Running 35 minutes late, 43186 passes Combe on 20 April 2018 with the 1P31 12:09 Hereford to Paddington GWR service. The blackthorn blossom in the foreground adds to the picture at the moment, but in a few years time the bush will have grown sufficiently to block this view once again, and no doubt it will be many decades before Network Rail clears it again!

66101 approaches Didcot North Junction on 20 April 2018 with the 6O42 11:31 Halewood to Southampton Eastern Docks Jaguar cars for export. Appleford church can be seen in the background, with the Culham Science Centre standing out clearly amid the trees in the distance.

67024 approaches Didcot North Junction on 20 April 2018 with the Belmond British Pullman 1Z56 16:52 Oxford to Victoria VSOE luxury charter. 67021 brings up the rear. Although it can't disguise the inherent ugliness of a Class 67, the excellent Pullman livery certainty makes the whole train look impressive. It reminds me of 73101, which also acquired this superb livery in 1991.

You don't always need a fast shutter speed for railway photography! 66082 stands at the signal at Didcot North Junction in exactly the right spot to be photographed, whilst working the 6O30 14:27 Castle Bromwich Jaguar to Southampton Eastern Docks cars on 10 April 2018. I had seen this same loco, on the same train, the previous day.

66185 slowly approaches Didcot North Junction on 20 April 2018 with the 6E03 18:42 Appleford Sidings to Milford West Sidings containerised flyash empties. This was a total surprise, as it was running nearly an hour early. It was certainly a DB red day, with this following on from 66082 & 66101.

With its train stretching all the way back to the Shrewley roadbridge in the background, 66082 passes Hatton North Junction on 19 April 2018 with the 6O30 14:27 Castle Bromwich Jaguar to Southampton Eastern Docks, conveying Range Rovers and Land Rover Discoverys for export.

Soon to lose its Colas livery in favour of Caledonian Sleeper blue, 47749 City of Truro passes Hatton North Junction on 19 April 2018, running as the 0Z48 14:03 Leicester to Eastleigh light engine. This was a positioning move in preparation for the following day's Pathfinder Tours 'York Moors Venturer' railtour. Note that there is nothing at all to indicate that GBRf now own this loco.

66724 Drax Power Station approaches Hatton North Junction on 19 April 2018 with the 6E45 12:05 Theale to Immingham empty oil tanks. It would be too much to expect this perfect sunny day to correspond with GBRf using one of its more interesting livered locos on this train, but it was still well worth a picture nonetheless. As is often the case, this had left Theale much later than booked, but by missing out various scheduled stops, had regained quite a lot of time by this point.

68008 Avenger rounds the curve at Hatton North Junction on 19 April 2018 with the 1K45 16:15 Marylebone to Kidderminster Chiltern Railways service. Obviously Chiltern would prefer to always use one of their own dedicated silver liveried locos on these trains, to provide a solid corporate image. Personally I like the colour contrast when a DRS livered machine is used.

One third of Chiltern Railway's fleet of two car Class 168/3s, all on one train. 168327, 168322 & 168326 approach Hatton North Junction in superb evening light on 19 April 2018 with the 1R48 16:47 Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street service. Already having a substantial number of two car Class 165s, and a few two car Class 172s, I'm sure Chiltern would have preferred some longer trains when they acquired the nine Class 170 that became their Class 168/3s in 2015. Consequently they often get multipled up, like this.

As the shadows in the foreground start to lengthen, after a perfect cloudless spring day, 68014 approaches Hatton North Junction on 19 April 2018 with the 1K50 17:15 Marylebone to Kidderminster Chiltern Railways service.

Golden early morning light at Moreton-in-Marsh on 19 April 2019. 165101 is less than a minute into its journey, as it accelerates away from the station (between the two bridge in the background) with the 1P14 07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service.

165132 passes Moreton-in-Marsh's down home signal on 19 April 2018, as it accelerates away from the station with the 2E92 06:53 Worcester Foregate Street to Didcot Parkway GWR local stopping service. I was very glad to see that this was one of the diminishing number of Class 165s still in First Great Western's blue livery, a colour scheme that looks so much better than GWR's drab green. Photo taken from a farm occupation crossing, the view from which has been improved recently with the removal of some trees, although the two new signal cabinets in the foreground, replacing the single one behind, are now slightly intrusive.

43041 Meningitis Trust Support for Life pulls away from Moreton-in-Marsh station on 19 April 2018 with the 1P18 06:42 Hereford to Paddington GWR service. I carefully framed this to include not only the milepost in the foreground, and the buffer stop for the down refuge siding, but also to show the evidence of some quite serious lineside vegetation removal. The power car is just crossing the footpath that links Moreton-in-Marsh with the allotments on the Evenlode road.

800020 approaches the farm occupation crossing near Moreton-in-Marsh on 19 April 2018 with the 1W14 06:52 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. The bridge in the background is the recently reconstructed Dunstall Bridge.

165112 weaves across from the down to the up line at Moreton-in-Marsh on 19 April 2018, as it leaves the station with the 1P23 09:50 GWR service to Paddington. It had arrived a little earlier with 165109, as part of the 1W16 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern service.

800027 passes Cassington on 18 April 2018 with the 1P25 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. It is a pleasure to find a location that has actually now become better than I have ever known it photographically. After decades of neglect, the Cotswold Line is receiving plenty of attention from the chainsaw, and this viewpoint has benefited greatly.

The blackthorn is in bloom, as 67027 Charlotte passes the recently cleared location at Cassington on 18 April 2018 with the 1Z22 08:14 Tyseley to Bristol High Level Siding Network Rail test train. 67023 Stella is on the rear.

165121 passes Cassington on 18 April 2018 with the 1P27 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. There was no problem with standing in the middle of the road to take this picture, as the road only leads to a sewage works. However, between about 12:30 and 13:30 there was a surprising number of people casually walking up to the works and back again. Presumably this was workers from the nearby Worton Park Business Centre getting some exercise during their lunch break!

800027 arrives at Charlbury station on 18 April 2018 with the late running 1W29 14:21 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. Apart from the obvious difference in rail traction, this view differs from pictures I took here in the 1980s, as now virtually all the cars in the car park are either black or silver, with just the occasional white or red vehicle. What a difference to the myriad of bright colours that car manufacturers offered a few decades ago!

43172 Harry Patch - The last survivor of the trenches arrives at Charlbury station on 18 April 2018 with the 1P36 15:22 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. The First World War graphics on the power car are very tastefully done, but the same cannot be said for the graffiti covering the fourth coach!

The nameplate of 43172 Harry Patch - The last survivor of the trenches, pictured at Charlbury station on 18 April 2018. Harry Patch, was as the plate indicates, the last surviving soldier from the Great War, and also at one point the oldest man in Europe. He died, aged 111, in 2009. The coloured band on the nameplate represents Harry's eight medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal, Defence Medal, Légion d'honneur (Officer), Légion d'honneur (Chevalier), Order of Leopold, National Service Medal and the Hors de Combat Medal.

Framed by a couple of lineside bushes at Lyneham, 43165 Prince Michael of Kent heads south along the Cotswold Line on 18 April 2018 with the late running 1P37 15:51 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service.

With the River Evenlode in the foreground, 43196 passes Lyneham on 18 April 2018 with the 1P39 15:14 Hereford to Paddington GWR service. This location, on the narrow road that leads from Lyneham to Milton-under-Wychwood, offers a number of different 'train in landscape' type viewpoints.

Wouldn't this look a lot better if the DMU was in the old First Great Western blue, rather than GWR's drab dark green livery? Unfortunately, with all the three car Class 165/1s now in this poor livery, that wasn't going to be an option. 165109 passes Lyneham on 18 April 2018 with the 1W31 15:22 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service, running 25 minutes late, ironically at exactly the same time that the cancelled 1W32 15:52 London Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh was due. That was terminated at Oxford.

With a single green coach in an otherwise uniform blue rake, 43180 leads the 1W33 16:22 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service past Lyneham on 18 April 2018. This was still accelerating, after calling at the diminutive Shipton station, approximately half a mile away.

43017 Hannahs discoverhannahs.org passes Lyneham on 18 April 2018 with the 1W02 17:22 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. This is history repeating itself, as in 2018 I am taking every opportunity to photograph HSTs on the Cotswold Line before they disappear forever, whereas three decades earlier I was doing the same thing with Class 50s!

165122 passes Evenlode on 16 April 2018 with the 2E92 06:53 Worcester Foregate Street to Didcot Parkway GWR service. It is no longer possible to take a decent picture from the bridge on the Evenlode to Broadwell road, so this is a long lens shot from further up the road towards Evenlode village.

43070 The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers passes Moreton-in-Marsh's up advanced starter signal on 16 April 2018, as it accelerates away from the station with the 1P18 06:42 Hereford to Paddington GWR service. I was really surprised to get this picture in the sun, as although there were only a few clouds about at the time, just as it was approaching the sun went behind one of them. I'm sure as it drew level with the signal it was still dull. However, I fired off a burst anyway, and amazingly the fast moving cloud had cleared out of the way in the nick of time!

800012 approaches Moreton-in-Marsh on 16 April 2018 with the 1W14 06:52 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. The front of the unit is crossing the public footpath crossing that connects the southern end of Moreton-in-Marsh with the Evenlode road. The crossing was originally just behind where I am stood, but was shifted further south so that if anything was stored in the down refuge siding (very unlikely!), then the footpath could still be used. The buffer stop for the siding can be seen on the right. The official route for the footpath on this side is between the fences where I am stood, but virtually everyone now uses a short cut across the field on the left.

800008 leaves Moreton-in-Marsh on 16 April 2018 with the 1P22 08:25 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. In the background the track clearance gang can be seen at work, clearing several decades worth of vegetation from the trackside. Note the evidence of their recent work in the foreground.

43193 arrives at Moreton-in-Marsh station on 16 April 2018 with the 1W00 08:21 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. '90 Glorious Years' liveried 43027 is on the rear of the train. I had gone here specifically to photograph the Class 230 ex underground stock DMU working the 5Z01 09:40 Long Marston to Moreton-in-Marsh test run, but that only got as far as Honeybourne, before heading back to Long Marston, with the rest of the day's runs cancelled. The following day it did make it, but I didn't bother, as the weather was miserable.

43027 brings up the rear of the 1W00 08:21 Paddington to Hereford GWR service, as it leaves Moreton-in-Marsh on 16 April 2018. Leading power car 43193 is already underneath the roadbridge. The '90 Glorious Years' livery was applied to 43027 to mark HRH The Queen’s 90th Birthday in 2016. The large building in the background is a Budgens supermarket.

158815 arrives at Ribblehead station on 14 April 2018 with the 2H03 07:52 Carlisle to Leeds Northern service. As is often the case, the vast baulk of Whernside in the background is partly enveloped in low cloud.

50049 Defiance & 50007 Hercules cross Arten Gill Viaduct on 14 April 2018 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z50 06:01 Birmingham International to Carlisle 'Cumbrian Hoovers' railtour. This was well worth the ridiculously early start, long drive, and then strenuous climb to get to this location. Given the rarity of Class 50s on the Settle to Carlisle line, I was surprised that there were just five photographers at this spot, which is one of the best viewpoints on the route. Admittedly there are many other scenic locations on the line, and some are easier to get to!

66133 crosses Arten Gill Viaduct on 14 April 2018 with the 6E95 10:44 Newbiggin to Milford West Sidings gypsum empties. I certainly wouldn't normally bother to photograph this 'Shed' hauled working, especially in such grim light. However, as I had just photographed 50049 & 50007 on the 'Cumbrian Hovers' railtour from the other side of the valley, I decided it was worth the slightly difficult crossing of the stream, and extremely slippery and steep climb to get to this spot. In the event I managed it with just minutes to spare, as it was running 26 minutes early!

The 2C48 11:56 Carlisle to Lancaster Northern service arrives at Drigg station on 14 April 2018, with DBSO 9705 leading, and 37424 doing the pushing at the rear. The station is theoretically a request stop, but the train stopped anyway, despite there being no passengers either waiting or getting off the train.

37424 Avro Vulcan XH558 gets under way after calling at Drigg station on 14 April 2018 with the 2C48 11:56 Carlisle to Lancaster Northern service. DBSO 9705 is at the front of the train. The loco also carries the incorrect number 37558, in recognition of the last airworthy Avro Vulcan bomber, XH558, which remained in flying condition until October 2015.

Springtime on the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway. The line's newest acquisition, Krauss & Co 4-6-2 8457 approaches Muncaster Mill on 14 April 2018 with the 13:50 Ravenglass to Dalegarth service. The loco was built in 1927 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, held in Seville. After sporadic use until 1932 it was put into store, and amazingly stayed unused until the 1960s. After being purchased for an abortive railway project in Barcelona, it was eventually acquired by the Ravenglass line in 2015, funded by a 'Tran from Spain' appeal. After restoration the loco entered service on 17 March 2018, but will be officially unveiled on 5 May, when it will be receive the name Whillan Beck.

The Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway's diesel loco Lady Wakefield passes Muncaster Mill station in superb light on 14 April 2018 with the 13:30 Dalegarth to Ravenglass service. Note the disused siding to the right of the platform. The River Mite, after which one of the line's steam locomotives is named, can be seen above the first coach.

142035 passes between the primroses and the gorse, as it heads away from the camera at Nethertown on 14 April 2018 with the 2C37 13:50 Barrow-in-Furness to Carlisle Northern service. It will shortly be calling at the diminutive and isolated Nethertown station.

50007 Hercules & 50049 Defiance pass Nethertown on 14 April 2018 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z52 14:05 Carlisle to Birmingham International 'Cumbrian Hoovers' railtour. Needless to say, with such a superb location, unbroken sunshine, and the extreme rarity of Class 50s on the line, this remote location was packed with photographers!

68004 Rapid is hardly living up to its name, as it passes Nethertown at moderate speed on 14 April 2018 with the 2C34 14:33 Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness Northern service. 68017 Hornet is bringing up the rear.

37424 (37558) Avro Vulcan XH558 crosses Leven Viaduct on 14 April 2018 with the 2C31 17:31 Lancaster to Barrow-in-Furness Northern service. I assumed that the fast flowing River Leven would mean a reflection was unlikely, but was surprised when a partial reflection of the loco appeared in the still water in front of the rocky outcrop. A definite bonus on a perfect spring evening.

185126 crosses Leven Viaduct on 14 April 2018 with the 1C55 17:47 Preston to Barrow-in-Furness Northern service. Despite the ugliness of the Class 185 unit, I decided to wait for this after photographing 37424, as the lighting was so superb, and being over 230 miles from home, it is not a location I visit that often!

Engineering work in the Banbury area over the weekend of 18 & 19 April 1987 brought some welcome additional loco hauled trains to the Cotswold Line. 47610 just manages to catch a fleeting patch of sunshine, as it passes Chilson on Sunday 19 April 1987 with the diverted 1O34 07:30 Manchester Piccadilly to Portsmouth Harbour service. The Eastfield depot's West Highland Terrier logo on the bodyside is two years out of date, as the loco was allocated to Crewe in May 1985, and then Bescot a year later.

33051 Shakespeare Cliff & 33030 head up the Wylye Valley at Hanging Langford on 13 September 1997 with the Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z66 07:31 Victoria to Bristol Temple Meads' Six Five Special' railtour. This was billed as the final Class 33 hauled railtour on the national network.

As well as the Class 50s on the Waterloo to Exeter route, there was the occasional appearance of the Southern's characterful DEMUs to add interest to my many visits to the line in 1991. 207013 was the one that I always seemed to see, and here it is again, thumping away from Overton station on 6 April 1991 with the 14:15 Waterloo to Salisbury Network SouthEast service.

Class 423 4-VEP 3449 catches the late afternoon sun at Sevington on 1 December 2001, as it heads towards London with the 13:15 Ramsgate to Charing Cross (via Dover) Connex South Eastern service. Construction work for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1) can be seen in the background.

55011 arrives at Ridgmont station on 16 April 1988 with the 17:12 Kettering to Bletchley service. Not much survives from this view, other than the track and the platforms. Although nearly half the Class 122s survived the cutter's torch, 55011 was not one of them. It was cut up at Mayer Newman's yard at Snailwell in November 1990, just a few weeks after being withdrawn. The Bedford Arms pub on the right, with its local landmark 'car hub cap pergola', was demolished in around 2000. Unfortunately the lorry park that replaced it is hardly an aesthetic improvement. The large running in board, and the semaphore signals (one can just be seen in the background), have also been removed.

Running 75 minutes early, 47196 passes South Moreton on a bright, but slightly misty 12 September 1985 with the 6M23 10:12 Fawley to Longport LPG tanks. This long standing working later acquired a more diverse look, when bitumen tanks for Bromford Bridge were added to the train.

43167 passes South Moreton on 12 September 1985 with the 1F33 12:35 Oxford to Paddington service. Note the unusual formation, with a second TGS vehicle replacing one of the trailer first coaches at the head of the train. The early running 6M23 10:12 Fawley to Longport LPG tanks can just be seen disappearing into the distance.

37671 Tre Pol and Pen was an appropriate choice of visiting locomotive for the Bodmin & Wenford Railway's Diesel Gala on 23 September 1995. Unfortunately when the 14:00 train from Bodmin General left for Bodmin Parkway, the lighting was terrible, but a few minutes earlier, when the loco was backing onto the train, the sun was shining. At least this picture also gives an uninterrupted view of the station. The line on the left leads to Boscarne Junction.

Network SouthEast in the Peak District! With its inappropriate livery, and obsolete London set number, L840 (53322 & 53311) approaches Bamford on 10 March 1997 with the 12:47 Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield service. The bridge in the background carries the line over the River Derwent.

43151 passes evidence of recent vegetation clearance at Aldington on 11 April 2018, as it accelerates away from Evesham with the late running 1P31 12:09 Hereford to Paddington GWR service. The weather was grim, but thankfully free of the thick fog that enveloped the Cotswold Hills, as I drove across from West Oxfordshire.

Running exactly to time, 47812 passes Aldington on 11 April 2018 with the 6Z86 13:12 Long Marston to Eastleigh Arlington, conveying a rake of JSA bogie covered steel coil carrying wagons. This Rail Operations Group operated train had originally been booked to travel via Oxford, after a reversal at Worcester. I thought this was too good to be true, and sure enough a revised path appeared, taking it the long way round via Birmingham, adding well over three hours to the journey time! The track clearance gang have been busy here, albeit only on one side of the line. Note the new houses in the background, as yet another green field succumbs to the outward expansion of Evesham.

Class 165s are common on the Cotswold Line, but this one is a little different, as instead of the usual Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh, Great Malvern or Worcester services, this is something altogether different. 165128 passes Shorthampton in the rain on 9 April 2018 with the 5Q94 12:49 Wolverton Centre Sidings to Long Marston ECS. This Rail Operations Group working had presumably travelled via London due to gauging issues, as the loco hauled EMU stock moves from either Wolverton or Bedford travel via Birmingham. The sound of chainsaws could be heard in the distance here, as track workers (some of whom can just be seen underneath the bridge in the background) were carrying out some long overdue vegetation clearance.

43158 passes Shorthampton in the rain on 9 April 2018 with the 1P36 15:22 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. The days of HSTs on the Cotswold Line are numbered, and already by this date the majority of the Great Malvern and Worcester trains have succumbed to the new Class 800 DMUs.

This is clearly not what I was expecting! Having positioned myself in the ideal spot at Broad Marston on 17 April 1991, ready to photograph the 6B70 08:10 Worcester to Long Marston Speedlink trip, I was not impressed when 47293 rolled round the corner on its own, obviously running as 0B70. However, with ideal spring lighting, this record shot was taken. At least it left Long Marston shortly afterwards with a lengthy train.

47293 passes Ashchurch on 17 April 1991 with the 6B53 Worcester to Gloucester Speedlink trip. The consist is now in reverse order compared with when I photographed it leaving Long Marston, as the train reversed at Worcester Shrub Hill. Although the lighting was getting very head on by 12:00, I'm still glad it didn't pass by in the cloud, which is clearly not very far away.

L200 (51215 & 54081) approaches Goring on 28 August 1991 with the 2C51 15:55 Bicester Town to Reading Network SouthEast service. Around this time the two car Class 101s were generally used on the Bicester trains, with the majority of the other local services through the Thames Valley worked by three car Pressed Steel Class 117s.

876 (53305 & 51231) climbs Dauntsey Bank, and passes Tockenham Wick in the gloom on 14 March 1991 with the 2A09 07:38 Highbridge to Swindon service. Highbridge to Swindon seems an unlikely start and finish point for a train!

165038 passes Shottesbrooke on 5 September 1992 with the 1E39 09:00 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. 165038 was just five months old when this picture was taken, and of course being a Class 165/0 unit, is operating away from its intended route. Due to the late delivery of the Thames Valley fleet of 165/1s, the eleven three car 165/0s that were destined for the Chiltern Line, were loaned to the Paddington to Oxford route.

Roxton Sidings Signal Box, on the Barnetby to Grimsby line, was erected by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1883. As well as overseeing the gates on the Immingham to Keelby minor road, it also controlled access to a single short siding, shown on the 1905 25 inch Ordnance Survey map as Immingham Siding. This was of course long before the port of Immingham with its associated maze of sidings was constructed. The box is pictured here on 8 December 2001.

37152 & 37165 pass Gisburn on 17 April 1999 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z44 12:24 Carlisle to Banbury 'Settle Excursioner' railtour. This was one of 37152's last workings, as it was withdrawn shortly afterwards. Happily however, after spending several years in store, it was rescued from the scrap line, and has now entered the world of preservation.

142001 & 156429 call at Frodsham station on 17 September 1994 with the 14:51 Llandudno to Manchester Piccadilly service. Wise passengers should have chosen carefully where they sat on this train, selecting either the bouncing harsh ride in the leading Pacer, or the slightly more sophisticated ambience of the Sprinter!

08711 shunts a single polybulk wagon at Whitemoor Yard on 16 August 1988. Such was the volume of traffic handled at this East Anglian outpost at March in the 1980s, that this wasn't the only Class 08 seen on this particular day.

170111 crosses over the River Nene near Irchester on 15 December 2001 with the 09:56 Nottingham to St Pancras Midland Mainline service. I was extremely lucky with the lighting here, as for quite some time the scene was lit by the low winter sun, while quite clearly a few miles further north everything would be under a large area of dark clouds.

The beginning of the end! The General Motors invasion, which signalled the end of the interesting variety of traction on the national network began in 1998, and caused me to partially lose interest in the freight scene for a number of years. Brand new 66041, 66034, 66037 & 66039 pass Coedkernew on 19 December 1998, en-route from Newport to Margam, for storage over the Christmas period. They had been unloaded from the M.V.Fairload two days earlier, and this is therefore their first movement in the UK, so I suppose was worth recording, despite the grim weather.

47638 County of Kent just manages to avoid the worst of the afternoon shadows, as it traverses the reverse curves near Tackley on 23 April 1988 with the 1O90 10:50 Glasgow Central to Eastbourne service. This location used to be more popular with photographers in the 1960s than it is now, partly because of the gradient, which made steam locos heading in the opposite direction work hard, but also because there wasn't so many lineside bushes to get in the way of the picture!

L411 (51388, 59498 & 51346) passes Ascott-under-Wychwood's leaning down starter signal on 19 July 1986 with the 2B55 09:23 Oxford to Hereford service. This was Ascott-under-Wychwood's sole remaining semaphore signal at the time.

37215 emerges from Greet Tunnel on 25 July 2001 with a Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway freight charter. Slightly head on lighting, but a nice composition, with the tunnel entrance framed by the signal and lineside tree.

The Mute Swan takes no notice of either me, or the train, as 165134 passes Adlestrop on 5 April 2018 with the 2E92 06:53 Worcester Foregate Street to Didcot Parkway GWR service. I hadn't intended to photograph this here, but seeing the swan sat in the partly flooded field, I thought it might be worth a look.

43153 passes underneath the recently rebuilt Dunstall Bridge, just to the south of Moreton-in-Marsh, on 5 April 2018 with the 1P18 06:42 Hereford to Paddington GWR service. The earlier stone built bridge had developed quite a noticeable dip in the centre of the arch.

After years of total neglect, 2018 finally sees some vegetation clearance along the Cotswold Line. Several large trees have disappeared from this view from Dunstall Bridge, Moreton-in-Marsh. 800034 heads north on 5 April 2018 with the 1W14 06:52 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service.

800033 passes Dunstall Bridge, Moreton-in-Marsh, on 5 April 2018 with the 1P22 08:25 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. There are various viewpoints possible at this location, and for this one I have deliberately gone for the 'train in the landscape' type of picture.

With the recently rebuilt Dunstall Bridge in the background, 165116 is just a short distance into its journey on 5 April 2018 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. There is plenty of evidence of recent vegetation clearance, including some fairly substantial trees. The trunk of the tree in the middle distance was well over a foot in diameter, yet none of the these trees were more than small bushes in the 1980s!

Hall Class 4-6-0 7903 Foremarke Hall passes Little Buckland on 5 April 2018 with the 10:50 Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse service. This is on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's newly opened northern extension, which had opened for public services just a few days earlier. This picture was going to be enlivened by a grazing horse in the foreground, but just before the train appeared it wandered out of the picture, only to return after it had passed! And yes, I did consider Photoshopping it in anyway!

With the wooded slopes of Bredon Hill in the background, Manor Class 4-6-0 7820 Dinmore Manor passes Laverton on 5 April 2018 with the 10:55 Cheltenham Racecourse to Broadway service. This is on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's recently opened northern extension.

43023 Sqn Ldr Harold Starr One of the Few rounds the sharp curve at Aston Magna on 5 April 2018 with the 1P31 12:09 Hereford to Paddington GWR service. This was running five minutes late, but its next booked stop at Moreton-in-Marsh was for ten minutes, so it was able to get back on time again.

165117 approaches the footbridge in the fields near Yarnton on 4 April 2018 with the 2M40 14:09 Didcot Parkway to Banbury GWR service. This was in an unexpected break between the showers, with the sun almost coming out. However, the dark clouds in the background indicates that the next lot of rain wasn't very far away!

66413 passes Yarnton in the rain on 4 April 2018 with the 4M61 13:00 Southampton Maritime to Trafford Park freightliner. The Freightliner stickers on the front and cabside are the only clue to the loco's new owners, with the livery still being DRS blue.

Biffa the Red Engine! With a livery this garish, you almost expect to see a smiley face on the front! 66783 The Flying Dustman passes Yarnton in the rain on 4 April 2018 with the 6E45 12:05 Theale to Immingham empty oil tanks. The bright orangey red body, with orange cabs certainly shows up well in the dull light, and despite the poor weather I thought it worth going out to record this working, as the loco is still in ex-works condition, after having been named just a week earlier.

158852 arrives at Lowdham on 31 March 2018 with the 2N35 11:37 Matlock to Newark Castle East Midlands Trains service. Lowdham Signal Box closed in 2016, which explains the 1896 - 2016 notice in the window.

60007 The Spirit of Tom Kendell passes through Lowdham station in the pouring rain on 31 March 2018 with the 6E54 10:40 Kingsbury to Humber Oil Refinery empty oil tanks. Lowdham may have lost its goods handling facilities in the 1960s, but it does have a grounded ex BR ventilated van, now used for storage.

A typical burst of Sulzer clag, as 47195 passes Stoke Orchard on 13 March 1982 with the 1V89 12:23 Manchester Piccadilly to Paignton service. This used to be a favourite location for watching trains go by (with locals, as well as photographers), but sadly this is no longer possible, due to two things that hardly existed in 1982 - palisade fencing, and uncontrolled lineside vegetation!

A meeting of local stopping trains at Winchfield on 28 August 1987. Class 423 4-VEP 3061 pulls out of the station with the 13:42 Waterloo to Bournemouth Network SouthEast service, while in the other platform, classmate 7810 and an unidentified two car unit form the 13:12 Bournemouth to Waterloo.

33030 passes Upton Scudamore on 23 September 1986 with the 1O42 13:05 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour service. The day had started foggy, then become sunny, but by this time in the afternoon, the sun had faded out into high cloud.

33109 (D6525) Captain Bill Smith RNR & 33208 (D6593) pass Hargrave in the rain on 20 May 2000 with the returning Chester to Alton 'Cheshire Cromptons' railtour. The full Southern effect here, with green coaching stock as well as Southern locomotives. Coincidentally, this was exactly five years to the day since I photographed 31105 & 31512 on a railtour at this location.

165110 passes Shipton during a break between the showers on 29 March 2018 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. The recently cleared flat area on the right marks the site of Shipton station's former cattle dock.

165127 approaches Shipton in the rain on 29 March 2018 with the 5Q66 09:00 Reading Traincare Depot to Long Marston ECS. In addition to their now declining use on passenger trains on the route, in early 2018 the Cotswold Line is seeing numerous Class 165 and 166 empty stock moves, as they travel to and from Long Marston for modifications.

My first picture of a two car Class 165/1 in GWR's green livery. With all the three car units now wearing this drab colour scheme, a start has been made on spoiling the look of the two car units! 165121 slowly approaches Culham in the rain on 28 March 2018 with the 2L38 13:29 Didcot Parkway to Oxford service. This is one of the local shuttle services that have angered local residents by replacing direct London trains. This is the result of the electfrication between London and Didcot.

With the sad remains of the disused Didcot Power Station dominating the background, 66723 Chinook approaches Culham on 28 March 2018 with the 6M40 11:56 Westbury to Stud Farm ballast empties. Note that the bodyside number has been altered to read ZA723, in recognition of the RAF's Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters, which also explains the bodyside graphic.

66594 NYK Spirit of Kyoto & 66538 approach Culham on 28 March 2018 with the 4E18 09:47 Fairwater Yard to Doncaster Wood Yard reclaimed concrete sleepers. Although at present spared the unsightly mess of electfrication, the new slightly over the top (literally!) signal in the background hardy improves the scene.

66789 British Rail 1948-1997 approaches Culham on 28 March 2018 with the 6E45 12:05 Theale to Immingham empty oil tanks. It was raining when I arrived at this location, but this train was running half an hour late, and by that time some unexpected sunshine was occasionally breaking through the clouds, hence the less than ideal backlighting. Even with the late running, there was still plenty of time for another picture the other side of Oxford.

66789 British Rail 1948-1997 passes Wolvercote on 28 March 2018 with the 6E45 12:05 Theale to Immingham empty oil tanks. I had already photographed this train at Culham, but its booked stop at Oxford North Junction easily allowed a second picture. There are numerous 'what if' scenarios, both in model form, and on the internet, showing what various vintage locos would look like if they had lasted long enough to receive modern liveries. GBRf have chosen the other route, showing what a Class 66 would have looked like if built thirty years earlier, and it certainly looks very smart!

A Class 165 and 166 meeting at Shottesbrooke on 15 May 1993. 165127 heads towards London with the 2A47 12:42 Reading to Paddington Network SouthEast service, while 166204 recedes into the distance with the 2F35 12:20 Paddington to Oxford. Both units look pristine, as indeed they should, both being virtually new. 165127 had been in traffic for just six months, while 166204 was just a month old when this picture was taken. Judging by the streaks coming down from the dark clouds in the background, it looks like the residents of Twyford are getting a soaking!

Running a staggering 73 minutes early, 56078 Doncaster Enterprise approaches Church Fenton on 31 March 2004 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z57 12:41 York to York 'Twilight Grids' railtour. This was a mini-tour run as part of the official last Class 56 tour.

With Three Horse Shoes Signal Box on the left, and the Three Horseshoes pub on the right, 56059 heads east across the flat Fenland landscape on 16 August 1988 with the 6L23 10:00 Redland stone train from Mountsorrel. This would be split upon arrival at March, with separate portions going forward to Barham and Kennett.

43023 climbs Sapperton Bank on 7 March 1982 with the 1A75 10:50 Swansea to Paddington service. South Wales trains were diverted this way on Sundays throughout the winter timetable. The location is the footpath crossing near the village of Frampton Mansell, with the valley of the River Frome on the right. Note the vintage telegraph poles, which as they ran along the south side of the line, severely compromised some otherwise excellent viewpoints. The poles have now gone, but so too have all the viewpoints!