Park Royal built GWR railcar 4 is pictured in the sadly missed original Great Western Museum at Swindon on 15 July 1989 in the company of 'Dean Goods'  2516 & 94xx 0-6-0PT 9400. This railcar was built in 1934 and was withdrawn in the mid 1950s, after much useful information was gained and incorporated into later builds of DMUs. It can now be found just around the corner in the new GWR Museum, which as everything nowadays has to have an image is called 'Steam'. This earlier museum was in a former church in Faringdon Road.

I am not old enough to remember the original Derby Lightweight units in revenue earning service, and only ever saw this one unit on the mainline when it was in use as the Ultrasonic Test Train. TDB975008 & TD975007 (formerly 79018 & 79612) head west at South Moreton on 12 September 1985 with an unidentified (apart from the fact that it is 6Z08!) working. I don't often bother with going away shots, but of course with DMUs there is little visual difference, in this case just the barely perceptible red tail lights and the fact that it is on the down relief line.

The unique Wickham & Co Class 109 DMU 56171 & 50416 round the curve at Ty Newydd on the Llangollen Railway with the 11:15 Carrog to Llangollen service on 26 June 2010, during the line's Railcar Gala. A completely non-standard design, the Wickham units were very well built and had an unusual Art Deco style high quality interior finish. Only five twin car sets were built, and apart from this unit, which survived in BR departmental service, the rest of the class were amazingly sold to the Trinidad & Tobago Railway Company!

The sole surviving Wickham & Co Class 109 DMU (50416 & 56171) arrives at Glyndyfrdwy station with the 12:00 Llangollen to Carrog service on 26 June 2010, during the line's Railcar Gala. It is running with Class 108 twin car set 51907 & 54490. In true DMU tradition, the Manchester destination is wildly optimistic!

Class 109 DMU 56171 & 50416 passes Garthydwr, on the Llangollen Railway with the 15:40 Carrog to Llangollen service, during the line's Railcar Gala on 26 June 2010. Built by Wickham & Co in 1957, only five two car sets were built, of which is this is the only surviving example.

The unique 1957 built Wickham & Co Class 109 DMU (50416 & 56171) pulls away from Berwyn station on 26 June 2010 with the 16:50 Llangollen to Carrog service, during the Llangollen Railway's Railcar Gala. The station occupies a very restricted site, next to the main Llangollen to Corwen road, and perched high above the River Dee.

Class 114 Tyseley set T227 (53019 & 54027) passes Portway (near Tamworth) on 15 March 1989 with the 15:46 Birmingham New Street to Nottingham train, one of the few services in the area that hadn't succumbed to the Sprinter revolution at the time. This was one of the last Class 114s in traffic, and in fact it seemed to follow me about, as I photographed it again two years later at Droitwich (admittedly the other way round) and then the leading vehicle here was photographed three years after that in preservation at Butterley!

The driver of Class 114 50019 exchanges the token with the signalman at Butterley during the Midland Railway Centre's Diesel Gala on 23 July 1994. 50019 is coupled to 56006, both of which have reverted to their original numbers in preservation. The numbers having been changed in BR days as obviously 50019 could be confused with Class 50 Ramillies and 56006 with Class 56 Ferrybridge C Power Station! The Midland Railway Centre may have bold plans but I think Kings Lynn as a destination is a bit optimistic!

Tyseley' s Class 114 set T027 (54027 & 53019) calls at Droitwich on 27 April 1991 with the 09:09 Hereford to Birmingham New Street Midline service. This became the final Class 114 unit in traffic and when in January 1992 54027 became due for overhaul it was taken into departmental service as 977770, but scrapped shortly afterwards at MC Metals, Glasgow. 53019 worked its final weeks in service coupled to Class 105 DTCL 54484, before being preserved at the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley.

The Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z22 Marylebone to Chinnor 'Chinnor Tonic' railtour stands at Thame on 9 July 1988. An unusual DMU combination was used for this tour, with two Class 115 vehicles on the outer ends and two Class 108 vehicles in the centre, all four being driving coaches! 51652 (nearest the camera), 54500, 54222, & 51654 bask in the sun next to the grass grown platforms, which last saw passengers in 1963. This scene has now been completely transformed. The rails and platforms have gone, replaced by a road, with a large industrial estate built on the land to the right, and houses on the land beyond the bridge.

With the temperature well below freezing, Class 115 51668 leads the 07:27 Marylebone to Banbury service past Ardley on 29 December 1984. 51668 was withdrawn in December 1991, having spent all its working life rattling up and down the Chiltern Line on trains such as this. It was replaced, along with all its classmates by Class 165/0 Turbo units. Only a few months after being removed from service it was sent to oblivion at MC Metals, Glasgow.

Graphically illustrating the change over to Network SouthEast liveried stock, 51671 leads the 17:25 Marylebone to Banbury service past Kings Sutton on 20 June 1989 with the front half of the train in freshly applied NSE colours and the back half still in blue and grey. You would have thought that they would paint a complete unit at one time! There were several instances of half and half Class 115 sets around this time.

This is definitely something out of the ordinary - a Class 115 railtour! 51676 leads 59654, 59753, & 51671 past Stenson Junction on 2 June 1984 with the RESL 1T08 07:00 Marylebone to Crewe 'Midland Engineer' railtour. DMU railtours have certainly declined in popularity in favour of loco hauled traction based tours, and nowadays are very unusual. In the 1960s and 1970s however they were relatively common as they suited the branch line 'track bashing' type tours which were common before most such branches were closed.

The majority of DMUs in the Oxford area during the 1970s & 1980s were the ubiquitous Pressed Steel Class 117s, supplemented by Class 121s and Gloucester RCW Class 119s. However, the occasional inter-regional working brought other types to the area. Such a train was the 09:10 Birmingham New Street to Reading service, which is pictured here arriving at Oxford on 25 September 1987 with Class 115 Tyseley set T414. 51869 leads the four coach rake, which also includes 59661, 59613 & 51144.

Class 115 four car set with 51875 leading works the 13:33 Marylebone to Banbury service past Dorton on 5 September 1984. A sleepy backwater at the time, with the majority of trains only reaching Princes Risborough and a very infrequent service on this section to Banbury, the Chiltern Line has subsequently been completely transformed. This section is now double track again, and a frequent fast service extends to Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon. 51875 was not so lucky, being withdrawn in 1992 and cut up at Gwent Demolition, Margam.

On a very dull and misty 29 August 1987, Class 115 51888 leads the 07:30 Banbury to Marylebone Network SouthEast service away from Princes Risborough. A full year after the introduction of NSE in a blaze of publicity, there is no evidence at all of their ownership of this stock. Note the abandoned HTV coal wagon in the siding, presumably a faulty wagon removed from one of the coal trains heading for the cement works at Chinnor.

This has got to be someone's idea of a joke. Even allowing for the gradual change over from blue and grey to Network SouthEast liveried stock in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the alternating colours in this Class 115 unit must be deliberate! 51890 leads the 14:20 Banbury to Marylebone Network SouthEast service as it accelerates away from Kings Sutton on 17 March 1990. Unfortunately this location is no longer quite as clear as this, as the young ash trees on the left are now fully grown.

Swindon Works built Class 120 C616 (51782, 59681 & 51790) ironically heads back to its birthplace as it leaves Kemble on 7 July 1984 with the 09:25 Cheltenham Spa to Swindon service. By this date Class 120s were quite rare in the Cotswolds. Other Cardiff allocated units appeared, but the 120s tended to be used on the Central Wales Line, which is why this unit is fitted with a large central headlight

Strange goings on at Evenlode (between Kingham and Moreton-in-Marsh) on 20 June 1987. For some unexplained reason departmental Class 122 55001 (TDB975023 or L101) has been added to the front of Class 101 C820 (51500, 59093 & 51512) to work the 14:22 Oxford to Hereford service. As 55001 entered departmental use as long ago as 1969 its appearance on this passenger working is certainly noteworthy. Unfortunately the weather was very poor. Class 122s were very rare on the Cotswold Line and indeed Class 101s weren't that common either. The cow seems unimpressed though!

Class 122 55004 passes Songar (between Claverdon and Bearley) with the 12:25 Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon service on 6 December 1986. 55004 was withdrawn in October 1990 and scrapped almost immediately at Mayer Newman, Snailwell. The Hatton Junction to Bearley Junction line was singled in 1969, although note that a short section of track was left at this crossing and just be seen in this picture.

Departmental former Class 122 'bubble car' 975042 (formerly 55019 and still at this time carrying its set number L119) ambles over the river bridge near Walton Well Road, Oxford on 7 April 1990 with a northbound crew training run. 55019 had a relatively short life as a passenger carrying unit, being taken into departmental use as early as 1969. Note the extensive area of allotments in the background (formerly much used by local railwaymen) with Wytham Hill in the distance.

Unfortunately I have only got a few pictures of the stylish Swindon built Class 124 'Trans Pennine' units. Here we see 51952 leading the 10:10 Manchester Piccadilly to Hull service past New Mills South Junction on 27 April 1984, just a couple of weeks before the entire class was withdrawn. Although by DMU standards of the time they were a quality product, they were expensive to maintain, not only due to their non-standard nature, but also because of their unique (and expensive to repair) wrap around windscreens.

141119 runs alongside the Stainforth & Keadby Canal at Crowle on 31 May 1997 with the 10:03 Doncaster to Scunthorpe Regional Railways North East service. This class, the first of the production Pacer series, had a troubled life, initially being noted for chronic unreliability. The situation improved after rebuilding by Hunslet Barclay in the late 1980s, but the class was still deemed non standard and so was slated for early withdrawal. This unit, like most of the class was exported to Iran in 1998.

The unusual Class 151 unit was to be Metro Cammell's bid for the lucrative DMU replacement programme of the 1980s. Unfortunately the design was beset with various problems and in the end it lost out to British Rail Engineering's Class 150. Only two 151s were built and due to their non-standard nature they spent long periods out of traffic during their short life (1985 - 1989). 151001 is pictured passing Wetmore with a Derby to Burton-on-Trent test run on 18 October 1987. Not technically a brilliant picture due to the combination of very poor light and Kodachrome 200, but this together with the return working (in even worse light!) is the only record I have of these unique units, which after many years in open storage were both scrapped in 2004.

There hasn't been regular 'tractor' haulage on the North Wales coast line since 2000, but on 4 June 2005 the line's replacement motive power gets some competition from another kind of tractor as 175101 passes Llangaffo with the 13:15 Crewe to Holyhead service. Unsurprisingly, given how close they are to the line the cottages in the background are named 'Railway Cottages'

175102 pulls away from Hereford station with the 13:10 Milford Haven to Manchester Piccadilly Arriva Trains Wales service on 2 June 2009. Hereford retains a lot of old railway infrastructure, with the imposing station building and goods shed visible in this view. Plenty of trackwork too, but unfortunately no longer any originating freight traffic.

The final production Class 175 and one of the few still in the original livery (albeit now branded Arriva), 175116 emerges from Dinmore Tunnel with the 10:33 Holyhead to Cardiff Central Arriva Trains Wales service on 2 June 2009. I had not visited this location for two decades, and although I shouldn't really have been surprised, the growth of the surrounding vegetation has virtually obscured the view. The general view of both single line bores (the other tunnel is just to the left of the PW hut) is impossible and a long lens is needed to squeeze through a gap in the trees.

185146 approaches Maud's Bridge (between Stainforth and Scunthorpe) with the 10:52 Manchester Airport to Cleethorpes Trans Pennine Express service on 1 January 2007. I started off the new year with a new class of DMU, 185s not being particularly common in my native Oxfordshire! New Year's Day had started sunny, but by this time thick black clouds were rolling in from the west, which gives a superb background to this picture. Note the tower of St. Nicholas church, Thorne on the extreme right.

185102 rounds the curve past Kirkham Abbey with the 14:45 Scarborough to Liverpool Lime Street Trans Pennine service on 26 July 2008. No doubt the passengers on board will be glad of the air conditioning (assuming it was working!), on what was one of the hottest days of the year.

The Class 210 DEMU was intended to be a replacement for the plethora of DMU types which were reaching the end of their economic life in the early 1980s. However, its extravagant specification led to its downfall, as it would have been far too expensive to produce in the quantity required. On 23 April 1983 passengers on the Cotswold Line got their first taste of what they assumed would be the future traction on the line. In the event they had to wait nearly a decade before the heritage units were displaced! 210001 arrives at Kingham with the 08:10 Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh service, while the order departs in the background. This is something you don't often see - ladies of the 'Country Set' taking an interest in modern developments on the railways!

210001 made its first foray over the Cotswold Line on 23 April 1983 in what was thought at the time to be heralding a new era of high quality trains on the line. In miserably dull weather conditions this pioneer unit is seen passing Shipton station with the 09:55 Moreton-in-Marsh to Oxford service. The flour mill in the background is still a thriving business, but otherwise this view has changed considerably, with trees now obscuring the view. In 1983 Shipton station still retained its quaint GWR waiting shelter on the down platform, but that was to disappear within a couple of years.

The ill fated prototype second generation DMU, 210001 passes Hinksey Yard on 22 October 1985 with the 14:06 Oxford to Paddington local service. Obviously unaccustomed luxury travel for the passengers (if there were any!) at Radley, Culham and Appleford, who at the time were more used to the rattling Class 117 units. The Paxman 6RP200L 1,125 bhp engine is at the far end of the unit, its position in the non-passenger part of the vehicle indicated by the all over blue livery at that end of the formation.