Driving up the A9 between Stirling and Perth on 3 May 2008 I realised that the 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.

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.

43081 Midland Valenta rounds the curve at Kirkham Abbey with the East Midlands Trains 1Z43 15:15 Scarborough to Leicester 'Valenta Venturer' railtour on 26 July 2008. 43064 125 Group can just be seen on the rear of the train. Both these power cars were named the previous day, especially for this railtour. Given the fact that this is the classic location on the Scarborough line and the weather was good (although we almost lost the sun at the critical moment here), I was surprised that only two other photographers were with me in the field to see this piece of history. I suppose I shouldn't really be that surprised, as some railway photographers have a very narrow outlook and even now many ignore HSTs completely. I find this attitude very odd, especially as the HST with its classic streamlined shape is far more photogenic than the intrinsically ugly Class 66s that dominate the freight scene, which some seem to consider the only thing worth photographing.

43082 Derbyshire First passes Kilnhurst on 27 December 2003 with a Neville Hill to Sheffield ECS working. Note the inclusion of a single coach in the then new livery. The power car could certainly do with a repaint, or at the very least a wash! This was one of those annoying situations when the sun was disappearing in and out of the clouds, so only very weak sun for this picture!

Still in Midland Mainline livery (albeit devoid of all branding), 43082 leads the 11:27 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service past Cossington on 28 January 2008. East Midlands Trains had taken over the franchise from Midland Mainline in November 2007, so pending the application of a new livery, all trace of the previous owner's identity had to be removed.

Long before its days of racing up and down the East Coast Mainline in a smart black livery, working for Grand Central Railways, 43084 County of Derbyshire is pictured leaving Kidderminster on 12 January 1991 with the Hertfordshire Railtours 'Severn Valley Circular' railtour. This had traveled from St Pancras via Kettering, Sutton Park and Dudley to reach Kidderminster, returning via Oxford. A dull and misty day, but the chance to get a picture of a buffer fitted HST at the unlikely location of Kidderminster was not going to missed!

43084 leads the 16:16 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly service past Cholsey on 22 July 1994. 43084 is one of the eight HST power cars fitted with buffers in 1987 in connection with DVT trials on the East Coast Main Lone. It is a busy moment at Cholsey station in the background, as both the 18:19 Didcot to Paddington and the 17:23 Paddington to Oxford services can just be seen calling at the station.

After many setbacks, Grand Central Railways began operations between Sunderland and London in December 2007, using refurbished HST sets. On 25 January 2008, 43084 leads the 14:10 York to Kings Cross service past Grassthorpe. This service is temporarily starting from York, but when the full timetable is implemented will start from Sunderland at 12:30.

43084 leads the 1A60 06:46 Sunderland to Kings Cross Grand Central 'Zephyr' service through Heck on 14 March 2008, unusually running a few minutes late. Although still sunny, a bank of thin cloud had just started to drift up from the south taking the edge of the light. The siding on the right leads to the Plasmor block works, which dispatches a daily train of building blocks to Bow.

43084 leads the 1A60 06:46 Sunderland to Kings Cross Grand Central 'Zephyr' service past Langford on 12 May 2008. 43166 in the obsolete Midland Mainline livery can just be seen on the rear of the train. Langford (between Biggleswade and Hitchin) is one of the relatively few unobstructed photographic locations on the southern end of the East Coast Mainline.

43084 passes Bishop Wood (between Doncaster and York) with the 1N28 16:50 Kings Cross to Sunderland Grand Central service on 26 July 2008. I seem to be photographing this particular Grand Central power car on a roughly two monthly basis. Eventually I will get a decent picture of one of the others! After a largely sunny day, the sun was just starting to melt away into high cloud.

43087 brings up the rear of the Heartland Rail 1Z27 08:00 Gloucester to Penzance railtour on 15 April 2006, as it passes the site of Stonehouse station. This has got to be one of the oddest liveries applied to a loco in this country, but you certainly can't miss it! A slightly more conventional Cotswold Rail silver liveried 43070 was on the front of the train. Despite the fact that HSTs look the same going either way (ignoring the red tail lights), I don't normally bother with going away shots, but this one just had to be done, especially I would not see it again in this livery.

43089 Hayabusa leads Network Rail's New Measurement Train through Kemble on 5 June 2008 with the 1Z22 06:48 Derby to Cheltenham (via Hereford and Swindon) test train, with 43014 bringing up the rear. At this point it was running 40 minutes early and consequently was following right behind the 12:31 Cheltenham to Paddington HST. In fact it had a very brief signal check in the station, just enough to result in the sun disappearing! It is pictured just about to enter the single track section to Swindon and also the 415 yard long Kemble Tunnel.

Spring is here! A field of oilseed rape brightens up the foreground as 43092 leads the 06:59 Swansea to Paddington First Great Western service towards the site of Uffington station (closed in 1964). The out of use signal formerly controlled the exit from Uffington's down loop, which was removed when the relief lines were installed between Challow and Wantage Road. This picture was taken on 14 April 2008, a day that started bright and clear, but like numerous other spring days in 2008 had become largely cloudy by mid-morning.

In fine early morning lighting, which certainly highlights the Virgin Cross Country red livery, 43093 (appropriately named Lady In Red) climbs the 1 in 37 Lickey Incline with the 1E28 07:04 Bristol Temple Meads to Newcastle service on 24 May 1997. The location is Pikes Pool, approximately half way up the formidable gradient that was once such an operational problem in the days of steam. No such problems with a HST however, which not only has plenty of power but its own banker as well!

43095 heads south through the rain at Usan on 4 May 2008 with the 13:50 Aberdeen to Kings Cross National Express East Coast service. Despite the awful weather conditions, I am really pleased with this picture, as it vividly portrays the often typical Scottish weather. With Usan signalbox in the background and the train perfectly framed between the two semaphore signals it is certainly atmospheric. However, the leaden skies and rain does hide what would be a view of part of Montrose in the background! Usan signalbox controls the entrance to the short single track section of line to Montrose, this can just be seen in front of the box in the background.