A4 4-6-2 60009 Union of South Africa makes light work of Sapperton Bank as it crosses Frampton Mansell Viaduct with the Worcester to Ealing Broadway 'Capital Streak' railtour on 27 October 1994. Unfortunately this view is no longer possible due to tree growth. The viaduct can just be glimpsed through the vegetation in one or two places now!

A4 4-6-2 60019 Bittern drifts down the gradient from Medstead & Four Marks with the 11:55 Alton to Alresford service on the Mid Hants Railway, and approaches Soldridge on 9 February 2008. A little incongruous perhaps for an A4 with just five coaches in Southern Railways green, but not as out of character as when it came back later running tender first!

A4 4-6-2 60019 Bittern storms past Frinkley Lane (near Grantham) with the Transport Trust 1Z51 16:55 York to Kings Cross railtour on 25 July 2009. The route is definitely correct for an A4, but the 'Brighton Belle' headboard certainly isn't! Note the two tenders.

A contrast in motive power at Barnes Bridge station on 27 November 1999. A3 4-6-2 4472 Flying Scotsman passes through with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z94 08:33 Yeovil Junction to Victoria 'Capital Scotsman' railtour, while Class 455 5712 works the 12:54 Waterloo to Hounslow South West Trains service. Although it does make an interesting comparison in traction, and of course it could have been much worse if the unit had actually arrived slightly later and blocked the view, it does mean unfortunately that the EMU more or less completely obscures the bridge over the River Thames in the background, which gives the station its name and was my reason for choosing the location in the first place!

A3 4-6-2 4472 Flying Scotsman passes Circourt Bridge, Denchworth on 28 April 2001 with the 1Z90 Bournemouth to Worcester Shrub Hill excursion, which it had taken over at Didcot. It had been raining heavily and I thought this picture was going to be a write off, as the cloud cover was almost total. Luckily however it just started to clear as the train came into view, resulting in this perfect lighting, with the exhaust showing up well against the dark clouds. Note that it is still in cloud at the bridge in the distance - it was that close to being a ruined shot!

A3 Class 4-6-2 4472 Flying Scotsman passes Hinksey South (near Oxford) with the 1Z65 11:30 Solihull to Didcot Vintage Trains Ltd Roast Lunch Special on 16 October 2005. The tracks on the left lead into Hinksey Yard, built during the war, and now after years of decline used extensively for the marshalling of permanent way trains. The loco is not exactly authentic, sporting as it does LNER apple green livery along with BR style smoke deflectors.

Designed in 1948 but built in 2008, A1 4-6-2 60163 Tornado is the first new mainline steam locomotive built in Britain since 1960. It is pictured here passing Tollerton with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z33 06:16 Cardiff Central to Newcastle 'Tyne Tornado' railtour on 12 March 2009. The tour had been Class 67 diesel hauled up until York. Unfortunately this was just about the worst possible lighting for this particular train, with the sun virtually directly behind the train. Although the sun wasn't out when the train passed, the phenomenal contrast between the largely bright sky and the dark foreground led to a virtual silhouette image straight off the camera. However, some serious work in Photoshop has resulted in a full range of tones with no loss of detail in the sky.

With St Andrew's church at Churcham dominating the background, A1 4-6-2 60163 Tornado heads towards Wales with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z27 06:42 Bristol Temple Meads to Cardiff Central 'Severn Coast Express' railtour on 30 May 2009. Tornado had taken over the train at Gloucester and was running nearly half an hour late at this point. This is possibly the worst time of year for photography in the countryside, with virtually everything being the same shade of green. This is why I chose this location, so that there was something else other than the train in the picture to break up the monotony of green. St Andrew's church tower is not as old as it looks, for although the main body of the church is eleventh century the tower was rebuilt in the German style in 1878.

A1 4-6-2 60163 Tornado climbs out of the Severn Tunnel and passes Pilning on 30 May 2009 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z28 12:41 Cardiff Central to Gloucester 'Severn Coast Express' railtour. Despite the 1 in 100 gradient the sweltering heat has resulted in virtually no visible exhaust, although a small plume of steam from the chime whistle can be seen - no doubt acknowledging the gallery of photographers on the bridge. 67002 can be just seen on the rear of the train. This loco would work the train back to Gloucester from Bristol Temple Meads.

A1 4-6-2 60163 Tornado passes Compton Beauchamp in weak sunshine on 7 November 2009 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z28 11:42 Gloucester to Victoria 'Thames Tornado' railtour. Cloud was gradually approaching from the west, which adds to the background here. It was far enough away not to affect the sun until some time after the train had passed. Much more serious however was the HST rapidly approaching from the other direction. Literally a few seconds after I took this picture the view was completely blocked, which would not have been appreciated by the large crowd of  photographers gathered on the bridge! Incidentally the largest number of photographers I have ever seen at this location.

A1 4-6-2 60163 Tornado approaches the site of Knighton Crossing (between Didcot and Swindon) with the Steam Dreams 1Z88 08:45 Victoria to Swansea 'St. David's Day Cathedrals Express' railtour on 1 March 2010. I had deliberately chosen this location, as not only would the sun be on the front, but I thought the low viewpoint would ensure that the exhaust would not be blowing down across the train. As there was virtually no wind, I was slightly surprised that the exhaust very nearly did ruin the shot by covering up the coaches. However, looking at the mixed rake of stock with no less than four different liveries, perhaps that would have been no bad thing!

A1 4-6-2 60163 Tornado passes Knighton (between Didcot and Swindon) with the Steam Dreams 1Z88 08:45 Victoria to Swansea 'St. David's Day Cathedrals Express' railtour on 1 March 2010. Note the two Welsh flags fluttering in front of the smokebox. I do not normally bother with more than one picture of any individual train (not counting a six frame per second burst to make sure I've got it in the prime spot!), and certainly don't bother with a series of shots of the train getting gradually closer. However, after taking the conventional view of Tornado approaching, I couldn't resist this broadside view showing off this fine locomotive in close up.

Great Central Railway Robinson Class 11F (later LNER Class D11) 4-4-0 62660 Butler Henderson passes Woodthorpe on the (very appropriate) Great Central Railway with the 'Butler Henderson Farewell Special' on 24 February 1992. This was the last day of the loco's boiler ticket and the smokebox carries the suitably poignant 'Bye Bye Great Central' chalked inscription. A number of specially invited National Railway guests were enjoying a last ride behind what would soon be their locomotive.

Great Central Railway O4 Class 2-8-0 63601 whistles as it arrives at Quorn & Woodhouse on 12 September 2009. Despite it being the Great Central Railway's Diesel Gala, this was the token steam working of the day - the 1A25 13:15 Loughborough to Leicester North service. This Robinson designed loco was built at Gorton Works, Manchester, in 1911.