Recent Additions |
43009 leads the 1C62 17:45 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads service past Cholsey on 22 July 1994. This used to be an excellent photographic location prior to electrification, although a row of trees alongside the road from Manor Farm to Lees Cottages annoyingly prevented a wider view than this. |
||
37425 passes Gilfach on 24 April 2004 with the 2R18 10:59 Cardiff Central to Rhymney service. The houses on Eastview Terrace, Gilfach Street and Cardiff Road form an impressive, and distinctly Welsh, backdrop. |
||
Royal Scot Class 4-6-0 46100 Royal Scot passes Churchill Heath in failing light on 16 March 2024 with the Saphos Trains 1Z48 15:50 Worcester Shrub Hill to Northampton 'Cotswold Explorer' railtour. This had obviously made a vigorous ascent of Campden Bank, as although the departure from Worcester was 21 minutes late, it was only running 9 minutes behind time when it passed me. D1935 (47805) Roger Hosking MA 1925 - 2013 is bringing up the rear. |
||
D1935 (47805) Roger Hosking MA 1925 - 2013 brings up the rear of the Saphos Trains 1Z48 15:50 Worcester Shrub Hill to Northampton 'Cotswold Explorer' railtour at Churchill Heath on 16 March 2024. LMS Royal Scot Class 4-6-0 46100 Royal Scot is at the front of the train. |
||
57313 Scarborough Castle passes Chilson on 15 March 2024 with the Northern Belle 1Z24 08:45 Paddington to Evesham 'Gold Cup Special' charter, with 57601 Windsor Castle bringing up the rear. Just as in the previous year, this was running late, owing to having to wait for a late running GWR IET to clear the single track section of the Cotswold Line between Charlbury and Wolvercote Junction. For me this was good news, as at the booked time it was very dull, but after a short period of rain, the sun came out briefly just as the rain passed. |
||
57601 Windsor Castle brings up the rear of the Northern Belle 1Z24 08:45 Paddington to Evesham 'Gold Cup Special' charter at Chilson on 15 March 2024. 57313 Scarborough Castle is at the front of the train. This was running 17 minutes late, due to a late running southbound GWR service. After a brief downpour the rain had cleared and the sun had come out, but with a dark background in both directions, it was obvious that the patch of sunshine only extended a few hundred yards in each direction, so clearly I had picked the right location! |
||
185116 & 185137 hold up the traffic at Appleby level crossing on 12 March 2024, as they head westwards with the 1B77 11:23 Cleethorpes to Liverpool Lime Street TransPennine Express service. The section of brick wall to the left of the train is all that remains of Appleby station, which closed in 1967. |
||
185150 & 185124 pass the Grade II listed Appleby (Lincs) Signal Box on 12 March 2024 with the 1B72 09:19 Liverpool Lime Street to Cleethorpes TransPennine Express service. The signal box was taken out of use in 2015. |
||
66190 Martin House Children's Hospice passes the disused, but preserved, Appleby (Lincs) Signal Box on 12 March 2024 with the 4R50 10:31 Drax Power Station to Immingham biomass empties. This was running 35 minutes late, which was OK, as it meant the rain had stopped! |
||
66053 approaches Appleby level crossing on 12 March 2024 with the 6H65 12:15 Immingham to Drax Power Station biomass. Although now only a minor road, 2,000 years ago this road was part of Ermine Street, the Roman route linking Lincoln to Winteringham, on the banks of the Humber Estuary. | ||
Nottingham Express Transit tram 206 arrives at Butler's Hill in the rain on 10 March 2024 with the 10:55 Toton Lane to Hucknall service. This Bombardier Incentro AT6/5 tram is wearing National Trust Blossom Watch advertising vinyls. |
||
Nottingham Express Transit Alstom Citadis tram 225 arrives at Butler's Hill in the rain on 10 March 2024 with the 12:00 Hucknall to Toton Lane service. The track behind the fence is the East Midlands Railway Nottingham to Worksop 'Robin Hood Line'. |
||
Nottingham Express Transit Alstom Citadis trams 234 George Africanus & 225 stand at Toton Lane on 10 March 2024. 234 is just about to depart with the 13:10 service to Hucknall, and 225 had just arrived with the with the 12:00 service from Hucknall. Toton Lane is the most westerly point of Nottingham's tram network. |
||
Nottingham Express Transit tram 204 Erica Beardsmore stands at Hucknall on 10 March 2024, after having just arrived with the 13:45 service from Toton Lane. The orange MHR data consultancy livery certainly brightens up the scene on a very dull and rainy day! |
||
66734 Platinum Jubilee passes Uffington on 8 March 2024 with the 6V32 10:22 Tilbury to Trostre Works steel empties. Although there was a lot of cloud around, I thought it was worth the short drive and long walk for a picture of this purple loco. A good decision, as virtually all of the cloud melted away, to leave a perfect early spring afternoon. |
||
66148 Maritime Intermodal Seven passes Uffington on 8 March 2024 with the 6B33 13:53 Theale to Robeston empty oil tanks. The Class 60s have gone, and DB's re-geared Class 66/6s are yet to appear, so early 2024 sees ordinary Class 66/0s on these workings. |
||
No more red Class 60s in the Vale of White Horse, but in 2024 it is still possible to see a blue one! 60028 trundles slowly along the down relief line at Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 8 March 2024 with the 6Z23 15:55 Appleford Sidings to Tytherington stone empties. |
||
59003 Yeoman Highlander passes Uffington on 7 March 2024 with the 6M50 07:13 Westbury to Bescot departmental working, which on this occasion was terminated at Hinksey. This was running over an hour early, after missing out its booked stop at Swindon Stratton Green, something which seems to happen quite a lot in early 2024. GBRf's solitary Class 59 is on hire to Colas. This is my first picture of 59003 since it returned to traffic following repairs to the damage caused by the botched attempt to drag a DMU out of Salisbury Tunnel, after the accident in October 2021. |
||
66615 passes Compton Beauchamp on 7 March 2024 with the 6A16 07:44 Whatley Quarry to Oxford Banbury Road stone train. Unfortunately this once excellent photographic location is now totally ruined by the overhead wiring and masts. However, because the masts are only on the south side of the line at this point, there is a reasonable shot from the other side, if there is no sun. As this was forecast to be a completely dull day, I was in position on the other side of the bridge, waiting for this train. Just as it came into view the sun came out (almost the only time it appeared all day!), and so I had to rush across the bridge, to get this properly lit, but untidy picture. |
||
66710 Phil Packer passes through Hungerford station on 6 March 2024 with the 6Z59 02:36 Tytherington to Appleford Sidings stone train. This picture was just a few seconds away from being ruined by the 6C31 10:14 Theale to Whatley Quarry stone empties, the back end of which had only just disappeared from view. |
||
60029 Ben Nevis passes through Hungerford station on 6 March 2024 with the 6Z51 08:28 Tytherington to Appleford Sidings stone train. It was very lucky that this was running six minutes late, as the sun was only just starting to come out. Had it been on time there would have been no sun at all. When I arrived an hour earlier, the whole area was enveloped in thick fog! |
||
66614 1916 Poppy 2016 passes through Hungerford station on 6 March 2024 with the 6A50 10:26 Whatley Quarry to Hanwell Bridge Loop stone train. Midday, and the last of the fog has finally disappeared - two hours later than forecast! |
||
165125 approaches Station Road level crossing, as it prepares to call at Hungerford station on 6 March 2024 with the 2T14 11:57 Bedwyn to Newbury GWR service. The footpath on the left of the picture links the station with Hungerford High Street. |
||
59202 Pride of Ferrybridge passes Hungerford Common on 6 March 2024 with the 7A60 10:50 Merehead Quarry to Colnbrook stone train. This was running exactly on time here, but it would soon encounters delays in the Newbury area, resulting in it running over an hour late. The depression in the foreground is probably the site of an old gravel pit. |
||
'We Stand With Ukraine' branded 66099 passes Yarnton on 4 March 2024 with the 4O21 09:20 Trafford Park to Southampton Western Docks intermodal. Unfortunately the sun disappeared into high cloud just after I arrived at this location! |
||
Running 20 minutes early, 153311 passes Yarnton on 4 March 2024 with the 2Q11 10:53 Derby RTC to Eastleigh Network Rail test train. In 2021 Network Rail acquired four of these units from East Midlands Trains (153311, 153376, 153379 & 153385) for infrastructure monitor workings. |
||
66305 is so filthy that it is difficult to tell what livery it is wearing, as it passes Yarnton on 4 March 2024 with the 4M19 11:47 Southampton Western Docks to East Midlands Gateway intermodal. Someone has cleaned around the number on the front, and added various other markings, including what appears to be a 51F (West Auckland) shed code! |
||
A colourful Railfreight Distribution, Regional Railways & InterCity combination at Portway on 5 June 1993. 47033 heads south with the 1M93 10:14 Great Yarmouth to Birmingham New Street service. This train was booked for a Railfreight Distribution Class 47 during summer 1993. |
||
Running 40 minutes late, 150146 passes the semaphore signals at Cosford on 31 May 1989 with the 13:28 Birmingham New Street to Aberystwyth service. This unit ran for a couple of years as a three car unit, with vehicle 52253 from Class 150/2 150253 in the centre, made much more obvious by the mismatched liveries. |
||
L406 (51383, 59493 & 51341) runs along the down relief line at South Moreton on 12 September 1985 with the 2B72 16:35 Reading to Moreton-in-Marsh service. This used to be one of my favourite locations in the Didcot area, now sadly lost under a mass of 25kV wires! |
||
A pair of Class 117s units worked the 2A62 09:01 Paddington to Oxford service on 1 December 1983. L405 (51340, 59491 & 51381) & L416 (51353, 59505 & 51395) are pictured passing through Radley station. Note that there was road access to both platforms at this time. |
||
66539 needs all of its 3,200 hp to haul the ten coach Pathfinder Tours 1Z86 14:15 Folkestone Harbour to Crewe 'Hop'n'Stop' railtour up the ferocious 1 in 30 gradient from Folkestone Harbour to Folkestone East on 11 May 2002. Although it appears to be running wrong line, the rust on the other line indicates that only one line was in use. The third rail was also out of use. |
||
66536 approaches Banbury on 24 April 2002 with the 4O29 14:14 Trafford Park to Southampton Maritime freightliner. At this time this train was often still worked by Class 57s, as Freightliner's 66s were still being delivered. 66536 had arrived in the country just six months earlier. |
||
It's been a very long time since the view was anything like as open as this at Didcot North Junction. L419 (51356, 59508 & 51398) approaches the junction on 9 December 1986 with the 2C09 09:21 Oxford to Didcot Parkway service. The Paddington destination blind is a red herring! Unusually, this short distance working ran non-stop. Appleford Signal Box can be seen in the distance, directly above the DMU. |
||
33065 & 33009 arrive at Westbury in very dull conditions on 5 August 1991 with the 6V96 09:38 Tonbridge to Meldon Quarry ballast empties. Both these locomotives received names the following month, 33065 becoming Sealion, and 33009 becoming Walrus. |
||
45012 passes through Oxford station on 2 April 1983 with the T & N Railtours 1Z42 07:43 Bolton to Swindon ' Swindon Ambassador II' railtour. The Peak took over from 40035 at Birmingham New Street. A combination of bad planning and late running has resulted in a picture with extremely head on lighting. |
||
37258 heads towards the Severn Tunnel with a short engineer's train on 29 April 1993. It is pictured here passing the bus depot at Patchway. This location was a bit restricted for westbound trains, but the gap is just big enough for this short train! |
||
37258 arrives at Lydney on 23 April 1994 with the Monmouthshire Railway Society 08:08 Newport to Gwaun-cae-Gurwen 'Gwaun-cae-Gurwen Growler II' railtour. It is just about to pass over Harbour Road level crossing, which at the time was controlled by the Lydney Crossing Ground Frame (formerly Lydney West Signal Box). The box (which has subsequently been removed) was unusual in that it was built on girders over a steam. Note the bridge lintel and handrail in front of the box. |
||
Class 423 4-VEP 3556 passes Nutfield station on 11 May 2002 with the 16:32 Horsham to Tonbridge Connex South Eastern service. Although it looks like this location is surrounded by fields, it is in fact in the centre of South Nutfield village. |
||
43098 arrives at Kingham station on 25 June 1995 with the 11:58 Manchester Piccadilly to Paddington service. Throughout the 1990s the Cotswold Line benefited from long distance trains diverted over the route on Sundays, firstly with Class 47s, latterly with HSTs. |
||
31452 approaches Firsby on 17 September 1988 with the 1D23 13:45 Skegness to Leeds service. This was in the days when there was a proper train service to the East Coast resort during the summer, rather than just a basic DMU service. The train is just about to negotiate the almost 120 degree curve, where the line from Skegness joins the former Louth to Boston line. The line north from here to Louth closed in 1970. |
||
What a pity there's no train! 37135 & 37189 head west past Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, in perfect winter light on 9 December 1986. Denchworth road bridge, on the Denchworth to Grove road, can be seen in the background. This was rebuilt a few years later. |
||
47620 Windsor Castle passes the disused signal box at Exminster on 22 April 1988 with the 1S15 16:20 Penzance to Glasgow Central parcels. The wide area of ballast on either side of the lines here identifies this as the site of Exminster station, which closed in 1964. |
||
43194 rounds the curve past the derelict shell of Aynho Junction Signal Box on 12 July 1999, as it heads north with the 1M41 17:20 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin CrossCountry service. A Class 165 DMU waits to follow it with the 18:18 Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill Chiltern Railways service. |
||
150265 passes Claverham on 10 August 1989 with the 2C28 13:18 Bristol Temple Meads to Taunton service. At this time the new Sprinters were slowly taking over from first generation units, and anything could turn up. On this day the train an hour earlier had been worked by Class 108 set B967. |
||
56129 passes Hinksey Yard on 8 July 1999 with the 6M73 19:05 Swindon to Liverpool Alexandra Dock scrap. This train ran on Mondays and Thursdays, conveying scrap from the European Metal Recycling (formerly Coopers Metals) site next to Highworth Junction, Swindon. |
||
60064 passes Melton Ross on 30 October 1998 with the 6K23 11:24 Santon to Immingham iron ore empties. At this time there was a still a constant procession of freight trains at this location, attracting photographers from far and wide. |
||
Brand new 60065 Kinder Low approaches Culham on 10 July 1991 with the 7V85 14:26 Toton to Didcot Power Station MGR. Over the next eighteen months, Class 60s gradually took over these working from Class 56s & 58s. Official sources say that this loco entered traffic in September 1991, so it proves that you can't always believe what you see in print! |
||
43175 runs alongside the Kennet & Avon Canal at Crofton on 23 September 1986 with the 1C28 10:10 Paddington to Plymouth service. Not quite a perfect reflection, due to the slight breeze, but there was little prospect of any boats passing by and disturbing the water, as the canal had not yet been fully reopened at the time. It's also a pity that the family of swans wasn't a little nearer! |
||
After having just traversed the Knowsley Freight Terminal branch, 37308 runs alongside Headbolt Lane, as it approaches Dale Lane, Kirkby, on 12 April 2003 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z38 14:04 Preston to Reading 'Wizard Express' railtour. 37047 is bringing up the rear. |
||
37012 heads north at Defford on 23 July 1994 with Plasser & Theurer USP5000C Ballast Regulator 77325. The loco may have lost its former Loch Rannoch nameplates, but it seems to have gained a comic face below the front headlight! |
||
66553 passes Brocklesby on 10 May 2003 with the 4G37 07:20 Ferrybridge Power Station to Immingham coal empties. The grassy area on the left is now a properly surfaced Network Rail car park, complete with Armco barriers. |
||
58032 Thoresby Colliery passes Lea Marston on 29 August 1998 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z27 16:30 Toton to Landor Street Junction 'Totoniser' railtour. This was the return working of a tour that visited the Toton Open Day. 47200 Herbert Austin & 47363 took over the train at Landor Street Junction. |
||
The driver of 47536 piles on the power, as he passes Didcot North Junction on 9 December 1986 with the 1S39 08:34 Poole to Glasgow Central service. The footbridge now links a housing estate on the left to an industrial estate on the right, neither of which were there in 1986. At the time the footpath just linked Didcot to the villages of Appleford and Long Wittenham. |
||
47543 leaves Oxford station on 1 December 1983 with the 1O01 06:00 Derby to Poole service. The sidings on both sides of the main line have subsequently been removed, and the scrapyard on the right is now a car park. |
||
47522 Doncaster Enterprise heads through the Vale of White Horse, near Compton Beauchamp on 30 August 1991 with the 1B95 16:02 Paddington to Swansea parcels. Note the inclusion of an InterCity liveried vehicle near the rear of the train. |
||
47582 County of Norfolk & Class 71 electric loco E5001 stand in the yard at Basingstoke on 25 September 1988. E5001 had been a static exhibit in Basingstoke station, during the Winchfield 150 event. The car park in the background has now been upgraded to a multi-level structure, which blocks the view of the old goods yard stables, which can clearly be seen in this view. The stables have remarkably survived, although now nearly unrecognisable after conversion into a car wash. If you are wondering about the blurred foliage in the top left hand corner of the picture, that is caused by wind movement, as this is a tripod mounted shot, taken at 1/8sec f16 on a 200mm lens. |
||
47772 descends the 1 in 37 Lickey Incline on 10 September 1994 with the Nenta Train Tours 06:45 Norwich to Cardiff Central 'Heart of Wales Explorer' railtour. Whether by accident or design, consecutively numbered 47773 Reservist worked the return leg of the tour. |
||
Plasser & Theurer 07-16 Universal Tamper / Liner 73265 stands in the siding near the end of Gillingham station's platform on 25 July 1992. The large Kemira Fertiliser building in the background is now occupied by the removal company, Johnson's of Shaftesbury. |
||
It used to be quite common to see grounded railway van bodies used for all kinds of non-railway purposes, after their life on the railways was over. In more recent times I have even seen a former Avon County Council 'Binliner' rubbish container in farm use, ironically on the course of the disused Fairford Branch. Railway tank wagons are less commonly seen, but on 6 July 1985, I came across this one high up on the Cotswolds near Northleach. Minus its wheels, former BRT tank 57120 was being used to store diesel for vehicles involved in laying a cross country pipeline. The elevated position meaning that it could gravity feed the vehicles. |
||
33008 Eastleigh races through Whitchurch station on 9 March 1991 with the late running 1V13 13:15 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service, which on this occasion had started at Wimbledon. The 33 was removed at Salisbury, in favour of a Class 47. This was in the brief period when Eastleigh's pet loco was in engineers livery, between two spells of it being painted in a much more interesting version of its original 1960s green colour scheme. |
||
33206 heads west past Wanshurst Green on 15 March 1986. The loco's narrow 'Hastings' profile is very evident in this view. The Class 33/2 subclass consisted of 12 locos built especially for the restricted clearance in the tunnels between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings. |
||
33109 Captain Bill Smith RNR slowly pulls into Churston station on 25 May 1996 with a short engineer's train. This was one of a number of visiting locos taking part in the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway's Diesel Gala. |
||
Sunday engineering work in the 1980s could often produce a wide variety of traction, and on 28 September 1986 this contrasting choice of motive power was in use at Whitacre Junction. 20169 & 20135 stand in the loop with a spoil and ballast empties train, while 58019 is parked right behind it with a short rake of Seacow ballast hoppers. Although all three locos have their engines running, it would be another two hours before either of them moved! |
||
43163 approaches Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 5 June 1994 with the 1A18 08:00 Swansea to Paddington service. What the Class 165 DMU is doing on the down relief line is a mystery, although maybe it could be crew training in preparation for the short lived Oxford to Bristol service that was introduced a few years later. |
||
43110 Darlington passes the site of Finedon station on 26 September 1987 with the 07:32 Nottingham to St Pancras service. By the time I revisited this location two years later, the relief lines had been lifted. The station closed to passengers in 1940, but stayed open for freight traffic until 1964. |
||
56006 Ferrybridge C Power Station passes underneath the A63 road bridge at Monk Fryston, as it approaches Milford Junction on 27 April 1996 with yet another rake of empty HAA hoppers. MGR coal traffic was still really important at the time, and this location was well known for its constant procession of coal trains. All history now! |
||
47806 approaches Tiverton Parkway on 11 August 1999 with the 1V50 08:40 Glasgow Central to Penzance Virgin CrossCountry service. The traffic on the M5 motorway in the background was at a total standstill because of an accident a little further to the north. This was not helped by the traffic being heavier than normal due to people returning from the West Country after witnessing the total solar eclipse. Luckily I managed to avoid this traffic jam by using local roads to get to the next junction. |
||
47820 approaches Bromsgrove on 23 September 1989 with the Pathfinder Tours Swindon to Blackpool North 'Lakes & Lights Executive' railtour. The Executive series of trains run by Pathfinder at the time were aimed at the leisure, rather than the enthusiast market, and so usually featured Class 47s. 47820 had only just been renumbered from 47665 a few days earlier. |
||
37047 & 37114 City of Worcester pass Shottesbrooke on 3 May 2003 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z93 06:00 Yeovil Junction to Norwich 'Norwich & Norfolk Excursion' railtour. Coincidentally, both locos were withdrawn within a few weeks of each other in late 2007, and scrapped the following year at European Metal Recyclers at Kingsbury. |
||
The sun is setting at Miskin on 28 July 1991, as 37138 rounds the curve near the M4 motorway, and crosses the River Ely with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z81 16:29 Onllwyn to Liverpool Lime Street 'Vulcan Valley Venturer' railtour. This was running 80 minutes late. In those pre gen days, waiting at the lineside as the shadows increased and the sun got weaker, with no idea what was happening, the big question was when to give up and go home. I cannot remember now, but looking at the lighting, that decision cannot have been far off! |
||
47587 passes Kings Sutton on 20 June 1989 with the 1G58 18:12 Paddington to Banbury Network SouthEast service. At the time this was the only loco hauled train to travel from London to Banbury via the Chiltern Line. All other trains were Class 115 DMUs from Marylebone. |
||
220003 Solent Voyager approaches Wolvercote Junction on 13 August 2003 with the 16:27 Redhill to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin CrossCountry service. The CrossCountry franchise has shrunk considerably since this picture was taken, Redhill being one of the casualties. |
||
L406 (51341, 59493 & 51383) passes Didcot North Junction on 22 June 1989 with the 2C69 19:27 Oxford to Reading Network SouthEast service. The Didcot bypass bridge in the background had only been opened a couple of years earlier, which explains the lack of vegetation on the adjacent road embankment. |
||
230001 Viva Venturer passes Shipton station on 16 February 2024 with the 5Q23 10:25 Long Marston to Reading Traincare Depot, a one time delivery run, taking the battery unit from its former Vivarail base, to its new life with GWR. It is intended to be used on the short Greenford branch line, which will be equipped with fast charging equipment for the lithium-ion batteries. The 70 mile run from Long Marston to Reading, which includes the steep Campden Bank, was completed on time and without any issues, so the 2½ mile long Greenford branch shouldn't be a problem! I doubt if the FWP Matthews lorry driver appreciates the novelty of an electric train on the Cotswold Line. He is probably wondering what I am doing standing on a stepladder by the fence! |
||
43468 & 43480 pass Badsey on 15 February 2024 with the 6Q78 06:25 Walton Old Junction Sidings to Long Marston, conveying brand new Merseyrail EMUs 777041, 777039 & 777037 for storage. It seems strange that after arriving in the country via the Channel Tunnel, the new units were hauled up to Cheshire, only to come back south the following day! The full consist of this mega train is: HST power cars 43468 & 43480, 3 x IGB & IWA barrier vehicles, 777041 & 777039, 4 x IWA & IGB barriers, 777037 & 3 x IWA & IGB barriers. 24 vehicles in total! The large number of barrier vehicles is because they are acting as brake force runners. The EMU's brakes are inoperative, with air pipes being routed through the units from the barrier vehicles. |
||
Speedlink's final day. 47330 Tren Nwyddau Amlwch / Amlwch Freighter passes Standish Junction on 5 July 1991 with the last 6M29 14:00 Taunton to Bescot Speedlink. With loads such as this, it is no wonder that the wagonload service was losing money! |
||
47404 Hadrian approaches Didcot North Junction on 9 December 1986 with the 1O03 07:10 Liverpool Lime Street to Poole service. Unlike today's trains, this had plenty of luggage and bike accommodation, with two BG vans at the front of the train. |
||
47446 Galtee More accelerates away from Culham station on 10 July 1991 with the 1F52 18:08 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. The stations between Didcot and Oxford were mostly served by DMUs, but in the early 1990s there were also a couple of loco hauled trains that called at peak times. |
||
47445 passes Hinksey Yard on 14 June 1983 with the 1O01 06:00 Derby to Poole service, which it worked between Birmingham New Street and Reading. This was taken during a very productive early morning session on the footbridge near Whitehouse Road, where I arrived at 05:20! |
||
L406 (51341, 59493 & 51383) passes the southern end of Hinksey Yard on 5 July 1991 with the 2C11 07:46 Oxford to Reading Network SouthEast service. Surprisingly it is still possible to take pictures at this location, but the view is not quite as uncluttered as this now. |
||
L401 (51375, 59485 & 51333) passes Colthrop on 30 September 1989 with the 2B18 10:10 Reading to Bedwyn Network SouthEast service. This is the only picture I have at this location taken before the field on the left was developed into a large industrial estate. The footbridge from which this was taken has now been removed. |
||
Five Class 08s were modified for use on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley line by having their cabs cut down from 12' 9" to 11’ 10", in order to fit through the restricted clearance bridges on the line. 08993 Ashburnham is pictured at Pantyffynnon on 15 April 1995. The Central Wales Line is situated to the left of this picture. The track disappearing through the level crossing in the background is the Gwaun-cae-Gurwen branch. |
||
Running 55 minutes late, 37517 & 37515 pass the exchange sidings at Ashchurch on 23 April 1988 with the 6V67 23:50 Tees to Cardiff Tidal steel. Although the road bridge obscures some of the train, the mixed load of open and closed wagons, and slab and coil steel can clearly be seen. |
||
165109 passes Hungerford Common on 12 February 2024 with the 2T10 09:54 Bedwyn to Newbury GWR service. This was exactly on time here, but due to problems in the Newbury area, it was 11 minutes late arriving at its destination. |
||
59001 Yeoman Endeavour & 59103 Village of Mells enter the up loop at Hungerford Common on 12 February 2024 with the 7A40 08:40 Merehead Quarry to Hanwell Bridge Loop stone train. This was not booked to use the loop, and as nothing overtook it, and it left again after ten minutes, there didn't seem much point to the move. |
||
60028 passes Hungerford Common on 12 February 2024 with the 6Z52 06:50 Tytherington to Quainton Railhead, taking another load of stone from Gloucestershire to Buckinghamshire for the HS2 project. As is often the case, this had left early, but the booked stop of nearly an hour at Bathampton Junction just turned out to be a little longer! |
||
56071 passes Oxford North Junction on 28 July 1983 with the 7V34 04:17 Toton to Didcot Power Station MGR. At least one gardener is already at work in the Trap Grounds allotments on the left. The access to the allotments at the time was the very basic crossing in the foreground. |
||
47107 passes St George's on 20 April 1985 with the 10:00 Swansea to Cardiff Central rugby special, one of a number of trains run in connection with the Wales versus England fixture at Cardiff Arms Park. This was one of those fortunate days, when despite the overwhelming cloud cover, most trains luckily passed in the sun. |
||
47103 passes Uffington in the rain on 27 September 1980 with the 3A02 08:15 Carmarthen to Reading parcels. Not a very good picture, but it is one of the few that I have of a parcels train with ex GWR Siphon vans in the consist. Note the old goods shed loading platform behind the loco. |
||
24081 & D7629 leave Berwyn station on a misty and drizzly 20 May 1995 with the 10:00 Llangollen to Glyndyfrdwy service, during the Llangollen Railway's Diesel Gala. The Class 24 moved to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway a couple of years later. |
||
In the 1990s there was an unobstructed evening view from the footbridge on the site of Ashbury Crossing, Shrivenham, to Compton Beauchamp. On 8 May 1996, the 1B56 18:03 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa service passes Chapelwick Farm, with 43031 leading. |
||
43055 Sheffield Star passes Finedon Road on 27 February 1994, as it accelerates away from Wellingborough with the 1F30 09:30 St Pancras to Sheffield service. This being a Sunday, this was the first northbound train of the day. |
||
The signal is off, and the 'ghost' driver of 47624 Cyclops is ready to leave Moreton-in-Marsh on 16 January 1985 with the 1B56 18:07 Paddington to Hereford service, which on this occasion was running 15 minutes late. Punctuality on the Cotswold Line was much better in the 1980s compared with today, but I suppose considering the weather conditions, 15 minutes late isn't too bad! |
||
47616 stands in the snow covered Moreton-in-Marsh station on 16 January 1985 with the 1B46 17:05 Paddington to Hereford service. The station lighting at Moreton did not allow a very evenly lit picture, but it does still look atmospheric, especially with the snowy foreground. L403 (51336, 59488 & 51378) waits in the other platform with the 2A50 19:20 train to Paddington. |
||
47515 Night Mail approaches Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 8 May 1987 with the 3A12 06:50 Milford Haven to Old Oak Common empty newspaper vans. Up trains were being warned of a broken rail, but clearly it wasn't that serious, as they were being allowed to proceed at reduced speed. |
||
Viewed from the old Abingdon Branch bay platform, 58040 Cottam Power Station approaches Radley station on 9 July 1991 with the 6M61 20:05 Didcot Power Station to Toton MGR empties, which was running nearly an hour early. The Abingdon branch closed to passengers in 1963, but survived as a freight only line until 1984. |
||
Not built here! Many classes of BR diesel locomotives were built at the Brush Works, Loughborough, but not this one. 58037 passes the works on 2 April 1994. The Class 58s were built by British Rail Engineering Ltd at Doncaster Works. |
||
43179 Pride of Laira brings up the rear of the 5B76 18:38 Oxford to Paddington ECS at Culham on 15 June 1999. The train had worked up from London a little earlier as the 1D62 17:42 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. This was only a few months after First Group had bought out Great Western Trains, and the livery had yet to change. |
||
57004 Freightliner Quality catches the very last rays of the setting sun, as it passes Hinksey Yard on 8 July 1999 with the late running 4O29 14:15 Trafford Park to Southampton freightliner. The loco had only been in service a few months as a Class 57, having been rebuilt from 47347. |