The introduction of class 66 to the British railway scene has probably caused more argument and controversy since steam haulage ceased in 1968. Dubbed "Red Death" by the more sensationalist railway press, the locomotives stirred up strong emotions amongst enthusiasts, the less rational of whom immediately swore never to photograph one regardless of the location or the train being hauled. I well recall this being said when class 60 was introduced, and look at their following today. Even in 2005 one still hears people saying the likes of, "I'm not bothering with that, it's only a shed". To my mind, this attitude shows that the person voicing the sentiment is not a true railway enthusiast, but a blinkered throwback to the never to be repeated times when a dozen different classes could be photographed in a single day without straying more than a few miles from home. Much as we might regret the passing of favourite classes, times move on and if we enjoy being at the lineside and photographing trains, then we have to accept that class 66 is here to stay. That the design is successful is undeniable. It is spreading across Europe and has rapidly become the standard freight locomotive of choice to most operators. In the UK, we have several different colour schemes, and this adds to the interest. I hope that the pictures in this section will show that the class does have some attraction and that it is the whole train that is of interest, not just the locomotive.

	After photographing a special working to Cheltenham Races on 13 March 2007 I decided to hang on at Norton Junction as the 6V05 Round Oak to Margam is generally not far away by 10.45. A pair of class 158s, 158760 + 158766, in   Trans-Pennine livery went south, then a Adelante came north from the Cotswold line and whilst this was negotiating the pointworks 66205 with 6V05 crept into view around the corner to stop at the bracket signal. As soon as the Adelante had gone beyond the outer starter the points were changed and 66205 moved off and is here seen approaching the junction and accompanying GWR signalbox.
	I had sort of hoped that 6V05, the 09.35 Round Oak to Margam empty steel service would be in the charge of a class 60 on 16 March 2007; not because I don't like 66s, but more that I had already photographed one of the class here on this train earlier in the week. It was not to be, as this shot of 66250 shows, with the train about to pass Norton Junction, near Worcester. The outer starter signal is "off" for an up train and this was actually under the road bridge as I pressed the shutter...
	My plan for the sunny morning of 21 March 2007 was, if a class 60 was booked on the 6V05 Round Oak to Margam empty steel, to go Norton Junction to photograph this working under the semaphore signals as I had seen a class 66 on the train on two occasions the previous week. The best laid plans and all that; no 60 was shown as being anywhere near Round Oak so I decided to go over to Hatton Bank and get a few workaday bits on my local patch, there not being much of any interest to me elsewhere in the Midlands. I arrived at Hatton at about 10.45 to find about 75% cloud cover and with the prospect of a short stay and no shots in decent light. The first train to appear, at 12.10, was 4E44, the 05.25 Southampton to Leeds freightliner, with 66575 in charge. I saw this coming for some time with the sun trying to exit a large black cloud. Fortunately, the train was moving sufficiently slowly up the 1/110 gradient to allow the shadows to go just in time.
	The next freight I was expecting to see was 4M36, the WThO 08.10 Southampton to Birch Coppice intermodal with an EWS 66 on the front. This didn't appear at all and my next shot was of 66542 with an early-running 4M55 09.28 Southampton to Crewe freightliner. This arrived some 55 minutes early at 12.32 and was turned into the down goods loop despite there being nothing to pass it for at least 20 minutes; plenty of time for it to have run to Dorridge loop or even on to Small Heath. Once again the sun co-operated for me, this time with a satisfyingly dark sky. There has been some engineering work going on at Hatton, the up line having been relaid at this point together with some new AWS units being installed on both the down main line and goods loop.
	My original plan had been to move a few miles north after photographing 4M55 but I was loath to go in case 4M36 was running and I missed it whilst on the road. This being the case, I decided to stay put and spent a pleasant couple of hours in the warm sun watching some buzzards performing their courtship displays over the adjacent fields together with a few shots of the regular Chiltern and Virgin units on scheduled passenger workings. I knew that 60019 was on the way north with an empty oil train from Theale, but in front of this would be 6M01, the 14.08 Hinksey Virtual Quarry to Stud Farm empty ballast train. This arrived pretty much at the right time with 66529 on the front, yet again in a more than lucky patch of sun with a decently cloudy sky in the background.
	An empty rake of HTAs is diagrammed to run from Washwood Heath to Portbury in the early afternoon and on 2 April, 6V16 was in the hands of 66040, the same locomotive as I photographed on the train at Defford last week. The train had clearly had a clear run past Abbotswood Junction as it was going a quite a lick when I photographed it at Croome Perry at 14.31`.
	The weather forecasts have been pretty accurate so far during the week before Easter 2007. On Wednesday 4 April, the day started grey and misty in Stratford-upon-Avon, but by lunchtime the cloud was beginning to break. A message arrived on my BlackBerry saying that Freightliner's new 66584 had just left Hinksey Yard, Oxford with 6M01 to Stud Farm. I had plenty of time to drive over to Shrewley and walk to Hatton North Junction. The sun was trying to break through as the train passed, but didn't quite manage it until about 10 minutes later....
	Earlier in the week, I had photographed 66233 on the southbound working of the Daw Mill to Didcot Power Station coal train and was thus keen to get a decent shot of the return, 6M53. I was already at Hatton North Junction during the afternoon of 4 April 2007 and as the sun was shining from a perfectly blue sky I decided it would be silly to go before it had come. Here is 66100 accelerating slowly around the curve, having been held in the down goods loop to allow the passage of a Chiltern Trains class 168 on a stopping train to Birmingham Snow Hill.
	Coal from Daw Mill colliery, near Coleshill, has again been running to Didcot Power Station. I saw, although didn't photograph, a return working one evening last week and was keen to get a shot of the loaded southbound run. Monday 2 April 2007 was the ideal day, with wall-to-wall sun promised throughout the day, so I presented myself on the roadbridge adjacent to Hatton station about 30 minutes before what I guessed to be the right time for 6V32, the 08.57 from Daw Mill. Things don't always work out perfectly and the train hadn't made an appearance by 10.30. Fearing that it might have been cancelled, I made a 'phone call to a friend in the know, to be told that it was, at 10.50, just passing Dorridge behind a Virgin Voyager. The long train of 29 HTAs passed me in lovely Spring light at 11.01.
	I like to visit certain locations perhaps once or twice each just to keep an up-to-date record of how traffic, the background and vegetation growth changes. One of these is Lea Marston, on the fast lines between Water Orton and Kingsbury Junction, and I paid a visit on Thursday 8 August 2007. No sooner had I arrived on the bridge at about 09.00 than 66505 came into view with a not very well loaded 4O54 Leeds to Southampton freightliner. I'm ambivalent about the southbound shot here; I think it is just about acceptable with a longish train but the expanse of bare ballast on the left and the somewhat anonymous and green background don't do the picture any favours.
	Here is another picture from Lea Marston taken on 8 August 2007. This time it shows 66174 in charge of 4E69, the 05.15 Southampton to Wakefield Europort enterprise service; on this occasion yet another poorly loaded container train. The background has dramatically changed since the demolition of Hams Hall Power Station, the cooling towers of which once dominated and enhanced the view. The first container is about to cross the River Tame - from "Tamworth", near where is its source, and which further downstream used to be just about the most polluted water course in the Midlands. These days. the water quality has improved although the amount of ammonia contained in the water, as a result of it being used to carry the effluent from Minworth sewage works, is still a cause for concern. However, further upstream the water quality is excellent and the river supports a variety of aquatic life.
	This train, or at least its locomotive, was the subject of some anticipation and confusion on 6 April 2007. The working is 6V32, the 08.57 Daw Mill to Didcot Power Station and TRUST was showing 60063 to be allocated to it. I heard it approach the signal at Hatton North Junction where a short wait was necessary as a southbound passenger train was in front of it, and then heard it move away a couple of minutes later. The unmistakeable sound of a 66 getting a heavy train on the move was not exactly what I wanted to hear when the much rarer 60 on a power station coal train was expected, but at least the older HAA hoppers were used; hence my inclusion of this photograph to give a comparison with the one a little way below taken earlier in the week.
	The return working of 6V32, the Daw Mill to Didcot coal train as shown above is 6M53, and it is here seen passing Warwick Parkway at 16.30 on the afternoon of 6 April 2007. This shot won't be available for more than a few days now the trees and bushes are in their season of rapid growth. As it was I needed to use a 180mm lens (270mm in 35mm terms) to find a big enough clear spot on the embankment. This embankment comes to end just a few yards to the north, and this was the site of Budbrooke signal box, which used to control the entrance to the goods loop that now starts much further north at the beginning of Hatton cutting.
	It was just before 3pm at Abbotswood Junction when a really dirty class 66 turned up at the head of 6V07, the 13.21 Round Oak to Margam empty steel service. The locomotive is particularly dirty, almost as if it has had to run through a flood - note the mud on the "cow-catcher" and the bogies. The train is leaving the Worcester line by means of the single track lead and about to join the main Birmingham to Gloucester line. It was, unusually, quite a short train; 6V07 is often the best loaded of the daily services from Round Oak and is generally twice the length of this one.
	A relatively new train was the next to come south, this being the 6Z89 08.15 Lindsey to Westerleigh loaded bogie oil tanks. This showed up at 15.27 behind 66164 and was routed along the main line, the "Old Road", rather than via the Worcester branch. This is a pleasant location and it is to be hoped that the mindless vandals in charge of installing totally unnecessary pallisade fencing across the countryside don't have this field in their sights.
	This is a fairly new addition to the freight working timetable; 6Z46, the 10.52 Halewood to Southampton loaded car train. Once again, it is the train itself and the load that are of interest rather than the motive power. 66225 was in charge on Saturday 21 April 2007 and the ensemble is here seen passing the car park at Berkswell en-route to Southampton via Coventry, Leamington Spa and Oxford. After Didcot, the train will be running via Chippenham due to engineering work on what would be be its normal route via Basingstoke.
	I started off the morning of 30 April 2007 at Norton Junction, near Worcester, with the intention of photographing 6V05, the 09.38 Round Oak to Margam empty steel carriers. However, the first train to appear was 6B36, the TX-Q 07:09 Didcot Yard to Ashchurch train of MOD supplies headed by 66111. At 10.18, the light was still a little straight with not really enough illumination on the sides of the locomotive and vehicles, but I took it the shot largely because of the clear signals under which the train was running. In the event, 6V05 was cancelled but a small bonus appeared in the form of  47839 running light engine to Worcester Yard prior to going to Long Marston where a short rake of KAA flats was due to be taken to Crewe. I don't normally bother with light engine photographs but thought that this one was worthwhile in view of the semaphore signals and the human interest in the form of the lookout protecting a gang working on the track near the bridge.
	I have had several attempts to get a good picture of 4M36, the 11.15 Southampton to Birch Coppice intermodal service but have usually been thwarted by either bad weather or a poor load on the train. On 1 June 2007 the weather was good but the front of the train was not well loaded as it passed Hatton North Junction after coming out out of the down loop where it had been recessed to allow a Virgin Voyager, a Chiltern Turbo and 67013 on an ECS to pass. At least the curvature of the track here allows some of the containers to come into view, and in fact, I quite like the effect of the empty flats followed by the loaded.
	The weather was again warm and sunny on Thursday 5 April 2007 and with a few freights running on the Leamington Spa to Birmingham line I had another trip to Hatton. The first of the trains in which I was interested was 6M31, the Banbury to Mountsorrel Laharge self-discharger. This is scheduled to pass Hatton just after 10.00, but on this day was running a little over one hour late. Still, the light gets better here as time passes and a wait in the pleasantly warm sunshine was no chore. Here is 66148 having just passed the entrance to the down goods loop on Hatton Bank at 11.21.
	The weather on Friday 27 April 2007 ran close to the forecast; a dull start with sun appearing later in the day. Once the sun had burned through the mist and cloud I went over to Bentley Heath, near Dorridge, to photograph 60068 on the 6E55 Theale to Lindsey empty oil tanks. I was also expecting to see 6M01, the empty ballast working from Hinksey Virtual Quarry to Stud Farm and sure enough 66548 rounded the curve from Dorridge station at 15.25 with a train of HQA hoppers. This is an unusual consist for this train as the usual wagons are the much smaller JNA variety. Still, with variety being the spice of life and all that, I wasn't complaining.
	Part of the West Coast Main Line was closed on Good Friday, 6 April 2007 and some of the freight was diverted via Birmingham and Oxford. The only one I bothered with was 6M76 Mossend to Wembley which I hoped might have had a class 92 DIT, as was the case with a much earlier train the same morning. Sadly, only 66133 was provided for the run south and the train is here seen passing Hatton South Jnction, just about spot on time at 09.02.
	This is a train that I have been meaning to go out and photograph for a while now; the 4M36 Southamton to Birch Coppice intermodal. Sadly, on 5 April 2007, there wasn't much of a load as it climbed Hatton Bank behind 66139. It makes a change to see an EWS locomotive in charge of containers on this line, as most of the trains are run by Freightliner.
	Brierley Hill, on the former freight line from Stourbridge Junction to Bescot, has recently seen a small number of trains conveying scrap metal. There was the first of what will hopefully become a regular flow today, 14 February 2007 when 66187 took a train of   containerised scrap to Southampton for export. This working is here seen leaving the Worcester line and about to join the main Birmingham to Cheltenham line at Abbotswood Junction, from where it will run via Gloucester and Swindon to Reading, Basingstoke and Southampton.
	Coal from Daw Mill colliery, near Coleshill, does sometimes run to Didcot Power Station. I saw, although didn't photograph, a return working one evening last week and was keen to get a shot of the loaded southbound run. Monday 2 April 2007 was the ideal day, with wall-to-wall sun promised throughout the day, so I presented myself on the roadbridge adjacent to Hatton station about 30 minutes before what I guessed to be the right time for 6V32, the 08.57 from Daw Mill. Things don't always work out perfectly and the train hadn't made an appearance by 10.30. Fearing that it might have been cancelled, I made a 'phone call to a friend in the know, to be told that it was, at 10.50, just passing Dorridge behind a Virgin Voyager. The long train of 29 HTAs passed me in lovely Spring light at 11.01.
	Earlier in the week, I had photographed 66233 on the southbound working of the Daw Mill to Didcot Power Station coal train and was thus keen to get a decent shot of the return, 6M53. I was already at Hatton North Junction during the afternoon of 4 April 2007 and as the sun was shining from a perfectly blue sky I decided it would be silly to go before it had come. Here is 66100 accelerating slowly around the curve, having been held in the down goods loop to allow the passage of a Chiltern Trains class 168 on a stopping train to Birmingham Snow Hill.
	The weather was again warm and sunny on Thursday 5 April 2007 and with a few freights running on the Leamington Spa to Birmingham line I had another trip to Hatton. The first of the trains in which I was interested ws 6M31, the Banbury to Mountsorrel Laharge self-discharger. This is scheduled to pass Hatton just after 10.00, but on this day was running a little over one hour late. Still, the light gets better here as time passes and a wait in the pleasantly warm sunshine was no chore. Here is 66148 having just passed the entrance to the down goods loop on Hatton Bank at 11.21.
	This is a train that I have been to go out and photograph for a while now; the 4M36 Southamton to Birch Coppice intermodal. Sadly, on 5 April 2007, there wasn't much of a load as it climbed Hatton Bank behind 66139. It makes a change to see an EWS locomotive in charge of containers on this line, as most of the trains are run by Freightliner.
	The weather forecasts have been pretty accurate so far during the week before Easter 2007. On Wednesday 4 April, the day started grey and misty in Stratford-upon-Avon, but by lunchtime the cloud was beginning to break. A message arrived on my BlackBerry saying that Freightliner's new 66584 had just left Hinksey Yard, Oxford with 6M01 to Stud Farm. I had plenty of time to drive over to Shrewley and walk to Hatton North Junction. The sun was trying to break through as the train passed, but didn't quite manage it until about 10 minutes later....
	An empty rake of HTAs is diagrammed to run from Washwood Heath to Portbury in the early afternoon and on 2 April, 6V16 was in the hands of 66040, the same locomotive as I photographed on the train at Defford last week. The train had clearly had a clear run past Abbotswood Junction as it was going a quite a lick when I photographed it at Croome Perry at 14.31`.
	Here is the train referred to above, albeit with HAAs rather than HTA hoppers, with 66040 quietly and efficiently slipped under the roadbridge at Defford with the 6V16 coal empties from Washwood Heath to Portbury. I decided, for this shot, to put on a slightly longer lens to cut out some of the distracting background and to bring up the tree with its blossom just bursting into flower.
	The 05.48 Margam to Corby train of steel coils, 6M96, os generally class 60-hauled, but on 6 March 2007 66205 was provided. Here is the train near Stoke Works Junction travelling very slowly as it prepares to enter Bromsgrove loop to pick up another class 66 as the banker for the grind up the Lickey Incline. There are not that many freights up the Lickey in daylight hours, but most of the loaded trains of steel and coal are banked. Just before I left, 60028 with 6E41 Westerleigh to Lindsey went north and this was also looped to await the banking engine despite being a train of empty tanks. Sadly, the light for this move was dire and I didn't bother...
	The morning of 7 September 2006 dawned bright and sunny and I decided to have a trip to Ashchurch in order to try out my new 300mm Nikkor prime lens. As this is designed for 35mm cameras, the equivalent focal length on my D200 is in the order of 450mm, slightly more powerful than the 8x binoculars I also carry. The first freight to appear was 6V35 Lackenby to Llanwern and here it is passing over the road crossing just north of Northway. The locomotive was working extremely hard with around 2000 tonnes on the drawbar, and the telephoto lens really accentuates the exhaust haze.
	This must have been one of the "workings of the year" in 2006. On 6 September 2006, the Bridgwater to Crewe nuclear flask working, 6M67, was allocated DRS locomotives 20307 + 37605, but the class 20 failed before departure. As these trains' safety case states that 2 operational locomotives must be on the train Freightliner Heavy Haul's 66620 was summoned, presumably from Bristol Barton Hill. Here is the train, just some 45 minutesd late, at Defford in Worcestershire, having just passed over the River Avon.
	Saturday 7 October started out with a clear blue sky so I drove to Hatton with the aim of photographing 4M21, the Felixstowe to Hams Hall intermodal and 4054, the Leeds to Southampton freightliner near the station. Whilst waiting for 4M21 in a one-way location, 4O54 went south and when 4M21 came I let it run too far towards me, with the result that the loco's cab was in shadow. I knew that 66165 was coming north on a 6M69 Portbury to Rugeley coal train and decided to move to Hatton North Junction for this, and a little later, 4O02, the Lawley Street to Southampton freightliner. 6M69 would clearly be well backlit at this time of day so I planned to take a wide shot to minimise the dark loco front which would result. The heavy train passed me near the summit of Hatton Bank at 11.35, having taken 2 hours for the journey from Culham, near Didcot.
	I spent an hour or so near Hatton during the afternoon of 23 November 2006 with the intention of photographing 60069 on 6E48, the 13.35 Didcot Power Station to Lindsey empty oil tanks. I placed myself in a location with not much potential for anything heading south so had to make the best of a bad job when 66055 turned up with an early running 6Z50 Mountsorrel to Westbury ballast. Still, the combination of bright sunshine, some Autumnal colours and a colourful train made for a reasonably atractive photograph and gives a good view of the wagons used on this service.
	The use of two of GBRF's new 66s on an Old Oak Common to Derby move predictably caused a great deal of interest on Saturday 13 January 2007. 66727 and 66726 running as 5Z81 topped and tailed a pair of barrier wagons before taking 3 MkIII coaches from Derby to Laira. The short ensemble is here seen passing Hatton station in extremely dull conditions at 10.31, some 30 minutes early on the schedule despite a late start from London. The train was booked to sit in Hatton Goods Loop but in the event was routed down the main line a few minutes behind a Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill class 168 unit.
	4O02, the Saturday morning Lawley Street to Southampton freightliner, can usually be relied upon to run pretty much on time, being booked to pass Hatton at 12.13. Today, 7 October, it passed Hatton North Junction at 12.14 with 66568 taking 57009 DIT to its destination. The junction visible is that for the branch to Stratford-upon-Avon via Claverdon and Bearley. There is only one train booked over the pointwork and curve to Hatton West Junction - an ECS to Stratford first thing in the morning.
	Here is 66118 hauling 4V09, the 13:36 Washwood Heath-Portbury empty HTAs came south past Defford on 2 November 2006. It is noticeable that these class 4 trains really take advantge of their higher permitted speed of 75mph. This train certainly wasn't hanging about and was running easily as fast as some of the passenger trains on the route.
	My first sighting of a GBRF Metronet class 66 took place today, 31 August 2006. 66718 was allocated to work a 5Z98 08.40 Laira to Derby Litchurch Lane train of HST stock for refurbishment. Interestingly, the locomotive was taken to Plymouth on the rear of the down Paddington sleeper rather than work down light engine. 5Z98, complete with "Vulture Squadron" headboard is here seen near Defford in Worcestershire some 20 minutes early at 12.57 in somewhat poor light. Still, it would have been difficult to have photographed this working with a clear sky on the Cheltenham line at this time of day as the sun would be pretty much straight down the lens.
	Here is 66089 hauling 4V09, the Washwood Heath to Portbury empty HTAs at Defford in Worcestershire. This was really moving and can't have been doing much less than its permitted 75mph. I had hoped to get a picture featuring the tractor and baler in the adjacent field, and this was to be the only one as not much straw was left to be collected. The tractor finished its job soon after this image was taken.
	The line through Cheltenham was closed at weekends in Septemebr 2006 and whilst most freights, if running at all, are diverted via Hereford, one or two are scheduled to run via Swindon and Oxford to Birmingham. On Saturday 23 September 2006, 6M04 the 10:00 Portbury-Washwood Heath coal train was reported as passing Kings Sutton at 14.38. This just gave me time to get to Hatton - and it was "just" - as I could hear the train hauled by 66159 coming as I parked my car in the station at 15.12. Fortunately, the train was moving quite slowly at this point thanks to the 1/110 ruling gradient of Hatton Bank. I chose this location to ensure that the background was identifiable, something I like to do for diversions.
	There is, to my eyes, something particularly unsatisfying about a poorly loaded intermodal train. I have never seen such a light load on 4M21, the 03:26 Felixstowe to Hams Hall service as there was on Saturday 9 December 2006, although it wasn't quite as bad as it looked with a few containers being conveyed on the rear of the train, out of sight beyond the footbridge. The attraction was, of course, the use of GBRF's Metronet 66718 and this was my first sighting of the sub-class on the line through Hatton.
	One of my fairly rare Sunday outings took place on 19 November in order to photograph 66416 + 66418 topping and tailing a RHTT move from Crewe to Willesden. The train, running as 6Z70, gave an unusual opportunity to record this formation along the Birmingham to Coventry line. It is here seen approaching Tile Hill, west of Coventry, at 13.14, just a couple of minutes down on the schedule.
	The line to Stratford-upon-Avon has seen major engineering work over the past 2 weekends. On Sunday 5 November, one of the work sites was at Bishopton where the up line was relaid overnight with CWR on steel sleepers. Train number 6P17 from Bescot headed by 66059 is here seen standing on the down line with a long rake of ballast wagons, which are being unloaded by a pair of rail-mounted machines, currently out of sight beyond the Bishopton Lane bridge. Any locomotive is a rare sight on this line these days, so the chance to photograph an engineering train is not one to miss.
	A relatively new train to run over the Birmingham to Didcot line is 6Z50, the 11.45 from Mountsorrel Quarry to Westbury, conveying ballast. The reason for this apparently strange move is that Southampton Docks is no longer used for unloading ballast to allow for more intermodal trains to run. I had previously taken a couple of shots of this train, but one was in dreadful light and the second was simply not sharp so when a message came through on 26 October saying that 66048 had passed Whitacre Junction at 13.05 I decided to take advantage of the sunny afternoon to redress the balance. I also planned to move south after photographing 6Z50 in order to get a shot of 60051 on a 6E48 Didcot Power Station to Lindsey working, but in the event, this came north whilst I was still waiting in a "one direction" location for 6Z50, which eventually passed Hatton South Junction at 16.02, by which time shadows were beginning to encroach on the scene.
	The morning of Saturday 4 November was sunny and crisp and armed with the knowledge that at least northbound freights were due to climb Hatton Bank within the next hour or so I went across to a favourite location just south of the cutting. The first train I was expecting was a Portbury to Rugeley train of HTAs but a photone call from Kenilworth saying that this was running via Coventry put paid to this. At 10.18 66078 appeared with what appeared to be the Banbury to Mountsorrel SDT but with loaded hoppers. This turned out instead to be 6M31 Hinksey VQ to Mountsorrel - the train had run to Banbury as normal, but a problem there resulted in it being diverted to Hinksey and then returned from whence it came. The gradient at this point is 1/100 and with a heavy load in tow, 66078 was working hard to keep the train moving.
	4M21, the 03.26 Felixstowe to Hams Hall intermodal is booked to run via Oxford and Solihull during the winter months, so giving an opportunity to photograph a GBRF 66 at Hatton. This train is scheduled to use Hatton's Down Goods Loop, but in my experience at least, rarely does so. This picture shows 66712 easing its train off the main line and into the loop at 10.35. I chose this location as it is just about the only spot where a picture of a train in the loop is possible in the winter - just in case... After taking this picture, I went to the farm shop at Hatton and when leaving there saw that 4M21 was still static just south of Hatton station. It eventually moved off northwards at 11.11 after 3 trains had passed it.
	One of the most reliable trains on a Saturday at Hatton is 4O02, the 11.14 Lawley Street to Southampton freightliner. It is normally double-headed, often by a 66 + 57 combination, in order to get a locomotive to Southampton after an unbalanced working. There was no 57 today as this picture of 66538 + 66533 about to pass Hatton station demonstrates. Still, I think a pair of 66s has a particularly powerful appearance and as this is not especially commonplace was pleased to get this shot in clear winter light. The fuel tank on the leading 66 has the words, "Pastry Express" and "Dirty Leeds" drawn in the grime - I wonder what that's all about?
	The North Warwickshire line through Henley-in Arden sees little in the way of locomotive-hauled workings, so when I heard that major track replacement was taking place on Sunday 8 October I went over to have a look. I had been told that a 7P12 from Bescot was on the way south at about 13.00 so when I arrived at Henley at about 13.20 I expected to find an empty station with the prospect of photographing a class 66 hauled ballast passing through. Instead of this, I found 66159 standing in the up platform with a huge train of recovered track panels together with a road-rail vehicle on the down line from which the crew were sawing off some excess lengths of track. There was little other than this photograph to be obtained so I decided to have a walk along a public footpath running north from the station to see if a photograph of the front of this train, 6P11, was possible.
	As it happened, the leading locomotive of 6P11 was not in a good position so I walked further along the path to the next overbridge. Here, 66186 was standing in just the right place for a photograph with 7P12, the driver being given instructions by the PIC of Operations. It was a piece of luck that the stop boards protecting the possession had been placed some 15 yards from the bridge; they all too easily have been put somewhere less convenient.
	7P12 soon obtained permission to proceed and is here seen moving away towards the station. It stopped at the outer home signal which gave me the chance to walk back to the station for another crack at it, but not before this taking this image of the brake van number 993914 at the back of the train. This is a Shark brakevan and would have been used to spread the ballast dropped from the Seacows. It may have also been included in the consist because local regulations state that any train left without a locomotive i.e. for run-round purposes, must have a brake in the consist because of the falling gradient from Henley-in Arden to Bearley. Thanks for Dave Ashworth for this information.
	I had plenty of time to reach the station before the down line was cleared and 66186 allowed to proceed into Henley-in-Arden station. The train was under manual control and no signals were pulled off as the train passed the signal box and moved towards the possession. There is quite a contrast between this shot and the last I took here on 19 August when the Blue Pullman ran this way to Stratford -upon-Avon. By now, 6P11 with 66159 on the rear and 66185 on the front has pulled clear of the station, and I expected to see this train disappear towards Birmingham. In the event, something far more unusual was to happen...
	I was more than mildly surprised to see 66159 detached from the train and to see the points switched over to allow it to enter platform 3, or "the bay" as it is locally known. This piece of line is used just once each week day when an early morning train to Birmingham starts its journey here. I have never seen a locomotive make this move before and it gave me some degree of satisfaction to record it in the only sunny spell of the afternoon.
	The driver of 66159 pulled his locomotive sufficiently clear of the footbridge to enable me to obtain this shot of it it the bay with 66186 waiting to head south with its train of seacows. It probably won't mean much to non-locals, but this sight is pretty well unprecedented and is one of those are events that make the session really notable.
	66071 is here seen is passing fields of potatoes and asparagus with a rake of loaded HTAs from Portbury. This was 6M71 11:45 SX Avonmouth No. 5 Wharf EWS - Ironbridge Power Station, which judging by the exhaust and the low speed at which it was travelling had been looped at Eckington, a mile or so to the south.
	On 28 July 2006 there were only 2 class 60s active on the Cheltenham line. One of the trains often 60-hauled is 6V36, the 08.17 Lackenby-Margam loaded steel slabs, but today was in the hands of 66246. I wasn't at all bothered by this, as I have far more pictures of these steel trains with 60s than 66s...
	Saturday 7 October started out with a clear blue sky so I drove to Hatton with the aim of photographing 4M21, the Felixstowe to Hams Hall intermodal and 4054, the Leeds to Southampton freightliner near the station. Whilst waiting for 4M21 in a one-way location, 4O54 went south and when 4M21 came I let it run too far towards me, with the result that the loco's cab was in shadow. I knew that 66165 was coming north on a 6M69 Portbury to Rugeley coal train and decided to move to Hatton North Junction for this, and a little later, 4O02, the Lawley Street to Southampton freightliner. 6M69 would clearly be well backlit at this time of day so I planned to take a wide shot to minimise the dark loco front which would result. The heavy train passed me near the summit of Hatton Bank at 11.35, having taken 2 hours for the journey from Culham, near Didcot.
	This is 4Z55, the 10:00 Southampton-Leeds; a relatively new working over the Oxford and Solihull line, hauled on this occasion by 66574. It is seen approaching Dorridge against a background of trees beginning to change to their Autumnal colours. Some freights are routed over the down loop, but I was glad that this was not the case with 4Z55 as the shot would have been head-on and shadowed.
	One of the trains I have been keen to photograph over the past few weeks has been the 6X52 TWFO 16:30 Portbury-Washwood Heath loaded cartics. The shot across the field near Abbotswood Junction is one I particularly like so on Tuesday 18 July I decided to brave the almost tropical weather and went across, more in hope than expectation. I say this because last week I tried for the train on Wednesday and had to give up at 20.40, and after planning to go again on Friday, found out it was running very early and would not have had time to get there. So... I arrived at Abbotswood at 17.40, just in time to see a class 66 heading south on the 6V36 Lackenby to Llanwern steel slabs. Not a portent for all-round late running, I hoped. At 17.55, the train pictured here appeared. It looks like 6X52 except that all the wagons appear to be empty, so I'm not 100% sure. Still, it's a photo in the right spot at the right time, so I'm not too concerned.
	Freightliner and intermodal traffic is the mainstay of photographic interest at Whitacre Junction, neat Coleshill. This is 66517 with 4L93, the 10.08 Lawley Street to Felixstowe passing the exit from the Hams Hall complex at 10.38 on 25 July 2006.
	During the Spring and Summer of 2006, Freightliner HeavyHaul hired 2 DRS class 66s to cover a motive power shortage. 66407 is seen passing Whitacre Junction at 123.18 on 25 July 2006 with 6P27, the 10.50 Stud Farm to Crewe Virtual Quarry.
	I was working in my garden on the morning of 22 June when a message appeared on my BlackBerry to the effect that 66606 had just passed Evesham station en-route to Long Marston, no doubt to collect some stock. I was waiting for a parcel containing my new Nikon D200 camera body to be delivered so was twitching with impatience. Fortunately, UPS did their bit, my parcel arrived as did some more messages about the timing and destination of the train. It turned out to be 6Z71 11.29 Long Marston to Hitchin. As it was already 11.35 I decided to head for the nearest location with easy access, which is Lower Moor on the Cotswold line. The train consisting of 66606 and 18 of the JNAs stored at Long Marston passed me at 12.08. I like this shot as it shows the 1st 66/6 to use this line, and could almost be a "proper" freight service. Incidentally, this is being uploaded to my hosting server at 13.07, just within an hour of the picture being taken.
	During the morning of Saturday 15 July, a message came through that blue 60044 was working 6V36 Lackenby to Llanwern steel slabs. This is due in the Ashchurch area at around 17.15 so I planned to go over later. At about 14.00 another message came from Whitacre Junction saying that 60044 had just passed. This meant that the train was almost certainly 6V40, booked some 2 hours earlier than 6V36. There was plenty of time to get to Northway so I made the 35 minute journey from Stratford-upom-Avon. The first freight to appear, at 15.30, was this, 6Z97 Beeston to Cardiff Tidal loaded scrap behind 66531. This was a a bit of a surprise as I thought it had returned to its booked route via the Welsh Marches line.
	A welcome addition to the sparse freight traffic on the Leamington Spa to Birmingham line is the 6Z23(Q) 13:10 Southampton W.Docks-Bescot train, conveying Ford vans. As the evening of 11 July was particularly pleasant and sunny, I made the short drive (and quite long subsequent walk!) to Hatton North Junction, where I knew the sun would be spot on at around 19.00. At around the expected time, a Virgin Vogager followed by a Chiltern Trains class 165 went north. Seven minutes later 66049 came slowly around the bend demonstrating that 6Z23 had been routed into Hatton's down goods loop to allow the passenger trains to pass. This picture is timed at 19.05. The line leading off to the right is the rarely used connection to Hatton West Junction and thence the Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon line. The only timetabled train to use the curve is an ECS to Stratford in the morning, although the steam runs to Tyseley on summer Sundays return from Stratford this way.
	The second freight I photographed at Hatton North Junction on 11 July was the 6M65 Didcot to Carlisle. A message from further south had said that this was, as usual, quite a short train so I decided on a location to make it look more balanced. This picture was taken at 19.57 as the shadows really began to lengthen.
	I was expecting the 6V07 Round Oak to Margam allocated to 60016 to appear when this train came under the bridge at Croome Perry at 15.13 on 4 July 2006. I was surprised when what appeared to be this working appeared in the hands of 66012 + 66064. In fact, it later transpired to be a 6V54 1440 Worcester-Llanwern consisting of wagons that should have gone on 6V05 last Friday. Thanks to Mike Hollick for this gen.
	Here is 66089 hauling 4V09, the Washwood Heath to Portbury empty HTAs through Defford on 28 July 2006. This train was really moving and can't have been doing much less than its permitted 75mph. I had hoped to get a picture featuring the tractor and baler in the adjacent field, and this was to be the only one as not much straw was left to be collected. The tractor finished its job soon after this image was taken.
	66071 is seen here passing fields of potatoes and asparagus at Defford with a rake of loaded HTAs from Portbury. This was 6M71 11:45 SX Avonmouth No. 5 Wharf EWS - Ironbridge Power Station, which judging by the exhaust and the low speed at which it was travelling had been looped at Eckington, a mile or so to the south.
	There were only 2 class 60s active on the Cheltenham line on 28 July 2006 and one of the trains often 60-hauled is 6V36, the 08.17 Lackenby-Margam loaded steel slabs. Today, however, it was in the hands of 66246. I wasn't at all bothered by this, as I have far more pictures of these steel trains with 60s than 66s...
	I had a choice of trains to photograph on the afternoon of Saturday 1 July. There was 37417 with a rake of scrap wagons and a dead 66 from Northampton, 60099 on the 6Z41 Theale to Lindsey tanks, or 66555 with the diverted Beeston to Cardiff scrap. Not a difficult decision; I have hundreds of pictures of 37s around Birmingham, I already have a very decent shot of 6Z41 so the rare chance to get a Freightliner class 66 on the Cheltenham line was really my only option. The timing was fortuitous as it enabled me to be out in the warm sun and avoiding the histrionics associated with the World Cup football. There was a surprsingly large amount of cloud coverage at Croome Perry and I wasn't too surprised that the sun was obscured when 6Z97 came slowly under the bridge.
	Say what you will about class 66 locomotives, but there is no denying that they were ready to run "straight out of the box". This picture shows 66096 on an Ironbridge Power Station to Margam empty MGR working on Thursday 29 April 1999. Not that unusual, but it was only unloaded on Tuesday 27th! 645
	The lines to Stratford-upon-Avon either from Leamington Spa or Birmingham do not see much in the way of locomotives, other than occasional steam specials. It was therefore with some anticipation that I awaited this train, 6P06 from Bescot to Bearley Junction in connection with major track replacement on the North Warwickshire line. 66098 is seen here passing through Claverdon station on Sunday 19 March 2006. The train was slightly delayed, no doubt because the engineers weren't quite ready for it, but that delay meant that it came in a fortuitous patch of sun at 13.04. Worthy of note is the old BR double arrow sign at the entrance to the station. There are not too many of these around so click here for a closer look . There is another of these on the A3400 at the entrance to Bearley station. The bus shelter-syle station building here is a fairly recent replacement for the older GWR style construction.
	Sunday 26 March saw more engineering work on the North Warwickshire line south of Henley-in-Arden. There were fewer trains booked than the previous week, but I knew of 2, 6P06 and 6P05 which were timed to be at Hatton North Junction at 09.15 and 10.30 respectively. There was nothing in sight as I drove past Bearley Junction and assume that I missed the first, having arrived at Claverdon station at around 09.20 but thought a wait of around an hour not too bad. A friend arrived after a while and he said that a rake of yellow ballast wagons were on the line when he had gone by Bearley. Right then, it can't be far away. By 11.30 we were ready to give up and Steve cracked first, promising to 'phone if there was a sign of life at Bearley. Eight minutes later, my 'phone rang and Steve said that he was on his way back as the train was now moving. It took an age to reach Claverdon, but here is the result - 66089 on 6P05 to Bescot, a rare sight on this normally DMU-only line.
	66098 has obviously switched stock as it is now on a different rake as it prepares to join the Leamington Spa to Birmingham main line at Hatton North Junction with 6P04 from Bearley to Bescot. It is exceptionally rare to see a diesel locomotive on this piece of track; indeed, the only train other than the steam specials on summer Sundays to use the line to the Stratford-upon-Avon branch is a morning ECS move from Tyseley. There have, in the past, been occasional moves of the Royal Scotsman train returning north, and indeed one of these is my only such shot here, but this has not happened for quite a while.
	The working timetable shows that 6B36, the 07:09 Didcot Yard to Ashchurch MOD trains runs as a "Q", Tuesday excepted. It ran on Tuesday 6 June however and is here seen approaching its destination behind 66130. This train used to use the loop on the right-hand side of the picture to await its path into the exchange sidings - a propelling move blocking the main line - but as can be seen from the rust, these tracks are currently out of use. 6B36, with a load of armoured vehicles, passed me at 10.40 and duly entered the sidings. It appeared to have some difficulty getting onto the branch, and the locomotive could be heard slipping, even from some distance away. Following the passage of a Virgin Voyager, the 66 pulled the train back out onto the main line and had another go. This time, with much noise from the locomotive, the train was finally propelled down the branch at 11.11.
	The morning on Saturday 6 May 2006 dawned bright and sunny with the news that Metronet 66722 was working the 4M21 Felixstowe to Hams Hall intermodal. Off to Hatton then, I thought; that would be nicely as a broadside shot from the footpath across the field. Unfortunately, 4M21 ran very early and down the WCML but I didn't find this out until about 10.45. After a visit to the farm shop at Hatton for provisions, I decided to go the roadbridge by the station for 4O02, the Lawley Street to Southampton freightliner, as this is often double-headed. True to form, it was, by numerically similar 66534 + 66543.
	One of the workings class 66 took over until class 67 became more widely available was the SERCO train. Here, 66027 is topping the train as it passes Evesham signal box and the remains of the inner home bracket signal on 1 April 2005. 66030 was on the rear of the train. This was the only patch of sun that appeared all day, the return working from Oxford being witnessed in extremely dull weather. I suppose it has turn to out that way on occasions...
	The next 2 photographs show 66027 on another non-freight working. On 10 June 2000 the locomotive was used in top and tail mode with 66096 on railtour duties. Hertfordford's "The Sword and Pen", running as 1Z41 Finsbury Park to Stratford-upon-Avon and 1Z42 return came to my home town via the MOD facility at Fenny Compton. The train is here seen arriving at Stratford, pictured from the station footbridge.
	The same train as seen in the picture above is seen while shunting from platform 1 to platform 2 at Stratford-upon-Avon. Several young Network Rail "Suits" were in attendance for this exercise and their complete lack of experience and ineptitude was well demonstrated. As mentioned above, the train was run in TnT mode so one would have thought that a simple move such as this would have caused no problems. Wrong. First, 66027 was shutdown. Second, it was restarted and detached from the train. Third, and after a delay of some minutes during which the driver was consulted, the loco was re-attached and the shunting move carried out. There was, needless to say, considerable delay caused both to a local train from Birmingham and a Chiltern service from London.
	Class 66 is the standard motive power for EWS's intermodal traffic on non-electrified lines. When diversions are required for trains normally hauled by class 92 it is usual for the 92 to be removed but on 30 November 2002 the electric locomotive was left behind the 66 on 4M64 Wembley to Daventry. The somewhat rare sight of an electric loco on Hatton Bank is seen in this picture with 66149 hauling 92009 and its train towards Birmingham. The weather was, as one would expect for a working like this, extremely dull, hence the black & white image. The train was fortunately following a unit going to Stratford-upon-Avon so was travelling at walking pace towards an adverse signal, meaning that a fast shutter speed was not required.
	In the middle months of 2005, many class 60s were stored and their workings taken over by 66s. Previously solid 60 turns, such as the heavy steel trains from Margam to Round Oak in the Black Country were handed over to 66s, as witnessed by this shot of 6V07 Round Oak to Margam hauled by 66109 on 12 July 2005. The train is seen passing the well-known but nonetheless attractive location of Croome Perry wood near Pershore in Worcestershire.
	In my opinion, the most attractive livery currently carried by class 66 is the blue of GBRf. These variants, 66/7s, do not regularly appear on the GWR line from Birmingham to Banbury but diversions necessitated by engineering work elsewhere mean that some intermodal traffic traverses the line on occasions. This is 66717 with the 4L21 Hams Hall to Felixstowe approaching Banbury on 12 March 2005.
	Here is another view of the same working as shown above, coincidentally hauled by the same locomotive as it passes Hatton South Junction just as the sun began to appear after early morning mist on 21 January 2005.
	The autumn and winter of 2005 saw the 4M21 Felixstowe to Hams Hall diverted to run via Oxford and Hatton. There was a path shown too for the southbound 4L21 but it did not run, although even if it had, it would have before daybreak. Fortunately, 4M21 runs at a suitable time for photography and the train is seen here climbing through Hatton station behind 66714 on 24 September 2005. I had not intended to photograph this train here, but through early running was not able to get to my chosen location in time. In retrospect, I'm glad that I stayed here, because it does show a train in a clearly indentifiable spot, and I think that this is valuable with something diverted from its normal route. Hatton Bank still presents quite a formidable obstacle to heavy northbound trains with its several miles averaging 1/110 and even the normally quiet class 66 can be heard for some time before coming into sight.
	This photograph is dated 19 February 2005 and shows 66717 climbing Hatton bank with the diverted 4M21 Felixstowe to Hams Hall intermodal. I was a little later arriving than I intended because of icy lanes between where I live and the car park at Hatton, which meant that I was only halfway along the footpath to my chosen spot when the train came. Still, it's quite a decent close-up of the locomotive against a nice clear sky...This was the shot I was aiming for, taken a few minutes later of   67005 on a northbound railtour.
	In the spring of 2005 a short-term trial of MGR traffic took place from Daw Mill colliery near Coleshill to the cement works at Westbury. This train, given the headcode 7Z57, ran only for a few weeks, and I managed just 2 shots of it. This one was by far the better, being taken in reasonable light on 18 March 2005. The location is just to the south of Hatton cutting, and the locomotive is 66134. It seems a long time since regular rakes of HAAs were seen on this route, and it was so long ago that 66s had not been imported when the last regular trains to Didcot Power Station ran this way.
	The Bristol to Birmingham line has recently seen a resurgence in coal traffic from Avonmouth Bulk Handling Terminal to various power stations in the Midlands and further north. This picture shows 66246 passing Ashchurch station on 9 August 2005 with a train of loaded HTAs. Due to the coupling arrangements, only class 66 locomotives can haul these large hoppers, and should the 66 fail and need to be rescued by another class, it needs to be left in the consist for compatibility. This photograph was taken at 11.45 which accounts for the heavy backlighting in evidence.
	Taken from the same footbridge as the photograph above, this one shows 66233 heading south then minutes later with a rake of empty HAAs en-route to Avonmouth from Ironbridge Power Station for reloading. This train was running under the headcode 6Z72, whereas if it had formed of roller bearing fitted HTAs would have been a class 4, allowed to run at up to 75mph. One of the odder features of class 66 is the fitting of side mirrors to make shunting slightly easier for the driver. These are clearly visible in this picture.
	Class 66 does not have any booked passenger turns but can be seen on certain workings of the VSOE. The branch from Hatton to Stratford-upon-Avon is not cleared for class 67 locomotives so when the VSOE is scheduled to run to the town, class 66 has normally been diagrammed since the demise of the Royal class 47s. 660033 is seen here about to descend the 1/75 gradient from Wilmcote station, just visible in the background, with the attractive luxury train on 13 August 2003.645
	Some 6 weeks later, the train again ran in glorious light and this time I photographed it, behind 66150, a little closer to Stratford from the Bishopton Road bridge. I was glad that the EWS luggage had been marshalled at the back of the train. This always looks a little incongruous when compared to the chocolate and cream of the passenger stock. The train was running some 20 minutes early after having been given the road from Leamington Spa in front of a Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill service. This would not have delayed the Chiltern Trains' unit as it would have been booked to call at Warwick Parkway, just a couple of miles from the junction with the Stratford branch. 645
	A final VSOE shot for now is this one taken on 15 September 2004. I wasn't able to get out for the inward working to Stratford-upon-Avon at lunchtime, but did get out of work in time to grab a camera and walk up the towpath of local canal to this spot adjacent to the flight of locks leading to Wilmcote. The locomotive on this occasion was 66122.
	Another of the class 66 variants is seen here at Hatton South Junction. This time it is 66407 in the stylish house colours of Direct Rail Services. Freightliner were experiencing some motive power shortages at the time and 66407 was on hire to them when I pictured it hauling 4O17, the 15.52 Lawley Street to Southampton service. 645
	Some trains understandably run under a cloak of semi-secrecy. One of these is the train conveying nuclear material from the Royal Navy's premises at Devonport, to Sellafield in Cumbria. Nevertheless, with the availability of modern technology it is not very often that news of such a working passes unnoticed. This was the case on 11 June 2003 when 66199 was rostered for 6X40. It is seen here passing Stoke Works near Bromsgrove, the train consisting of 2 special nuclear flasks and 2 escort vehicles complete with armed personnel to counter any possible terrorist threat. 645
	On Tuesday 19 July a move of redundant LPG tanks was planned from Avonmouth LPG Terminal to Stoke-on-Trent. In the event this actually ran to Didcot because of train crew difficulties so it seemed likely that a northward move would take place over the next few days. This happened on Wednesday 20 July, the tanks being added to the consist of 6M65. It was timed to leave Didcot at 18.30 and I recorded it passing Bentley Heath crossing behind 66011 at 20.07 in a fortuitous bit of weak late evening sun. Without the tanks, 6M65 would have been a very short train, consisting of just one ferrywagon, as the tank behind this and the one at rear of the train are barriers.
	Following the shot of the LPG tanks shown above, I decided to return to Bentley Heath on 21 July to get a shot of MTho 6M23 Fawley to Bromford Bridge bitumen tanks. The light was was excellent all the way from home with just a few bits of wispy cloud around. I found out that the train, hauled by 66198, had passed Wolvercote Junction around 35 minutes late but wasn't too bothered as it was likely to pass me at around 19.20-19.25 and the sun would be plenty strong enough at that time. Just as I had had that thought, I looked north and saw a large bank of very dark cloud racing towards the sun. To curtail a long story, the train crossed the crossing no more than 15 seconds before the sun was suddenly and totally obscured.
	The fourth colour variant of class 66 is shown here with 66583 hauling 4M55 Southampton to Lawley Street up Hatton Bank on 15 July 2005. This spot is getting very overgrown during the summer months and there is a strong possibility that photography here will be impossible before too many years are out. Young trees have been planted all around the area but my environmentally-friendly views preclude me from doing a hatchet job on them.
	To finish off the colour schemes currently applied to class 66 (except the GBRf loco with the Union Flag, which I've never seen...), here is 66709 in it's fetching black paintwork. The train is 4M21 Felixstowe coming off the slow lines at Whitacre Junction on 15 August 2003 as it nears the end of its journey.
	Here's another shot of 66709, this time on a diverted 4M21 Felixstowe to Hams Hall intermodal on 26 October 2002, complete with "Bluebirds on Tour" headboard. No prizes are offered for guessing the location...
	I had the sunny afternoon of 2 September away from from the office and one of the trains I expected to see at Abbotswood Junction was 6V70 the 10:55 Cliff Vale-Cardiff Tidal empty china clay working. This arrived in the loop where it was held to allow a Voyager and a class 170 to pass. 66150 was finally released at 16.13 and it is seen here drawing the unusually long train back out onto the main line. Class 66 seems to photograph well with a strong lens. Maybe the compressed perspective gives it a more powerful aspect compared with a shot with a wider angle lens which accentuates the long body of the locomotive.
	Round Oak steel terminal in the Black Country takes considerable tonnages of metal from South Wales. The train pictured here is 6M41 from Margam in the hands of 66227 on the afternoon of 2 September 2005. It was photographed at 16.43 moving away from a dead stand at the signal adjacent to the road bridge visible in my shot of 47826. The stop was necessitated by a unit from the Worcester line heading south and thereby blocking the single lead from the Cotswold line. I've included this picture because of the impressive amount of smoke emanating from the locomotive whilst getting its heavy load on the move. The train will turn left at the junction just visible and run via Worcester, Kidderminster and Stourbridge Junction to its destination on the truncated line, which once ran through to Bescot and Walsall.
	My last shot of the day just south of Abbotswood Junction on 2 September 2005 was this of 66068 on the 6X52 14:11 Portbury-Washwood Heath loaded cartics taken at 17.39. I must admit to a fondness for this late afternoon shot showing, as it does, the beautiful Worcestershire scenery at its best.
	Due to engineering work on the Bicester to Oxford line in September 2003, the MOD train from Didcot to Bicester was retimed and diverted. It ran via the Hanwell Loop, Princes Risborough, Aylesbury and Claydon LN&E loop. I pictured it passing Quainton Road station top and tailed by 66060 and 66054 on 4 September. The top and tailed consist was in place in order to avoid runs-round at Claydon Loop. 645
	A rumour ran around the West Midlands on Saturday 13 September that 37709 was to appear on 6B61 Bescot to Hams Hall. This was true, but the real story was that it was booked DIT inside the allocated train locomotive, 66005. The opportunity thus presented itself itself to photograph a tractor inside a shed... The ensemble is seen passing the foot crossing at Coleshill. 645
	Here is a photograph guaranteed to strike fear into the heart of a shed hater. 66061 meets an unidentified sister locomotive at Whitacre Junction on 10 April 2004 while both are working MGRs on the Daw Mill circuit. Note the contrast between the HTAs and HAAs on the two trains.
	The short branch from Ashchurch exchange sidings to the MOD facility is the remnant of the line to Evesham and thence to Redditch. The former down line has been partially lifted and the bit that hasn't gone is mostly hidden by bramble bushes. The up line isn't really that much better as can be seen here as 66233 propels its train across one of the 2 foot crossings. It is not an easy branch for photography and in my opinion, this shot from the station footbridge is the about the best.
	Here is an earlier shot at Ashchurch, with a lot more undergrowth than in the picture above, showing 66158 propelling down the branch on 12 June 2000 with 6B30 from Didcot. The footpath mentioned in the caption above was in use today by the runners just visible. They had quite a wait for a clear road as the lengthy train backed very slowly along the branch. 645
	6M31 Banbury to Mountsorrel has been running quite regularly on Saturdays in November and December 2005 and here it is at Hatton South Junction on 19 November behind 66134. I wouldn't normally have put a going-away shot like this online, but it does give a decent view of the Lafarge wagons used on this service.
	One of my favourite areas for railway photography is that around Calvert in Buckinghamshire. This picture shows 66546 on the "Avon Binliner" from Bath & Bristol under the unloading crane at Calvert on 25 June 2004. The box wagons on the adjacent road being unloaded by mechanical grab contained contaminated soil from Baglan Bay in South Wales and formed a short-term flow at this time. 645
	This train is yet another that has ceased to run since this photograph was taken on 14 March 2003. It is the 6E99 Baglan Bay to Humber empty pressure tanks pictured at Whitacre Junction, near Coleshill. 645