cross service. Although one of the country's premier routes, at this time the down relief line was still laid with 95lb bullhead track! Plenty of warning of approaching trains here, as the farthest bridge (an aqueduct carrying a small stream over the line) is nearly two miles away. The modern bridge carries the B1090 road, while the arch bridge between the two is New England Bridge, on the minor road to the village of Wennington.

43042 leads the 1Z73 15:40 Hanborough to Worcester Shrub Hill First Great Western service past Chilson on 15 June 2008. The line was closed for engineering works between Hanborough and Oxford, and because the rostered driver for one of the replacement Class 166 diagrams didn't sign HSTs, FGW commendably assembled this short rake. Coaches 44059 &  42277 are marshaled between 43042 &  43182.

In superb evening light, 43042 approaches Moreton-in-Marsh with the 1Z79 18:40 Hanborough to Worcester Shrub Hill First Great Western service on 15 June 2008. The Cotswold Line was closed between Hanborough and Oxford for engineering works and a hourly Worcester to Hanborough shuttle service was in operation. The driver for one of the diagrams didn't sign Class 166s, so the highly unusual but commendable step was taken of providing a two coach HST to cover the diagram. The combination of 43042, 44059, 42277, & 43182 was sent up from to Bristol St Phillips Marsh especially for two out and back workings to Hanborough. On a day with lots of cloud around the few minutes of sunshine that coincided with this train was most welcome!

First Great Western passengers sample some rare track at Circourt Bridge, Denchworth on 4 July 2011. 43042 runs along the up relief line with late running 1L48 09:28 Swansea to Paddington service. Something was obviously amiss, as once the train had joined the relief line at Challow, it stopped at the first signal (in the far distance of this view), before moving off after a long wait. Another FGW train overtook it during this period. Passengers trains do not normally use this line and indeed at least two railtours to my knowledge have requested these loops as part of their itinerary, even though they are only a few feet to one side of the normal line. That's track bashing for you!

43043 passes Oakley on 16 August 2007 with the 1C13 07:05 Sheffield to St Pancras 'Midland Express' Midland Mainline service. A good clear location with nothing in the way to shade the line. So what happens, the sun goes in of course! The railway makes one of its numerous crossings of the River Great Ouse in the background.

43043 passes Cossington on 22 March 2012 with the 1B23 06:34 Leeds to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. As booked, it was following just a few minutes behind 43048 with the 1C22 07:41 Sheffield to St Pancras, although both trains were running slightly late.

43044 speeds past the new houses on the edge of Syston as it passes Barkby Thorpe with the 1C11 07:27 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service on 26 July 2008. Interestingly there is a train on all three lines in this picture. On the left an unidentified Class 170 unit waits at the signal with the 07:24 Birmingham New Street to Stansted Airport Cross Country service, while on the right 156414 approaches with the 07:38 Nottingham to Leicester East Midlands Trains service along the bi-directional relief line.

43044 passes Barrow-upon-Soar on 15 September 2012 with the 1B48 13:28 Nottingham to St Pancras International East Midlands Trains service. The footbridge in the background replaces the one that was demolished in a rail accident in February 2008.

43045 passes Barrow Upon Soar on 12 September 2009 with the 1B38 11:28 Nottingham to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. I had been visiting the Great Central Railway Diesel Gala, but around noon the sun is virtually head on at most locations on that line, so I came here where not only does the line run at a better angle for the midday sun, but also the middle of the day is required in order to avoid the line being covered in shadows.

43045 swings round the curve at Souldrop on 21 April 2010 with the 1B43 12:28 Nottingham to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. Yet again we are in one of those transitional periods, when rakes of stock can be in a different livery to the power cars. In this case 43045 retains the former Midland Mainline livery (with appropriate rebranding). 222003 can just be seen heading away in the distance with the 12:55 St Pancras to Sheffield, luckily just getting out of the way in time!

43045 leads the 1B33 10:28 Nottingham to Sheffield East Midlands Trains service past Barkby Thorpe on 28 March 2012, on the sixth consecutive day of glorious unbroken spring sunshine (apart from the odd foggy morning).

43048 T.C.B. Miller MBE passes Cossington on 22 March 2012 with the 1C22 07:41 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. As the Met Office had promised, it was a fine spring morning, albeit very hazy. Unfortunately it got progressively hazier during the day - one of the penalties of settled high pressure!

43048 T.C.B. Miller MBE speeds past Barrow-upon-Soar on 15 September 2012 with the 1B38 11:28 Nottingham to St Pancras International East Midlands Trains service. An ideal photographic location, until that annoying shadow starts to get in the way (just got away with it here).

43051 passes Usan signal box with the late running 10:30 Kings Cross to Aberdeen National Express East Coast 'Northern Lights' service on 5 May 2008. The train is just about to enter the short section of single track that extends for two miles to Montrose. Note the signalman with his hand on the block instrument ready to give train out of section to Inverkeilor. The train is composed of a complete rake of stock in the former GNER livery with branding replaced by 'National Express East Coast' wording.

43052 passes Compton Beauchamp on 15 September 1979 with the late running 12:45 Paddington to Swansea service. This particular set (253026), which included power cars 43052 & 43053, was one of a small batch that moved from the Western Region to the Midland line during the first major reshuffle of HSTs vehicles in late 1982. 43052 is pictured here in original condition with the two large circular exhaust ports on the roof as yet uncovered by the deflector plates that were added to stop exhaust contamination of the cab roof. It wasn't until I came to scan the original Kodachrome slide that I realised that the house at Galleyherns Farm in the background was obviously newly built in 1979.

Diverted away from the Midland Mainline because of Sunday engineering works, 43052 passes the site of Glendon Sidings and approaches Glendon South Junction with the 1C00 07:23 Derby to St Pancras service on 12 February 1995. The freight only route via Corby is regularly used for such diversions. The field in the foreground was formally part of Glendon East Ironstone Quarries, with tramways connecting with the mainline.

43052 speeds past Wistow Road near Kibworth Harcourt on 3 February 2011 with the 1B43 12:28 Nottingham to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. When I arrived at this location there were track workers and white vans everywhere, and although these can of course be cloned out of the picture, I was relieved when they all disappeared shortly before this train was due.

43053 pulls away from Gleneagles station (just visible in the background) with the 07:55 Inverness to Kings Cross National Express East Coast 'Highland Chieftain' service on 6 May 2008. Note the amount of ballast strengthening work that has been carried out on the side of this very deep cutting. The sun was trying to come out here, but although clear on both the east and west coast, central Scotland seemed reluctant to be rid of the clouds!

43055 bursts out from under the roadbridge at Milton Ernest with the 10:25 St Pancras to Sheffield Midland Mainline service on 16 August 2007. This is one of the premier trains on the route, stopping only at Leicester, Derby and Chesterfield.

My main objective in stopping off at Cossington on 28 July 2008 was to get a picture of one of the HSTs in the new East Midlands Trains livery, having managed to miss getting a picture on several occasions previously, either seeing one whilst walking back to the car, or the power car being on the back of a particular train. Naturally when the 1C41 14:27 Sheffield to St Pancras service came into view the sun partially disappeared, leaving the photographically awkward situation of the front of the train in shadow and the back in weak sun. However, after considerable tweaking in Photoshop the result is a picture that retains a natural look to the train and the dark clouds in the background. This would be impossible to achieve without using Photoshop layers. 43055 leads a complete rake of new liveried stock, with 43048 (also in the new livery) on the rear.

43055 approaches Wellingborough on St Georges's Day, 23 April 2010 with the 1D42 14:15 St Pancras to Nottingham East Midlands Trains service. No doubt much more widely photographed than normal, due to running just three minutes behind 37667 & 37510 on 6Z70, and with many photographers still on the bridge!

HST railtours have never been particularly common due to the high utilisation of the sets, which leaves little spare capacity for such one off trains. The train pictured here is certainly one of the earliest tours - the 'Ian Allan Limited' from Paddington to Newcastle via Carlisle on 26 June 1982. 43056 is seen leading the tour past Compton Beauchamp (between Didcot and Swindon) in gloomy weather. Although at first glance looking exactly like the HSTs that traversed this line every few minutes (except for the large stick on headboard!), this is in fact an Eastern Region eight car set, and 43056 would have been more at home pounding up and down the East Coast Mainline, having only recently taken over from the Deltics.

43056 University of Bradford slows down for the Wellingborough stop on 12 December 1985 whilst working the 09:30 Nottingham to St Pancras service. With a forest of semaphore signals and masses of disused sidings, to say nothing of a pair of relief lines, this scene is largely unaltered since the last days of steam. The same view today shows considerable rationalisation!

43056 negotiates the reverse curves at Kibworth Harcourt (Wistow Road) on 25 April 1996 with the 1C30 13:33 Nottingham to St Pancras service. It is sporting the typical 1990s version of the InterCity livery, i.e. the red and white stripe on the front completely worn away! Interestingly this picture appears to show 43056 running without its University of Bradford nameplates, but still with the crest. Supposedly the plates were removed over a year after this picture was taken. Confirmation anyone?

Unfortunately I have got relatively few pictures of HSTs in the Midland Mainline 'teal and tangerine' livery. However, 43056 could very well be a candidate for the power car that I have photographed in the most different liveries. Here it is on 19 July 2002 leaving Wellingborough with the 1D08 07:55 St Pancras to Nottingham Midland Mainline service. Although by this time of day there had already been a stream of HSTs heading for the capital, this was only the second through train of the day heading in the opposite direction.

Clearly showing the interim National Express East Coast livery consisting of a white stripe applied to the former GNER colour scheme, 43056 speeds past Gateforth with the 1E10 07:53 Aberdeen to Kings Cross service on 14 March 2008. Not a bad location for an electrified line, especially as you can take the picture while sitting on the Armco barrier at the side of a not very busy country road! This was one of the final sunny shots of the day, as can you can see from the background, the cloud was rapidly building up.

43056 The Royal British Legion can easily be recognised from a distance by the large red commemorative poppy on its nameplate. It is seen here passing Denchworth on 24 February 2011 with the 1B37 13:15 Paddington to Cardiff Central First Great Western service. This is a well traveled power car, having initially worked for many years on the Midland Mainline, it later saw service on the East Coast route, before arriving on the Western. However, even when its normal stomping ground was between London and the Midlands back in the 1980s, it did on one occasion venture onto Brunel's route to the west with an Ian Allan railtour.

43056 The Royal British Legion catches the early morning sun, as it passes Compton Beauchamp on 3 May 2013 with the 1L05 03:57 Swansea to Paddington First Great Western service. At this time of the morning (06:30), a very long lens is required at this location to clear the shadows in the foreground.

43058 passes Harrowden with the 1B58 15:28 Nottingham to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service on 21 April 2010. After many false starts I have finally managed to get a complete HST in the new East Midlands livery in the sunshine!

43059 passes Ancaster's semaphore signals with the 1S02 11:28 Skegness to Nottingham East Midland Trains service on 25 July 2009. This HST set is diagrammed to do two return trips to the east coast resort on Saturdays between 18 July and 5 September. If the brake van in the siding on the right looks a little derelict and weed choked, that is because it has been in that position since 1968! Even it was fit to travel by rail, it is never going to leave that way, as the siding is no longer connected to the main line.

I went to the footpath crossing at Gonerby Moor (between Barkston East and Allington Junctions, near Grantham) to photograph the 1S04 17:08 Skegness to Nottingham East Midlands Trains service on 25 July 2009, as it is one of the few locations where the sun is at the right angle and is free of shadows so late in the day. A large gap appeared in the clouds just before it was due and I thought there would be no problem getting the shot. However, the appointed time came and went and the sun started to sink towards a huge mass of dark cloud. Just as the lights were about to go out I heard a hoot from around the corner heralding the arrival of 43059, in the very nick of time!

43061 leads the iC21 08:28 Leeds to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service past Kibworth Harcourt on 25 June 2008. The railway line here actually divides the village of Kibworth Harcourt from Kibworth Beauchamp, which perhaps explains why the Midland Railway just called their station Kibworth! 43061 carries the former Midland Mainline livery minus all branding.

With Charlbury church visible on the extreme right, 43062 John Armitt passes Cornbury Park at full line speed with the 1Z15 09:00 Derby to Derby (via Oxford) Network Rail New Measurement Train on 15 January 2009. 43014 is on the rear of the train. As Charlbury station is just around the corner behind the bushes and all passenger trains call at the station, normally any train photographed here is moving fairly slowly, so to see this special traveling at close to 100 mph certainly made a change! Unfortunately the dull conditions also required a high ISO in order to achieve the necessary 1/1000 sec shutter speed. Note the piles of cable ducting in the background. These are being used to reposition the signal cables in preparation for reinstating the double track, which was removed as an economy measure in 1971.

43062 John Armitt leads the 1Z16 16:43 Derby Railway Technical Centre to Old Oak Common Network Rail New Measurement Train though Tackley on 21 May 2009, with 43014 on the rear. There are very limited choices when it comes to photographing southbound trains on the Banbury to Oxford line if the sun is out in the late evening, so this newly created spot near Tackley station seemed as good as anywhere for a picture of the 'Flying Banana'. Note the remnants of the cleared vegetation in the foreground, the removal of which has opened up the view nicely.

43062 John Armitt rounds the curve at Kibworth Harcourt (Wistow Road) on 2 February 2011 with the 1Q52 07:38 Derby RTC to Derby RTC (via St Pancras) Network Rail New Measurement Train. This once excellent viewpoint has been slightly compromised in recent years by the installation of several communications masts, palisade fencing (luckily not in the foreground) and to a lesser extent the encroaching housing development on the horizon.

43062 John Armitt leads the 1Q16 12:13 Derby RTC to Old Oak Common New Measurement Train past Culham on 27 April 2011. 43013 is bringing up the rear. Not a bad day out, with two test train passing this spot in less than half an hour, 37611 & 37069 having passed by a little earlier.

43062 John Armitt approaches Joan Croft Junction on 12 March 2012, leading the 1Q07 08:56 Heaton to Ferme Park New Measurement Train. 43013 is on the rear. The manually operated gates at this location certainly keep the resident crossing keeper busy.

43063 Maiden Voyager sweeps around the reverse curves at Lowgill on 29 March 1997 with the 1V50 08:50 Edinburgh to Penzance 'Cornish Scot' Virgin CrossCountry service. Needless to say, the tatty old bit of wooden fence on the right has now been replaced by the photographer unfriendly palisade type.

43063 rounds the curve at Crofton 22 May 2012 with the 1A76 05:05 Penzance to Paddington First Great Western service. Note that there is some evidence of the former InterCity livery showing through on the cab roof. Time for another repaint?

In miserable misty drizzly weather, 43064 slows down for a photo stop at the derelict Winslow station on the Bletchley to Oxford line. It is working the Hertfordshire Railtours 07:50 St Pancras to Matlock 'Midland Peaks' railtour on 13 February 1993. Note that some effort has gone into identifying the station with several nameboards, including replica totem signs. Although I was on my own as the train arrived, soon there were people swarming everywhere as the passengers got their pictures of this most unlikely motive power at this rural location. Just as well they did because the station building was demolished shortly afterwards.

43064 approaches Wellingborough on 19 July 2002 with the 1B15 07:32 Sheffield to St Pancras Midland Mainline service. Although the sides look reasonably clean, the front end exhibits the typically filthy condition that Midland Mainline HSTs seemed to always be in at this time (at least whenever I went out to photograph them!). Very little evidence remains of the once extensive sidings at this location, certainly compared with the view in 1985, when I photographed 43056 at the same spot. Coincidentally, I also saw 43056 on this occasion, but heading in the opposite direction.

To mark the end of Paxman Valenta engined HSTs, East Midlands Trains ran a special from Leicester to Scarborough on 26 July 2008, using 43064 & 43081. These were named 125 Group & Midland Valenta respectively the previous day, especially for this tour. In crisp morning light, the 1Z25 09:00 Leicester to Scarborough 'Valenta Venturer' is pictured passing Barkby Thorpe (just north of Leicester) with 43064 leading. I was rather surprised to see a traditional 'steam age' headboard, which looks very strange on the pointed nose of a HST!

Very nearly a complete HST in the new East Midlands Trains livery. Only the rear power car (hiding behind the bush) retains the former Midland Mainline colour scheme. 43064 leads the 1D47 15:15 St Pancras to Nottingham service past Harrowden on 21 April 2010.

43065 leads the 16:50 Kings Cross to Bradford Interchange 'Bradford Executive' service towards Peascliffe Tunnel (near Grantham) on 14 June 1986. As can be seen, the East Coast Mainline was in the early stages of electrification at this time, with just the masts in position. Without any wires to tension them, the posts seem to be far from vertical in this picture. This was the era of mixed HST liveries, and indeed the other HST seen here on this day was the exact opposite of this one - InterCity liveried coaches and original liveried power car.

43066 passes Colton Junction in fine evening light on 30 August 1993 with the 1V67 17:05 Newcastle to Bristol Temple Meads. York Minster can just be seen in the background, above the rear of the train. This section of line was only opened in 1983, to replace that section of the East Coast Mainline around Selby that was being affected by mining subsidence.

43066 Nottingham Playhouse passes Cossington on 11 May 2001 with the 1D50 17:55 St Pancras to Nottingham Midland Mainline service. It's almost as if the HSTs painted in this livery used semi water soluble paint for the yellow front end! This one displays the typical blotchy faded look.

The wheat looks almost ready for harvesting at Quarrington on 25 July 2009 as 43066 passes by with the 1S01 08:07 Nottingham to Skegness East Midlands Trains service. This Saturday only train operates between 18 July and 5 September in effort to relief overcrowding on trains to the coast, although certainly on this day it didn't seem to be very full. The HST completes two round trips to the bracing holiday resort, although the speed of the HST is completley wasted, with some very slow running on ridiculously easy schedules.

43067 just about manages to dodge the shadows as it approaches Wolvercote Junction on 27 June 1995 with the 1M41 17:16 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly service. 43067 has had an interesting life both before and after this picture was taken. Initially just another East Coast power car, it was converted into a DVT in 1989 as an interim measure for use with the new Class 91 electrics and Mk 3 stock. In more recent years 43067 was acquired by Grand Central Railways, and once again found itself pounding up and down the ECML. It became one of the last power cars to retain an original Paxman Valenta engine, but in 2010 was finally fitted with a MTU unit, becoming 43467.

43067 rounds the curve at Gateforth on 14 March 2008 with the 1A62 12:30 Sunderland to Kings Cross Grand Central service, unfortunately just after the sun had disappeared into a bank of high cloud. Note how the black livery of the power car shows off the ripples in the body panels.

43069 passes Uffington with the 13:30 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads First Great Western service on 12 February 2008. The straw in the foreground is the result of recent heavy rains washing the loose straw and stubble off the field down into this low lying corner. It covered a large area and was well over a foot thick!

It was miserably dull day on 15 April 2006, but the prospect of two different liveried HST power cars on a rake of Midland Mainline stock on the Heartland Rail 1Z27 08:00 Gloucester to Penzance railtour was too good a chance to pass up, especially as it turned out it would be the only picture I would get of either of these unique liveried machines. Cotswold Rail silver liveried 43070 is pictured at the head of the train approaching the site of Stonehouse (Bristol Road) station, with the long disused siding disappearing into the undergrowth in the foreground. If you think this livery is unusual, it's nothing compared to what was on the back.

43070 leads the 1C17 14:00 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads First Great Western service towards the site of Wantage Road station on 6 November 2007 amid some glorious autumn colours.  6C48 (59004), 6B24 (60042), 4D12 (66067) and 6B33 (worryingly 66237 instead of the booked Class 60) had all passed me in poor light, and I had to wait until the very end of the afternoon before the clouds finally cleared away. The low sun certainly brings out the colours, and to prove how much difference the lighting and the time of year makes to a picture, look at the same location on an early spring afternoon.

43071 accelerates away from Wellingborough and passes Finedon Roadwith the 16:35 St Pancras to Nottingham service on 21 May 1989. Note the old steam shed in the background and the lines of redundant HTV hoppers being stored in the sidings. Since the picture of 43056 was taken a few years previously from the bridge just out of sight around the corner, the semaphore signalling has been replaced by colour lights, but major track rationalisation has yet to take place.

43071 speeds past Acton Turville with the 13:45 Paddington to Swansea First Great Western service on 27 March 2007. At this time the whole FGW HST fleet had just about been repainted into this livery, only for yet another livery to be launched! It almost seems that that a new livery is launched as soon as the final vehicle has been painted in the previous colours!

Strange happenings at Uffington on 12 February 2008. 43071 has just received an amber signal near Uffington whilst working the 13:00 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads First Great Western service. It passed me at slow speed, coming to a stop at the next signal, where it waited for 15 minutes! Whether this had anything to do with 66145 on the preceding train is not clear, but it was certainly strange to see an HST stopped in open country, right over the minor road bridge to Uffington, with the driver walking around outside, between conversations with the signalman!

43071 passes Aldington under brilliant blue skies on 16 June 2010 with the 1W29 11:22 Paddington to Great Malvern First Great Western service. Previously a well wooded cutting, the clearance of tress here has opened up a welcome new Cotswold Line viewpoint. However, judging from past experience, all the cut down vegetation will soon grow back again!

43071 approaches the site of Uffington station on 29 September 2011 with the 1A15 11:30 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington First Great Western service. Note the sleeper built crossing just in front of the power car. This is virtually all that remains of the site of the former Uffington loops.

An interesting working occurred on the former Great Western Mainline on Bank Holiday Monday 27 August 2007. Instead of one of the usual First Great Western HSTs on this route, this is a Midland Mainline set hired to Virgin Trains! Running 25 minutes early, 43072 Derby Etches Park leads the 5Z53 07:10 Laira to Reading ECS past Shrivenham, prior to working the 1Z53 11:45 Reading to Leeds Virgin Trains special in connection with the Reading Festival. It originated from Laira due to having worked the 1V49 09:41 Newcastle to Newquay Virgin service two days previously. For the record 43060 was the rear power car. Unfortunately what started out as a sunny morning rapidly deteriorated into a cloudy day, but luckily I just got this in a small patch of sun.

43074 passes Beighton on 25 November 2008 with the diverted 1C29 11:18 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. Due to the three month closure of Bradway Tunnel, on the Sheffield to Chesterfield line for essential engineering works, all passenger trains were diverted via the normally freight only route via Tinsley and Beighton Junction. The section of line pictured here is subject to a severe speed restriction, and although accelerating slightly once over the crossing, trains seemed to be approaching the signal box in the background at little more than walking speed.

43075 is pictured at Souldrop (near Sharnbrook) on 4 May 1987 working the 15:15 St Pancras to Sheffield service. As was common at the time both power cars are in the InterCity Executive livery, whilst the coaches are still in the original blue and grey colour scheme The two relief lines visible on the left at a lower level have since been replaced by a single bi-directional line.

43077 brings up the rear of the Hertfordshire Railtours 07:15 Derby to Paignton 'Torbay Express' railtour on 6 May 1990. It is taking the west curve at Didcot North Junction, a route not normally used by passenger trains. The lead power car is similarly liveried 43081.

Driving up the A9 between Stirling and Perth on 3 May 2008 I realised that the 1S15 12:00 Kings Cross to Inverness National Express East Coast 'Highland Chieftain' was due very shortly. I parked in the layby near the Highland Spring mineral water factory at Blackford and had just a few minutes to wait before 43077 appeared. Blackford signalbox can be seen in the background. Note also the ruined chapel on the hill in the background. I was a little worried that the train that was signaled on the up line might block out the picture, but luckily that appeared a minute later.

43078 arrives at Kemble station on 3 October 2009 with the 1L50 11:00 Cheltenham to Paddington First Great Western service. AS can be seen by the number people on the platform, Kemble is now a very busy station, serving a wide rural community, although of course the branch lines to Cirencester and Tetbury are long gone.

A super abundance of hawthorn blossom at Kettering on 21 May 1989 as the 10:33 Nottingham to St Pancras service accelerates away from the station, with 43079 leading. The field on the left subsequently succumbed to the spread of housing which can already be seen in the background. 43079 can no longer be seen on this route, as it was transferred to Laira in 1998 for use on the Great Western Mainline.

43079 passes Lyneham on 28 June 2012 with the 1W47 15:51 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill First Great Western service. It's amazingly how quickly some conifer trees grow (ask anyone who has had any dealings with a Leylandii hedge!), as there was no evidence of this wood in 1986.

43079 leads the diverted 1A12 09:48 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington First Great Western service past Ardley on 7 April 2013. Despite the hazy light, I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to get some pictures of HSTs working on the Chiltern Line. The scorched trackside is the result of a fire caused by 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe which passed this way with a railtour the day before. This resulted in the return leg of the journey being piloted by a Class 47, and also severe delays to Chiltern Trains services, while the fire brigade tackled the blaze.

With the eighteenth century Nuneham House just visible behind the bush on the left, 43079 leads the 1D51 16:49 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service through the upper Thames Valley on 23 April 2013. The location is between Radley and Kennington, one of the few local spots that hasn't succumbed to lineside bushes in the last few years.