This section shows some historical and current scenes in and around the former MOD depot at Long Marston in Warwickshire. It is situated at the end of a long siding from Honeybourne Junction and is accessible only from the north (Worcester) as the run-round loop at Honeybourne has recently been condemned as unserviceable. At the time of writing, October 2005, Long Marston has seen something of a resurgence as the present lessees, Modwen Developments, have made space available for the storage of rolling stock and, at the beginning of 2006, fairly regular trains are running. Photographs of some of the arrivals appear below. This section covers not only the depot itself, but includes images of trains heading to and from various events held there. It came as no surprise that the weather was very poor for almost all my visits here; hence the inclusion of many black & white pictures.

	This picture shows 35028 Clan Line arriving at Moreton in Marsh in October 1987 with a special train from Didcot. Main line steam was not as commonplace as it is today, which accounts for the phalanx of interested locals thronging the secene.The train is heading for Long Marston depot in connection with the celebrations there to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Royal Engineers. 35028 hauled the train as far as Honeybourne where 8F No. 8233 was attached to the rear for the run along the branch to the depot.
	Once Clan Line, shown in the picture above, had arrived at Honeybourne, 8F 8233 was attached to the rear and hauled the train along the former Stratford-upon-Avon line to Long Marston. This line is particularly featureless with no overbridges until the entrance to the depot so this was about the best of a bad job. I remember struggling a bit with my camera on this day. I had just bought a Mamiya 645 1000S, but the shop from which I obtained it did not have a prism finder in stock at the time. I was therefore having to use the supplied waist-level finder, which was fine for composition using a tripod for static subjects, but trickier for moving subjects. Perhaps it is fortunate that nothing was remotely speedy this day!
	After arrival at Long Marston the passengers were treated to a ride around the depot's main loop. The train is seen here about to enter the exchange sidings after its circuit of the camp.
	One of the MOD's own locos, 0-6-0 ST No.98 was also in operation during the afternoon offering rides around the depot's system. The line to Honeybourne is seen disappearing under the new roadbridge, which had been installed just 2 years earlier in 1985.
	This was not purely a steam day as one of the resident 0-4-0 diesel locos was used on a demonstration freight. The loading gauge is a reminder of the days when Long Marston despatched vast tonnages of freight for the MOD. It was last used in earnest during the Falklands conflict in the early 1980s when many trains ran over an extended period. Sadly, I did not have the foresight to have recorded any of these movements.
	Moving forwards in time to 17 February 1992, this and the following 3 photographs show 37235 on a train heading for the MOD depot. Here, the train is approaching Evesham station after the single line token has been obtained from the signalbox in the background. This shot has seen considerable change in the intervening years, see this shot of   66027 in the same spot with a SERCO train on 1 April 2005.
	As I mentioned above, there are limited photographic opportunities between Honeybourne and Long Marston but at least this one, near the site of the ballast tip, offers a clear view of the train.
	After taking the shot above, I managed to arrive at the depot just in time to obtain this picture of 37235 about to enter the exchange sidings. There was clearly some return traffic and the wagons are seen on the 2nd road from the left. The trackbed of the former GWR main line to Stratford-upon-Avon can be seen on the left. There have been many suggestions over the years that this should be relaid to connect Stratford to the Cotswold line.
	To facilitate shunting, one of the MOD locomotives was in use and is seen here in the headshunt at the north end of the depot ready for action. 37235 has been released from its train and will now go to the other end of the sidings to be attached to the return working.
	The final shot in this sequence, taken in virtual darkness, shows 37235 leaving the MOD depot with its train and heading back towards Honeybourne and Worcester.
	A more recent sequence of black & white pictures showing a Long Marston to Didcot train is here seen. This time it was a 6Z36 from Long Marston on 16 June 1998, for which I took an afternoon off work, using 37245. I didn't arrive in time for the inward working and only just in time for the train's departure. The MOD was running down operations here at this time and this train was used to remove a long rake of wagons from the site. The light was, as usual, dreadful and when this photograph was taken at 13.20 a light drizzle had just begun to fall. There hadn't appeared to be any prospect of sun and I left home with just a Mamiya 645 loaded with TRI-X, and struggled even with this 400asa film.
	I had a quick drive down to Honeybourne Junction to picture 6Z36's arrival. The light had deteriorated further since 37245 had left Long Marston and it was fortunate that the train was standing still at this point so that a slow shutter speed could be used. The picture shows a departure from current operations in that the train has pulled forward over the pointwork to give the crew a shorter walk in order to reach the ground frame. In 2007, this trackwork is not fit for use and trains are supposed to stop before the junction, although this ruling has been ignored on at least one occasion...not that you'll find a photograph of it here!
	Once permission had been gained for 6Z36 to join the main line towards Worcester, the train set back to the junction and once the road had been set, ran forward into Honeybourne station before heading west to Evesham. For some reason, the crew member who operated the ground frame had climbed back aboard 37245 so had to dismount again once when in the platform and walk back to reset the points behind the train.
	I obviously had more energy in 1998 than I have in 2007 as I set off in pursuit of 6Z36 and reached Lower Moor, between Evesham and Pershore, in time for another shot, this time in pouring rain. These days, I wouldn't bother to chase around like this...
	As I left Lower Moor with the intention of going home and into the dry, I saw that the sky to the west was rapidly clearing. As it still early, just after 2pm, I decided to go to Croome Perry wood for a final photograph of 37245 after it had run round at Worcester and returned south - it was booked to run to Didcot via Gloucester and Swindon. Just after 3pm the sky finally cleared and 6Z36 gave me the only sunny shot of the afternoon. I would have much preferred the branch line shots to have been in the sun rather than this one on the main Birmingham to Gloucester line - pictures away from the main line are always more satisfying.
	This photograph, taken on 1 May 1992 at Honeybourne Junction, does not have much technical merit, but does show a train on the former east loop. 20901+20904 have just brought the weedkilling train back from Long Marston and, when the main line is clear, will use the crossover in the foreground and then return south to Oxford.
	A railtour ran to Long Marston on 29 July 1995. "The Honey Monster" visited Kineton MOD in the morning before coming to Long Marston in the afternoon. The train ran with top-and-tail motive power, the locomotives being 47348, 33019 and 33057. Once again, a ride around the depot loop was arranged and 4F No. 7298 was used for this. The rakes of stock in the exchange sidings have recently arrived and will be stored in one of the many secure sidings elsewhere on site.
	The train is seen here leaving the depot and joining the branch to Honeybourne where it will reverse once onto the Cotswold Line so that the Cromptons will lead towards Oxford.
	The pair of class 33s on the rear of the train are the only Cromptons I have seen on the branch and despite the large number of enthusiasts on the bridge, I managed to squeeze in to get this shot. It had to be heavily cropped to remove an elbow! The exhaust from 47348 came be seen in the middle distance as it accelerates the train up the speed limit for the branch, 20mph.
	There was plenty of time for the drive to a bridge near Chipping Campden to record the Cromptons leading the train south towards Oxford. This location is just beyond the end of the climb from Honeybourne and the locomotives are putting up a good show of exhaust with the heavy train, still including 47348 on the rear. Typically, after a day of unbroken sun, a large cloud obscured the sun just as the barriers protecting the road at the rear of the train dropped.
	This picture shows 47281 arriving at Long Marston with a MOD train from Didcot on a very wet and dull 11 February 1997. Since the MOD depot closed there has been almost no traffic other than an occasional railtour. Proposals exist exist locally for a new industrial estate which would of necessity need to be rail-connected if HGV chaos were to be avoided on the very narrow lanes around here. A major problem with this plan would be a lack of paths on the largely singled Cotswold line to the junction with this branch at Honeybourne.
	There have been very few passenger trains along here but here is a photograph of 60084 on the branch on 15 October 2000 with a tour run in connection with an open day at Worcester. The light was appallingly bad and I struggled even with TRI-X rated at 400asa. The train was run in TNT mode with 66181 on the rear.
	I was standing at Croome Perry at lunchtime on 31 October 2001 when one of the other locals casually dropped into the conversation that 58030 was on its way to Long Marston with a couple of tanks of diesel fuel. This was apparently in connection with some TA exercises being held at the MOD camp. To the best of my knowledge, nothing had been along the branch for nearly 2 years, so I made the short trip in record time to see the short train appear in the distance. At that time of day, the sun was straight into the lens as the 58 approached the roadbridge, so this shot as the crew gained permission to enter the site was the best bet. The empty tanks were taken out some 4 or 5 days later, but I did not find out until after the event. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only class 58 to have used the branch from Honeybourne and the event is unlikely to be repeated.
	The sun did co-operate when the light engine left the site having deposited its short train in the exchange sidings. This photograph shows some marked differences to the current scene at Long Marston, in both the flora and amount of stock on site.
	The branch from Honeybourne to Long Marston has seen no traffic, other than an overnight run of a weedkilling MPV, for over 5 years. This trend was broken today, 16 September 2005 when 66531 took some ex-Virgin Mk3 coaches and DVTs to the former MOD site for secure storage. The train is seen here crawling towards the end of the OTO section which ends at the gate protecting the entry to the camp. The track from Honeybourne is in a parlous state but was approved for use on 15 September by Network Rail. The whole branch is laid on wooden sleepers, the majority of which, even from a cursory glance, are rotten. Needless to say, the sun didn't appear at the appropriate time, but the extreme rarity of the working, 5Z52 07.32 Crewe to Long Marston, made the short trip from Stratford-upon-Avon unavoidable for me.
	This picture shows 66531 about to enter the exchange sidings at Long Marston on 16 September 2005 with it strain of stock and DVTs. This is the first Freightliner 66 to visit this branch although an EWS example topped and tailed a "mini-railtour" from Worcester some years ago.
	Once the train to Long Marston had entered the exchange sidings, HNRC 12082 was hooked onto the back to take the stock into the secure area, and to release the 66. In earlier times, the loco would simply have used one of the other roads, but as the track is not in an especially good state these days, it was decided not to risk it.
	This picture shows 12082 moving the stock out of the exchange sidings and about to head around the depot loop to the area selected for storage. The creaking of the track and sleepers had to be heard to be believed.
	The sun finally appeared just as 66531 was ready to leave the exchange sidings at Long Marston. The driver very kindly brought his locomotive forward at low speed to allow the small gallery the chance for a well-lit shot of this very rare event.
	Another train ran Long Marston on 14 October 2005. This time, 47830 brought in a rake of 26 JNA wagons, running as 6Z52, for storage. The train left Crewe over 30 minutes late, apparently after having to wait for a path. This seems strange as one would have thought that the train planners would have put the train into a valid path when setting up the schedule. As a result of this and other factors such as a severe speed restriction on the Sutton Park line and the signallers at Gloucester panel trying to send the train to Gloucester when it arrived at Stoke Works Junction instead of via Droitwich and Worcester, the lateness grew almost exponentially. It finally passed Evesham at 13.15 (booked 10.48) and arrived at its destination at 13.50. The weather? Dreadful.
	Once the train had entered the depot, HNRC 12082 was hooked onto the back, 47830 was released and ran back along one of the parallel roads. This movement is seen here with an accompanying bevy of orange-breasted ballast peckers.
	While I was waiting for the main line action, I was kept entertained by 12082 running up and down the internal system. It is seen here in a shot taken with my 70-200mm zoom at full stretch.
	Also visible were the DVTs and MkIII stock brought in with the previous train. It is reported that considerable numbers of redundant vehicles are to be stored here, so the scenes recorded here today will soon become commonplace. Perhaps one of the future trains will run on time and in the sun...
	Another train of stock for storage at Long Marston ran today, 14 December 2005. This time is was Virgin branded HST coaches and 1 power car hauled by Cotswold Rail's 47316, all running as 5Z21 from Gloucester Horton Road. The stock ran from Bicester COD to Gloucester on Tuesday 13 December. The silver locomotive was most welcome on such a dull day! The ensemble is seen here arriving at Long Marston at 11.02 - pretty much right time - quite unusual if some previous workings are used as a measure. It is noticeable just how faded the coaches' paintwork has become whilst in outside storage - they look almost pink. The stock details, courtesy of Freightmaster Interactive, are 17173+44091+42321+42320+40402+41169+41148+44088+42294+power car 43065.
	Here is another shot of 47316, this time about to enter the site at Long Marston with the off-lease Virgin HST set, with power car 43025 immediately behind the locomotive. A train of white ICI tanks has appeared here since my last visit. These were unfit to travel by rail so were delivered by road. This is a bit of a shame as they would have made a most interesting photograph anywhere on the Cotswold line and on this branch. They are just about discernible in the background, above the 2 rakes of almost derelict coaching stock. Unfortunately, the light was so poor that very limited depth of field was available so the tanks are not at all clear so far in the distance.
	Saturday 17 December saw another move of stored Virgin HST stock to Long Marston. This time, the motive power was 20905+20096 - another first for the recently revitalised branch, although the weedkilling 20s did work here in May 1992. Today's train originated from Bicester on Friday 16 December and was staged overnight at Gloucester from where it left at 08.52 as 5Z22 . My first shot was taken at Ashchurch where, as I thought, the rising sun would just be high enough for a decent shot.
	After runnning-round at Worcester, 5Z22 headed up the Cotswold line to Honeybourne, where the branch to Long Marston was taken. The pair of newly repainted class 20s is seen here approaching the yard in dappled sunshine.
	Once authority to enter the yard had been given, 20905+20096 whistled their somewhat faded and pink HST stock into the exchange sidings from where 12081 will later move them to the storage area.
	The departure of 20096+20905 was slightly delayed while one of the operatives from the site fetched and fitted a point clip to the switch leading from the exchange sidings to the main line. This did not take long, and the locos are sen here leaving the site for the run back to Gloucester. Bearing in mind the poor state of the track and the branch being low on Network Rail's priority list, I wouldn't be surprised to see these lighter locomotives used on trains to this location more regularly. The shunting locomotive can just be made out as it approached the newly-arrived stock in the sidings.
	Sunday 8 January saw an unexpected train into Long Marston. This time it was Cotswold Rail's 47316+47813 with a long rake of stock which ran as 5Z58 10.00 Tyseley to Long Marston, which arrived 39 minutes late at 12.50. The stock was a CR set including 2 buffet cars. The impressive ensemble is seen here arriving at its destination in typically dull and very cold weather. My thanks are due to a source wishing to remain anonymous for the original tip-off and to Roger Smith for the stock and working details.
	The first vehicle in the rake is this 1st class buffet. It sems almost criminal that such high quality and newly refurbished stock is being stored when TOCs such as Virgin are using such totally inedequate stock as the Voyager.
	Very little time was wasted in getting 47813+47316 on the move back to Gloucester. Here they are leaving the site with a fine display of clag for the camera.
	Once the 47s had left the site for Gloucester, 12082 was tied onto the stock and made ready for the trip around the internal system. It is seen here across the field in a picture taken from the roadside.
	Here is yet another train of stock going in for storage dated 14 January 2006. This time it is a solo 47813 with 2 Network Rail HST power cars - 43067+43154. The train was some 100 minutes late as it approached the storage site, which did give the opportunity for an interesting lighting effect as the cloud melted away, even though the colour of the 2 NR HST PCs wasn't too apparent. I can't help but wonder why NR are storing these power cars - I believe this leaves them with 3, which must question if the NMT has enough reliable power.
	This is not a particularly inspiring photograph, but it does show the NR HST power cars about to enter the Long Marston site. The red Network Rail stickers have been removed from this side, but were still in place on the other.
	Once 47813 had taken the power cars into the exchange sidings, one of the resident shunting locomotives was hooked onto them for the short trip to their final destination. The ensemble is seen here from the roadside at around 15.15 in a nice patch of winter sun. The Sentinel started her days at Oxfordshire Ironstone as "Jean" and was the last loco on the system having powered the demolition trains. From there she went to the mining arm of the giant Corby complex but due to her light weight seems to have seen comparatively little use being noted on PW trains as much as anything else. She then found her way back to Thomas Hill for overhaul following the closure of Sentinel, and then to the nearby Yorkshire Tar Distillers, before ending up here.
	Just for good measure, here is a slightly closer shot of Jean, the red Sentinel and the power cars framed by a roadside tree. I'm not sure if the graffiti was applied to the coaches in the background while in storage here, but I imagine that security for the newly-arrived off-lease stock is much higher to avoid this happening.
	The by-now anonymous, but distinctly red Sentinel moved the NR HST power cars towards the depot buildings at Long Marston and was photographed here about to pass the main line locomotive 47813, John Peel. The latter eventually worked back to the holding sidings at Gloucester Horton Road.
	While I was waiting for the delayed 0Z43 from Derby I had a look at the recently arrived stock in the storage site at Long Marston. Here is a distant view of a Virgin HST with, in the background, some Midland and CR Mk III stock, the latter of which arrived last Sunday. The black sky over the depot was, luckily, passing away from the camera leaving some pleasant winter sunshine over me.
	On 1 March 2006 there was a move of MkIII stock from Wembley to Long Marston, which was hauled by Cotswold Rail's 47714+47200. While driving over towards Evesham, where I planned to photograph it passing the signal box, the sky grew very dark so I turned off through Welford on Avon and went straight to Long Marston. Just before the train appeared the wind really started to blow and a blizzard materialised. Great. As the train neared the roadbridge the heavy cloud obscuring the sun blew over allowing some light to illuminate the train through the falling snow. I quite like the result; at least it's slightly different from the standard shot.
	The snow shown in the picture above cleared just as quickly as it had arrived. Here are 47714+47200 in the exchange sidings at Long Marston with the rake of VT stock. The locomotives were soon detached and headed off light engine, presumably to Horton Road in Gloucester.
	This week's stock move to Long Marston was formed of a rake of cartics moved last year from Bicester to Gloucester, Horton Road. The train ran on 9 March 2006 as 6M55 13.04 from Gloucester and was booked to arrive at its destination at 15.30. My plan was to do at least 4 photographs of the train but the weather at lunchtime was very poor so I decided not to bother. However, at 14.30 the sky looked as if it might clear. When I arrived at Long Marston a huge black cloud was depositing its load of rain on the hill in the background, but as the train hauled by 47813 came into view, right on time, the cloud blew away and the sun appeared.
	The large black cloud mentioned above was sitting nicely over the hill behind the Long Marston complex when the train pulled into the exchange sidings, so a broadside shot of 47813 being uncoupled from the cartics seemed like a good idea.
	Yet another stock move operated by Cotswold Rail ran on 11 March 2006. This time it was the first class 87 to enter the site for storage; 87029 was moved from Oxley by 47813, the short train running as 0Z87. It is seen here approaching the road bridge just before entering the depot. Unusually, the loco crew unlocked the gate to allow the train to enter the site, rather than the on-site staff.
	This shot was the one for which I was aiming, showing 87029 behind Cotswold Rail's 47813, about to enter the Long Marston site for storage. This is not the first electric locomotive to arrive here, as several class 85s were sent here for scrapping at the adjacent Bird's scrapyard. There were also many EMU sets here for the same reason.
	My first opportunity to photograph Cotswold Rail's HST power cars occurred today, Friday 17 March 2006. A 5Z03 stock move from Bicester (depart 11.15) to Long Marston took place and my plan was to take it passing Evesham signal box and then go home. The train was due to leave Worcester at 14.45 so I arrived at Evesham at 14.35 to find the train in the station, as a result of the late running of a down unit thus giving an earlier path. A rapid drive to Honeybourne resulted, where this image of 43070 leading 41115+40417+42159+42160+40416+40403+40433 and Hornby-liveried power car 43087 was obtained. It is hard to believe that Honeybourne Junction was once a vast and complex array of lines controlled by no fewer than 5 signalboxes.
	This is now the only point-shifting frame on the whole of the Honeybourne site, compared to the hundreds of levers necessary when the complex was in full operation. 43070 waits for the points to be locked before proceeding onto the branch to Long Marston. It is probably just as well that the writing on the inside of the cabin's door is not readable on this shot - it is on the full-size image...
	Once the road was set and locked, the train was able to proceed onto the branch to Long Marston. I especially wanted this view of the Hornby-liveried power car curving onto the branch, and was reasonably pleased with the result despite the poor light.
	Here is the by-now obligatory shot of 5Z03 arriving at the road bridge at Long Marston, captured after a quick drive from Honeybourne. The chase isn't always successful, especially if agricultural vehicles impede progress.
	Once the stock was safely into the exchange sidings, the power cars were removed ready to be re-coupled for the move back to Gloucester. Here is 43067 in the headshunt ready to run back onto the sister car. 12082 can already be seen in the distance moving the first coach towards the storage area.
	Here are the two power cars back together. They will now run forward into the exchange sidings and thence over the points onto the branch back to Honeybourne for the return to Worcester and finally Gloucester.
	Here is a Cotswold Rail hauled 0Z03 from Bicester COD to Long Marston passing Evesham's signal box on 30 March 2006. 47714 + 47813 were allocated to haul 87009, 87020 and 87034, the ensemble running via Oxford, Swindon, Kemble and Worcester, where the locos ran-round before heading south on the Cotswold line. The train was given a clear road through Evesham and did not need to stand time to cross a northbound passenger service. It is here seen putting up a good display of exhaust after the mandatory stop to exchange the token.
	I couldn't resist a second shot as 0Z03 passed the signal. I was pleased to get a shot of 47714 in half-decent light as my previous attempt had been thwarted by a blizzard at Long Marston...
	There haven't been too many class 87s in Evesham station, in fact just 4 at the time of writing, so I felt almost obliged to take this shot of them passing the platforms.
	Another set of redundant stock ran to Long Marston on 4 May 2006. For a change, it was operated by EWS, came north from Old Oak Common, ran via Moreton in Marsh and consisted of 8 ex-FGW motorail vehicles. The original plan was to run 6Z87 to Worcester yard for the run-round, but there were rumours circulating that this might take place at Evesham. The timing was such that this was possible if both this train and the passenger services ran to schedule. I decided to go somewhere south of Evesham just in case, and picked upon the roadbridge at Honeybourne Junction. Here is 66229 with the train passing the junction for the Long Marston branch, to which it will later return. I'm not entirely sure why there is a portrait of Rolf Harris (or is it Osama Bin Laden?) on the hut containing the instruments for unlocking the ground frame.
	A train to Long Marston wouldn't be complete without a shot from this roadbridge near the storage facility! 66229 is arriving about 60 minutes early on the booked time thanks to the run-round being accomplished at Evesham station rather than in Worcester yard. The personnel at the Long Marston site were unprepared for the early arrival and there was a delay of some minutes until they appeared from their cabin. Here's a close-up of one of the  motorail coaches. Incidentally, I hope none of the local photographers were still waiting at Lower Moor or Dog Bridge, thinking that the train was late...Click  here for a view of some local wildlife.
	To the best of my knowledge this is the first EWS class 66 to have entered the yard at Long Marston. Here is 66229 just catching a glint of sun as it draws to a halt prior to uncoupling and return to Didcot.
	On Wednesday 10 May 2006 a move of 4 off-lease 87s from Oxley to Long Marston was arranged. Things didn't work out quite to plan and the train was diverted to Gloucester. The following morning saw them make the second leg of their journey, leaving Gloucester 09.10. I had planned to photograph them near the site of Fladbury station between Pershore and Evesham,but on arrival at 10.15 received a message saying that they were already at Evesham. This must have meant that the planned run-round at Worcester had taken place elsewhere, possibly at Norton Junction. I drove to Long Marston more in hope than expectation, being frustrated by roadworks with a convoy vehicle leading traffic, tractors and village speed limits. When I arrived the train was sitting under the roadbridge so I just had time to obtain this shot of 47810 hauling 87025, 87021, 87030 and 87033 into the site for storage.
	The second train into Long Marston on 11 May was 5Z86 from Oxley. This time the train consisted of 87027, which had been delivered from Norwich the previous day, together with 10 ex-VT MkIIIs and a Cotswold Rail buffet car all hauled by Cotswold Rail's 47813. The light was beautiful when the train arrived at 17.30 and the unusual double-header contrasted nicely with the verdant background.
	Once the train had run into the exchange sidings at Long Marston, 47813 was detached to be replaced by this 0-4-0 shunter named James. The side panels of a DRS class 20 can just be glimpsed between the white ICI tankers, and a little further along, 37170 is partly visible.
	Two ex-GNER HST power cars were deposited in the sidings at Evesham on Friday 12 May 2006 while en-route to Long Marston. They are here seen being passed by a northbound 180110 on Saturday 13 May 2006. A bird appears to have come to a messy end on the earlier run up to Paddington...
	Making a change from off-lease locomotives and stock, here is 47810 hauling a long rake of PIA car carriers past the signal box at Evesham after the token exchange. The ensemble is heading into Long Marston for storage. The train, 6Z66 10.48 from Gloucester New Yard had to stand in the station for a few minutes as a tamper was heading north.
	Here is 6Z66 again, this time on the final approaches to Long Marston. The branch from Honeybourne has very few breaks in the hedges surrounding the line, but there is this small gap just south of the roadbridge from I usually take a picture. It is taken from the side of the road running to Mickleton. Some may object to the pylon and wires, but I accept that these are part of the scene and can be used as a "prop". I must admit though, that apparently unsupported wires, i.e. those without visible pylons, can look a bit odd and *may* be candidates for removal with the clone stamp. If it's done properly, you'd never know...
	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.
	19 July 2006, the hottest day of the year. Now, I'm no fan of extreme temperatures, much preferring cooler weather, but on occasions there is no option but to go out, like a mad dog or an Englishman, in the mid-day sun. When I was told that 47714 was taking a goodly selection of stock to Long Marston I had the chance to get a shot I been thwarted on previously no less than 3 times, albeit this time with the sun far too high for a really good picture. Here is 47714 with 5Z91 from Gloucester leaving a haze of exhaust over Worcestershire and about to pass through the village of Fladbury, near Evesham with 4 MkIIIs sandwiching DVT 82134, 2 AWAs, 2 GHAs and HST power car 43157. It passed me at 12.13 and a later few minutes my car's thermometer was reading a temperature of 35.5 degrees Celsius. Was I glad to get the engine and climate control going.......
	Cotswold Rail's HST stock was moved to Long Marston for storage on Monday 7 August 2006. The train is seen here at Fladbury, on the Cotwold line, crawling towards a temporary speed restriction. I believe that the stock has just come off-lease following the Heartland Rail excursion to Edinburgh on 5 August. The train came during the few minutes during the day when the sun is pretty much at a right angle to the subject meaning that both ends are well lit. This is one of the reasons that I have included this going-away shot. It also shows the Hornby-liveried power car and the attractive Vale of Evesham scenery on the approaches to the eponymous town. The TSR was across the underbridge in the centre of the train.
	The Cotswold Rail HST shown above was booked to stand in Evesham station for the thick end of 30 minutes to allow a northbound passenger train to pass. This gave me plenty of time for a leisurely drive over to Lng Marston to record its arrival. Sadly, the sun didn't co-operate this time, although the HST would have been heavily back-lit at this time of day, about 14.45pm. The power cars later left the site with the CR buffet, the passenger accomodation remaining for secure storage. Use this hyperlink to see the Hornby liveried power car trailing the set into the site.
	Another move of Porterbrook stock from Oxley to Long Marston was carried out on 21 August 2006. The motive power was Cotswold Rail's 47813 with 47828 dead in tow hauling 87023 and 87003 plus 11 MkIII coaches as 5Z87. It was running a little late and passed the boarded foot crossing at Lower Moor, near Pershore at 11.29. The weather was strange; the leading locomotive was just about in some sun, but the coaching stock was getting a good soaking as a blustery downpour arrived. I just had time to put my camera away before it was my turn to become wet. In the field to the left of the train are the remains of a long siding used in more enlightened times to convey fruit and vegetables from a nearby farm. The trackbed ran along the curve visible between the two sections of the field. Some infrastructure is still to be seen amongst the undergrowth. For more information on Bomfords branch please follow the hyperlink to a page on the fascinating MIAC website covering this area.
	Two moves were planned for Long Marston on 5 September 2006. The first was a 5Z01 09.00 Gloucester to Long Marston conveying the Cotswold Rail buffet car and 2 ex-Virgin MkIII coaches. The train is here seen at Lower Moor near Pershore behind Cotswold Rails' 47810. The bridge upon which I am standing has this number painted on the brickwork. It is good to see that the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton lives on, in spirit at least.
	47810 returned from Long Marston as 5Z02 12.00 to Laira and I photographed it at Honeybourne, just coming to a stand on the former East Loop. In former days, this piece of track would mostly have been used by local trains from Leamington Spa to Worcester via Stratford-upon-Avon. These would have run straight on at this point into the branch platforms. Some of these lines are still extant but have been condemned as being unfit for use. The crew member charged with operating the ground frame has ridden down "on the cushions" and he is just opening the door of the leading ex-Virgin MkIII.
	The crew have now left the coach and the shunter, holding the token from Evesham signal box, will now walk to the ground frame and put the token into the machine so that the key to unlock the ground frame can be released. The train of Midland HST stock along with CR's buffet will now head for Laira depot in South Devon. The line in the right foreground is the main line from London Paddington to Worcester and Hereford.
	The crew member has now obtained permission for the train to leave Honeybourne's East Loop, operated the ground frame and waved the train across the switchwork onto the main line. Once the points have been cleared he will replace the levers, lock the frame and extract the token, which will be returned to the 'box at Evesham in exchange for the token giving authority to enter the single track to Norton Junction. The token instrument can just be seen within the small hut. It is amazing to recall that the Honeybourne complex was operated by no fewer than 5 full size signal boxes, with hundreds of semaphore signals and their miles of wires and point rodding. There are several books in print with details of the operations here and I can recommend "Shakespeare's Railways" by John Boynton and "An Illustrated History of the Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham Railway" by Audie Baker. The latter includes many fascinating anecdotes from Honeybourne and Long Marston with plenty of illustrations showing how much has been lost in the area.
	A Freightliner move from Crewe to Long Marston conveying coaches 12033 and 12142 along with DVT 82125 was arranged for 21 September 2006. The traction was originally quoted as being a class 47, but in the event, 66514 was provided. This didn't bother me at all as I have far more pictures of 47s on these runs than I have of 66s. Here is 5Z52 passing the site of Fladbury station on the Cotswold Line at 10.41 on a perfectly lit morning.
	I'm not a great one for hurtling around the countryside chasing trains from one location to another, but decided to have an attempt at getting to Long Marston to picture 66514 taking 5Z52 into the site. There is never any guarantee that such a chase will be successful, given the number of farm vehicles on the roads in the Vale of Evesham and the speed limits through the villages on the way there. On this occasion I made it without any trouble, having some 10 minutes to wait before the train appeared at 11.19.
	Next comes the obligatory shot of the stock running into the complex at Long Marston to await a shunt move into the secure area. It would be good to photograph a train leaving the site at this time of day, but this is unlikely given that this path would be required to bring a locomotive into the site. Taking into account the time that would be necessary to couple up and perform a brake test, it seems improbable that a departure time to coincide with an early path on the main line would be achieved.
	No time was wasted in uncoupling 66514 from the stock and despatching the loco back to Honeybourne. There is a reasonable gap in passenger services on the Cotswold Line at this time of day and it seemed likely that 0Z52 would be able to make a much earlier run to Kingsland Road in Bristol than was scheduled. In fact though, this wasn't the case as 0Z52 was seen passing Evesham station at 14.38, which meant an extended lunch break on the East Loop at Honeybourne. The loco is here seen leaving Long Marston whilst, in the background, HNRC 0-6-0 has been attached to the train for the journey on the internal railway system.
	A rake of TTA tanks ran from Warrington Arpley to Washwood Heath last week. The original destination was Long Marston where the tanks were destined for storage and this final part of the move actually took place today, 25 September as 6Z80 Washwood Heath to Long Marston. The train was booked to stand in Worcester Yard for around an hour but I had a hunch that an earlier path to Evesham at least would be found. With this in mind, I decided against a shot at Evesham where the sun, if shining, would be in the wrong place for the earlier path. I therefore went to Fladbury where the train appeared behind 66086 at 11.19, over 60 minutes early. This really was an extremely rare sight and I am not aware that a train of TTAs has worked over the Cotswold line previously. I am indebted to Geoff B.for the additional information that these tanks have recently been retired from the Seal Sands to Eggborough Power Station service, conveying fuel oil and are almost certainly a mixture of TTAs and TUAs.
	I decided that I must have another shot of 6Z80 so went directly to Long Marston, where I had a longer than expected wait. I suspect that a northbound passenger train on the mostly single-track Cotswold Line was running late and that 6Z80 had to stand in Evesham for an extended period. 66086 eventually came into view at 12.23, just 13 minutes early on the original schedule. I was surprised to be alone for the arrival and can only assume that the normal but inexplicably shortsighted bigotry of the average enthusiast against EWS 66 hauled trains came into play. I was more than happy to record what is certainly the only train of TTAs to have traversed the line between Honeybourne and Long Marston especially behind only the 2nd EWS 66 to have entered Long Marston exchange sidings. To me, this is infinitely more interesting than top-and-tail 37s on a short SERCO train. For a close-up view of some of the TTAs, please click  here
	There was a delay of some minutes at Long Marston while the on-site staff came to unlock the gate leading to the exchange sidings. The 66's engine was switched off during this hiatus and was restarted only when the gate was opened. The small plume of exhaust is here seen as this procedure is carried out. After a few seconds, the train was taken into the sidings ready for the 66 to be detached and the tanks left ready for movement into the storage area,
	Mark III stock continues to accumulate at Long Marston and 4 more coaches arrived on 29 September, 3 from Oxley and 1 from Gloucester. The train is here seen approaching the end of the branch from Honeybourne in absolutely appalling light behind 47714 and 47810. The use of 47810 was slightly mysterious as it was dead in tow and after the coaches had been dropped in the exchange sidings, 47714 ran round its sister locomotive and led for the light engine trip back to Worcester and thence Gloucester. I wonder if another run-round was carried out in Worcester yard? For anyone interested in the technical details of the shot, it was taken at ISO 400 on a Nikon D200 using a Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens set at 180mm and f3.2 with a shutter speed of 1/250 second.
	As any regular viewers of my website will know, I can't resist making the short trip from my home to Long Marston when a stock move is planned. On 10 October, 47714 was booked to take some HST vehicles to Laira, thus giving a chance to photograph a train leaving the former MOD site. My first shot shows Cotswold Rail's 47714 arriving as 5Z01 from Gloucester with 2 1st class MkIII coaches which were to be used as barriers for the outward move. The morning mist had just begun to clear properly by this time, 11.05am.
	This was the only shot I managed in the sun at Long Marston on 10 October 2006 and shows 47714 waiting for the gate at the end of the OTO section to be opened by the local operations crew. The mistiness in the right background is actually smoke from fires lit by contractors to dispose of some hedges they had just grubbed up.
	This shot wouldn't win any prizes for technical excellence, but even though it was taken at the maximum range of my 200mm lens and against the light, I quite like the effect of the exhaust and misty background. The loco is HNRC No. 29 0-6-0 taking the stock for today's 5Z02 to Laira around the inner circuit at Long Marston. The DVT was being used as a barrier vehicle as the loco would be unable to couple to the HST stock. I must stress that this shot was taken from a public road and did not involve doing anything I shouldn't have...
	Once all the shunting had been carried out, 47714 was able to leave Long Marston with 5Z02 to Laira comprising the 2 MkIIIs brought in earlier as barriers, together with one Virgin and 5 MML HST coaches. It was good to be able a train coming out of the site for a change even though the sun didn't co-operate fully. The HNRC locomotive and DVT can be seen in the exchange sidings ready to return to base.
	I do like to take photographs that somehow appear to be a bit unusual. Here is Cotswold Rail's 47810 in Virgin red livery with a short rake of TTA tanks approaching the site of Fladbury station on the Cotswold line on 12 October 2006. There are no prizes for guessing that the destination of the train is Long Marston where the TTas will be stored. Despite having taken many photographs along this stretch of line, I still get a bit of a buzz when the yellow locomotive nose appears under the bridge at Lower Moor.
	This was one of those occasions when I only just made it to Long Marston before the train. By the time I had parked my car and taken my camera bag to the bridge, 47810 was just coming around the bend in the background with the 6 TTAs. In common with my comment above, I love seeing a train appearing in the distance here; it always makes me think what might have been had the line from Cheltenham to Stratford -upon-Avon not been closed in 1976. As usual, click on the hyperlink for a closer view of some of the TTAs.

	47714 took a long rake of ferrywagons from Bescot to Long Marston on 23 October 2006. The train, running as 6Z84, left Bescot at 10.35 and is here seen about to pass Evesham station right on time at 13.02 with 47714 making its usual smoky start. It makes a change to see a decent length train of vans on the Cotswold Line instead of the usual off-lease coaching stock and DVTs. Click here to have a closer look at the data panel of one the vans. The reason for the IZAs being taken to Long Marston was for some welding work to be undertaken to enable them to be used on a different traffic flow. I believe the work was to adapt the anchorage points to allow for palletised goods to be carried.
	Another set of IZAs were moved from Bescot to Long Marston on 24 October, again with 47714 providing the power. The train left Bescot around one hour early, but was looped at Bromsgrove with the Western Region not wishing to accept it before the booked time. I had already arrived at Fladbury when I was told this, so resigned myself to a long wait. Luckily, it's a pleasant enough spot with little traffic and the time passed quite quickly. Here is 47714 speeding along spot on the booked time with 6Z84, just catching a final patch of clear sunlight. The side to back lighting shows off the exhaust quite well and the uniform rake of vans lend themselves to the angle of the sun.
	An in-and-out run to Long Marston took place on Monday 30 October 2006. 47828 took 2 coaching vehicles from Gloucester to Long Marston, where it is here seen arriving just a few minutes late on the scheduled time, and took out one of the rakes of IZAs taken there last week. Some new sleepers have been laid by the roadbridge, just visible in front of the locomotive. Maybe this is the start of the long-promised upgrade to the branch from Honeybourne, now that regular traffic uses the line.
	I decided not to wait at Long Marston for 47828 to pick up the IZAs, which had just been shunted into position in the exchange sidings, but instead went straight to Honeybourne Junction. Here is 6Z02 with 47828 in charge having just arrived at the junction at 12.02. The crew member will go to the ground frame and ask permission from Evesham signalbox to release the train on the main line. This is the first train of freight vehicles I have photographed here and it made a change from the various rakes of passenger stock, which have the usual fare up until now.
	The line between Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh was obviously clear, as no time was wasted in getting 6Z02 on the move and across from the former East Loop and onto the main line. From here, the train ran to Bescot where these IZAs were due to be swapped for another rake of similar vehicles, due to be taken south to Gloucester. Incidentally, if anyone knows of a good photograph taken in this location when all the lines and infrastructure was still extant, I'd very interested to see it. Please use the "Contact" link on the index page to get in touch. See this map for a glimpse of the complex of lines that used to be Honeybourne's junction and loops.
	I have included this uninspiring view of 47828 purely for the background. I was standing over the former island platform at Honeybourne station, which was situated between the main Worcester to Oxford line and the branch lines, used by stopping trains from Stratford-upon-Avon to Worcester, and Honeybourne to Cheltenham trains. The latter ran towards Stratford on the east loop before turning right onto the west loop to gain the Stratford to Cheltenham line. The spur going off sharply to the right was used by steam locomotives heading for the coaling stage, which was roughly in the position of the roof I have cloned into the encroaching undergrowth, and also to reach some wagons sidings a little further north. This spur also marked the northern extremity of the branch platforms. When the Bescot to Honeybourne Tip trains ran in the 1990s, the branch platform lines were used for the locomotives to run-round the wagons. Before the current tranche of trains began running to Long Marston in September 2005, the lines were inspected and found unfit for use. Any trains running from the south have therefore to run to Evesham or Worcester to reverse before getting onto the Long Marston branch.
	I'm not quite sure what is going on with the movement of IZAs between Bescot and Long Marston at the moment, but another set of them ran from the former to the latter on 1 November 2006. I'm not complaining, especially in the perfect light in which 6Z48 ran. The train is shown approaching the foot crossing at Lower Moor, near Pershore running a bit late after a 30 minute late start from Gloucester and fairly rattling along, leaving a cloud of exhaust over Worcestershire. My original plan was to photograph the train from the bridge in the background, but shadows were intruding rather too much for a decent shot.
	47813 clearly has as much of an affinity for the Cotswold as I. Here it is again on 2 November 2006, this time at Lower Moor with a 5Z02 12.00 Long Marston to Laira stock move consisting of 7 Project Rio MML HST coaches along with MkIII vehicles in FGW and VT colours being used as barriers. These 2 vehicles were taken into Long Marston last week and a picture of the that move appears in my Long Marston section. The train was running a few minutes late due to an up Adelante also being late and occupying the single track from Norton Junction to Evesham, and John Peel was working hard to make up time.
	Here is 5Z02 again, this time on the main Gloucester line. The train ran north to Worcester Yard to allow the locomotive to run round before heading south where I photographed it some 25 minutes early at 13.52 passing through the site of Defford station. This is a pleasant location and has the added advantage of a decent northbound shot - far better in my opinion than the more popular viewpoint at Croome Perry, a couple of miles to the north.
	The first move of a DRS locomotive to Long Marston took place on 7 November. 0Z65 09.27 Crewe to Long Marston with 37059 arrived at the site some 150 minutes late following delays all the way from the originating point. It is here seen just after arrival and awaiting the local ground crew to unlock the gate to allow access to the exchange sidings. I don't normally bother with light engine moves, but wanted to record this first arrival by DRS. In the poor lighting conditions, it was a pity that such a dirty locomotive was allocated - presumably straight from the RHTT programme. A nice clean example would have showed up better...
	After such a late arrival it was inevitable that a knock-on effect would put back the departure time, originally scheduled for 14.40. In the event it was 16.22 before 5Z65 to Crewe and Carlisle actually left the exchange sidings. The rake of MkIII stock is to be used by DRS for charter work and will be repainted into their house colours. Here it is in virtual darkness slowly moving onto the OTO line en-route to Honeybourne. Click here to see the unadjusted image as taken. The exposure details for this image are a shutter speed of 1/125 second with an aperture of f3.2 on ISO 800, followed by a bit of work both in the raw convertor and Photoshop.
	Another of the rakes of IZAs taken to Long Marston for interior work was returned to Bescot on 17 November. The allocated locomotive was Cotswold Rail's 47714, but this was failed en-route from Bristol Temple Meads with faulty wipers. 47828 was substituted from Gloucester and made an on-time at Long Marston, where it is seen at the head of the 10 cargowagons in the exchange sidings. This is really quite a busy location these days, as witnessed by the variety of stock visible - it looks almost like a 1990s scene. Strangely, the locomotive ran light engine up the branch towards Honeybourne and back before being attached to the vans.
	The early promise of some good light for the departure soon evaporated and the sun disappeared behind thick cloud for the 12.00 departure. In fairness, I should say that the sun wasn't forecast and the interlude of brightness was a bonus. Here, 47828 is winding the set of 10 IZAs, running as 6Z03 to Bescot, out of Long Marston's exchange sidings and onto the single track towards Honeybourne. Many new sleepers have been laid over the last couple of weeks, which is a welcome development in the life of this branch, formerly the GWR main line from Wolverhampton and Birmingham to the West Country and South Wales.
	FM Rail have the joined the other TOCs in moving stock to and from the Long Marston facility. I missed their first move through being on holiday but the second took place on 20 November 2006, a gloriously sunny day. The train was somehow delayed leaving Derby by nearly an hour and the lateness had increased to some 105 minutes by the time it reached Long Marston. I decided upon a shot on the branch line and went to a foot crossing between the village of Broad Marston and the Long Marston site itself. Here is 47145 with 8 ex-FGW motorail vehicles running as 4Z13 approaching the end of its journey.
	Once the train had entered Long Marston, 47145 was unhooked and ran into an adjacent road while HNRC NO 29, a Hunslet 0-6-0 with a match wagon was attached to the Motorail vehicles. Here is the view from the road bridge overlooking the exchange sidings as the train is inspected and prepared for splitting.
	The first four vehicles were removed from the train and hauled away around the outer circuit of the Long Marston internal system by No 29. A short rake of IZAs and some TEAs can be seen in the background; the IZAs should be returning to Bescot soon, as soon as some work has been done upon them.
	As a result of the late inward running of 4Z13, the return, 3Z03 was also quite some time behind its 14.15 departure schedule. It arrived on the East Loop at Honeybourne at about 15.30, about 30 minutes too late to be in sunshine, the sun having dipped into some rapidly developing cloud cover by that time. It will be noted from this photograph showing 3Z03 standing on the East Loop while a northbound Adelante passes, that only 6 NVAs were conveyed on this run - 2 remain at Long Marston. Four were taken inside for unloading and 2 of these were then loaded for the outward run. It is said that these inward and outward runs should soon become a regular working with 2/3 trains per week from Mossend being timed to arrive at Long Marston at 09.30 for an anticipated departure time of around 12.30. Time alone will tell if FMR's reliability will sufficiently improve to allow this to happen...This picture was taken with a 70-200mm lens set at 135mm, with a shutter speed in the failed light of 1/125 second and an aperture of f4.5. The camera was supported on a monopod for stability.
	The 6 ex-FGW Motorail wagons taken from Long Marston on 20 November and which have been languishing at Hams Hall for the best part of a week were finally moved back to Long Marston on 29 November 2006. The train, the 3Z03 08.30 Hams Hall to Long Marston with 47145 finally left its starting point some 120 minutes late - hardly a surprise given FM Rail's recent performance. The locomotive is showing signs of its recent usage on Hams Hall to Mossend traffic, which clearly hasn't allowed any time for a run through the washing plant. My plan had been to photograph it at Broad Marston and then go around the corner to Long Marston to watch the shunting, but given the lateness had to change my plan. After killing time by visiting the fruit and vegetable stall in Long Marston village and the butcher in Welford on Avon, I reckoned the best bet for a well-lit shot would be the bridge just to the north of Evesham station. The lateness had increased to 160 minutes by the time 3Z03 left Worcester and it arrived at Evesham signal box at 13.05 in an outrageously lucky patch of sun, given the amount of cloud surrounding the area. The train went straight through Evesham station and onto the single line towards its destination.
	Four class 86s were last week moved from Immingham to Bescot in preparation to be tripped into Long Marston for secure storage. The final leg of their journey took place in dreadful light on 30 November 2006, being hauled from Bescot by 60042. This is only the second class 60 to have traversed the former Stratford-upon-Avon line and the first to have entered the Long Marston complex. The train is here seen approaching the end of the branch, with 60042 hauling 86247, 86245, 86234 and 86260 towards their new home.
	86260 is here seen tailing 3 sister locomotives and 60042 as it enters the exchange sidings at Long Marston. I was pleased that the former Anglia locomotives were on the rear of the train, but wish that the weather had been better. The HNRC Hunslet shunter is visible on the right of the main train and once the class 60 has been detached and left the site, will be hooked onto the front ready to take the 86s into the secure area.
	Very little time was wasted in getting 60042 detached from the class 86s and within minutes of arrival it was leaving the site ready for the run back to Honeybourne and thence Bescot. Once the gate had been closed, the Hunslet shunter was taken to the front of the line of 86s, hooked onto 86247, and hauled them to the secure part of the site. I was later told by a kind source within the railway industry that the visit of 60042 caused a bit of a stir within Network Rail. The class is banned from using the branch, and once it had left, it was necessary for the line to be walked so that it could be checked for alignment, for 2 structures to be checked for integrity and for several culverts to be examined in case of damage or collapse. All was reported to be in order. This had made me doubly glad that I went across in such poor conditions as I bet another 60 won't set foot on the branch on the forseeable future, sunshine or no sunshine...
	One of the smaller rail vehicles in use at Long Marston is this powered trolley. It appeared to have been used to take some p-way materials around the circuit to an area where some work was being carried out. It's an especially noisy vehicle, with what sounded to the untutored ear like an unsilenced engine similar to those used in small motorcycles. In the background is a rake of 100 tonne bogie tanks with an attendant lorry and crew. It was a bit too far away to see what was being done, but it looked as if cleaning of the insides of the tanks was in progress.
	Three more class 86s were taken for storage from Bescot to Long Marston on 16 January 2007. The train of locomotives, running as 0Z86, was scheduled to start from Bescot at 06.30 and arrive at its destination at around 10.50, but it was some three hours late leaving. Fortunately, information was available and I had some progress updates which allowed me to waste little time hanging around. Here is 66100 with 86251 + 86231 + 86229 about to enter Evesham station at 12.18 in drizzling rain and very poor light. A filthy class 66 doesn't exactly lend much charm to the scene and neither does the white van parked by the fence, but the unusual nature of the working made it a worthwhile trip. The Railtrack-branded stoneblower visible behind the train had recently arrived in the siding by the signal box - I assume there is some engineering work in prospect soon. I photographed it mostly because I previously hadn't seen anything on that piece of track and wanted a record shot...
	A northbound passenger train caused 0Z86 to be held in the up platform at Evesham for quite a few minutes before continuing its journey to Long Marston. This gave me time to go round to the roadbridge on the south side of Evesham station to take another shot. It was exceptionally dark looking down over the station but I thought a shot should be taken to the record the unusual sight of former WCML express locomotives on the OWW.
	After taking the photograph shown above, there was still no sign of the passenger train occupying the single track from Moreton in Marsh so I went onto the platform at Evesham station to obtain another purely record shot of some ex-Virgin 86s on a line never likely to be electrified. The lower-quadrant centre pivot starter signal can just be seen through the roadbridge.
	When I left Evesham my intention was to drive straight home for an only-slightly delayed lunch, but when I reached the turn for Welford on Avon and Long Marston decided to go and see if 66100 was going to take anything out of Long Marston. As I arrived, it was clear that that the gate into the complex was still shut and that the train was yet to enter. Once the Long Marston ground crew in HNRC No.29 had arrived and unlocked the gate, a small patch of sun appeared just as the train drew forward.
	The class 66 was soon detached from the 3 86s and once it had run through the exchange sidings it left the site for to return light engine to Bescot. A rake of tanks it was booked to take out were apparently not quite ready to leave - this means another chance on another day. Just about visible in the background is 45112, due to work a railtour on 27 January 2007. HNRC No 29 soon ran along the 2nd road of the sidings and was hooked onto the 86s ready for their move into secure storage.
	Some redundant stock was moved to Chaddesden, near Derby a couple of weeks ago and the 15 coaches involved were destined for Long Marston. The first move involved only 11 of the 15 because Network Rail incorrectly stated that 15 would be too long for Evesham loop. I was not able to record this move but when the 4 remaining coaches were moved on 23 January 2007 I was in a position to take the requisite photographs. The day was cold but sunny and the use of 47853 led a certain attraction to the prospect. Here is 5Z59 passing the signalbox at Evesham at 10.16 on the approaches to the station, where the token for the stretch of single track line to Honeybourne was taken from the instrument on the platform.
	I set off in pursuit of 5Z59 as soon as it had passed the bridge at Evesham, not really expecting to reach Long Marston in time. As it happened, I arrived with a couple of minutes to spare just as the train appeared in the distance. The frosty sleepers of the branch stand out well in the sunshine as 47853 with 3 InterCity and 1 VST coach runs the final few yards towards the Long Marston facility. Click on the hyperlink to see the Virgin VST coach in the formation. The windows on the other side all had been smashed by vandals at some stage in their journey.
	This is the view from the road bridge at Long Marston as 47853 waits for the shunting to be performed. It shows the four MkIII coaches brought in from Derby together with the rake of JXAs that had just been marshalled ready for departure. The yard looks remarkably like something from the 1970s with the assortment of rolling stock and the engine shed visible in the distance.
	At the start of the day I didn't know if any stock was scheduled to leave Long Marston with 47853. It soon became apparent that some JXAs would be leaving when the resident shunter brought 4 of the big wagons around to the front of the exchange sidings. A little later, another 12 or so so were added to what was to become the rear of the train. Nothing is ever that straightforward though, and it looked as if one or two were found in the rake that were unfit to run. This prompted about 90 minutes of shunting activity, all of which took place in glorious sun. Just as the train of 10 JXAs was making ready to leave the sun was in and out of cloud and when it started away the only shot of the day in partial sun was taken as it left some 80 minutes late on the schedule. The train was stopped before finally leaving and some attention seemed to be given to the brake cocks at the rear of the 10th vehicle.
	While the operation described above was taking place I had a quick drive to Honeybourne to see if a shot was on as the train, running as 6Z69 12.35 Long Marston to Chaddesden, arrived at the junction. I took about 15 shots as it stood on the branch while the crew obtained permission to join the main line and operated the ground frame - such is beauty of "free at point-of-use" digital photography! During the drive from Long Marston, the sky to the west had pretty much cleared and there seemed little prospect of the shot being ruined by cloud.
	I wasn't able to decide whether I preferred this shot or the one above so have included both. The crew are making their way towards the ground frame where they will contact the signaller at Evesham in order to request permission to allow the train onto the single track to Evesham where a southbound passenger train will be crossed.
	Here is a final shot of 47853 standing on the East Loop at Honeybourne collecting the rays of winter sunshine. The crew shown in the picture above have contacted Evesham signalbox and the points are about to shifted to allow the train onto the maon line.
	The final shot of a most enjoyable session was taken at 14.20 as 47853 with its train of 10 JXAs finally leaves the Long Marston branch and gets on to the main line. Once the train had been locked onto the line, the crew re-joined the locomotive and it headed off towards Evesham with an excellent display of exhaust.
	Another seven JXAs were taken from Long Marston to Derby on 24 January 2006 again being hauled by 47853, this time on its final run for the company formerly known as FM Rail. It is here seen passing the village of Lower Moor in rather poorer light than yesterday's run. The sky was clear when I left home, the cloud appearing only as I approached Evesham.
	Cotswold Rail's newly acquired class 31s, 31452 + 31128 made their second trip to Long Marston on Monday 29 January 2007. The first trip was on the previous Friday, but I knew about it too late to get to the line. Here are the pair sandwiching Virgin-liveried MkIII 12077 as they approach the road bridge by the entrance to the former MOD site at 14.40 on an exceptionally dull and misty afternoon. The black livery of former owner of the locomotives isn't exactly the greatest in poor light; maybe Cotswold Rail will soon have them repainted into their house colours - this will show up better in the dark.
	Once the train had been allowed into Long Marston the rear class 31, 31128 Charybdis, was uncoupled whilst 31452 took the coach forward and then propelled onto the loop line ready to be taken to the secure area. Meanwhile, HNRC 12082 was on its way round to the main yard to collect 6 IZAs which were to be coupled to the others visible in the exchange sidings and taken to Bescot. This move was scheduled to leave Long Marston at 16.05 as it was getting colder and darker I decided not to wait...
	I wasn't expecting much activity on Wednesday 31 January 2007, but after returning from my daily swim found a message on my BlackBerry saying that 45112 was working a 4Z47 Chaddesden to Long Marston train conveying more KAA wagons - these are those that were obtained by Blue Circle cement with a SRA grant to carry lorry cement tanks on a piggyback basis, and which were used for only the initially contracted number of trains from Westbury to Southampton before being stored at Aberthaw. The tanks also bought with the grant can of course be seen all around Wiltshire on the backs of lorries. Nothing dodgy there then. Anyway, here is 45112 approaching Long Marston with the flats. The sun came out about half an hour before the train and made life a little difficult, meaning that the lens had to shielded with not only the large "tulip" shade, but by hand as well.
	The train was originally scheduled to arrive at Long Marston at around 10.45 but in the event didn't leave Worcester until around midday. I went originally to Evesham before knowing the change of times, but whilst there the sun disappeared completely. Plan B was to go straight to Long Marston where the sun was fine for a 10.45 arrival. Then came the news that there was a long delay. I came home for a drink and went back later, arriving there at about 12.15. Various messages were sent detailing the train's progress and it arrived at the gate at 13.15 and is here seen going into the complex. I like the idea of the operational headcode panels - wouldn't it be good to have the correct headcode displayed?
	The Long Marston shunter, 12088, was soon hooked onto the flats and took them off the exchange sidings in to allow the Peak to exit the site. Here is 45112 following the train down the sidings prior to leaving. The KAAs visible on the right of 45112 came in here on a previous occasion. The set that arrived today was later coupled to these and went off for storage.
	Here is the obligatory shot taken as 45112 slowly exits the Long Marston complex. I was sort of surprised to see a Peak here bearing in mind the weight of these locomotives. Class 60s are barred from the branch but there doesn't appear to have been a problem today. Maybe the additional axles bring the loading within allowed limits.
	Once the Peak had gone off towards Honeybourne followed by most of the gallery, 12082 propelled the KAAs onto the short rake already there. As mentioned above, the two sets of KAAs were coupled together, and here is that operation in progress. The whole train was still sitting in the exchange when I left but I imagine that it was taken around the circuit before too long.
	A rake of TEA bogie tanks were moved from Gloucester to Long Marston on 20 February 2007. 6B19, the 12.02 from Gloucester was booked for Cotswold Rail's 47703 and despite the gloomy skies I decided to go and get a shot of it as I'm sure that this into silver is an early candidate for repainting from its current Fragonset livery. The locomotive, still carrying the name Hermes which presumably is advertising silk ties, is here seen with the 12 TEAs passing Evesham signal box under clear signals. Click on the hyperlink for a closer look at one of the  tanks as it passed by.
	An EWS light engine move to Long Marston was shown as working on the morning of 23 February 2007, the locomotive being timed to arrive at the site at 10.55 and leaving with a train as 6Z80 to Bescot at 13.45. At about 10.19 I read a message on my BlackBerry saying that the locomotive had passed Evesham at 09.42! I grabbed my camera bag and drove over to Long Marston where, as I reached the overbridge by the branch at 10.39, 66092 was heading down the single track towards Honeybourne with a rake of IZA ferrywagons. I decided to have a go at beating it to Honeybourne Tip and made it with about 30 seconds to spare. Here is 6Z80 on the "main" line passing the sidings previously used to access the ballast tip. This tip was last used in the 1990s when a couple of trains ran from Bescot each week, usually with Class 31 or 37 motive power.
	Honeybourne station and its road overbridge are about a 5 minute drive from the tip and as I arrived at 10.55 the train was sitting on the branch awaiting the road onto the main Oxford to Worcester line. A crew member is about to ring Evesham signalbox to ask for the ground frame to be released so the points can be switched. In the event, it appeared that there was no available path, the door of the box was shut and the second man from 66092 walked back to the by now shut-down locomotive.
	Although the sun was still shining a very stormy looking sky was blowing in from the south and after taking this shot of 6Z80 sitting on the branch I received a telephone call saying that the train would not leave Honeybourne until 12.15. As this was some 55 minutes away, I decided not to hang about and left for home. This was the correct decision, for as I drove through Honeybourne village the heavens opened and I remembered that I had left home without a coat...
	There was a Cotswold Rail in-and-out trip to Long Marston on 28 February 2007 with, on the way in, 31128 and 47703 topping and tailing 3 Porterbrook liveried barrier wagons, the train being sent to collect 3 MkIII HST vehicles. 47703 looks to be smoking quite badly considering that it's just ticking over. The inward trip fitted in quite well with lunch at a nearby restaurant with only a few minutes wait in the very blustery wind before 5Z19 came into view on the branch. The light was dull in the extreme but I thknk it's worth getting the former FMRail locomotives in their old house colours, as they are sure to be repainted before too long. I wasn't able to wait for the outward trip, but looking at how the light deteriorated in the interim 90 minutes, not too much was lost. Note the pile of old sleepers on the left of the train and the considerable number of new ones now in place.
	A rake of PGA wagons used on the Wool to Neasden sand train was taken for storage at Long Marston on 2 March 2007. Most unusually, the train ran north along the Cotswold Line via Moreton in Marsh instead of going via Swindon, Gloucester and Worcester to approach Long Marston from the north. To facilitate this, the train ran in top-and-tail formation so that reversal could take place at Honeybourne, where a run-round is not possible due to the poor state of the track in the former branch platforms. 6Z49 was booked to pass Moreton in Marsh at 16.03 so I decided to go to a location just north of there near the Cotswold town on Chipping Campden on the section very rarely used by locomotives and here is 66527 leading with 66507 bringing up the rear approaching the site of the long-gone station. To see another shot taken here in 1993, this time of 33116 propeliing an 8-TC set heading from Worcester to Waterloo, click on  this hyperlink. I'm sorry, but I failed to organise the hot air balloons for the Long Marston move!
	As the quickest way home from Chipping Campden is via Long Marston, it would have rude not to have dropped in the see the train arrive with 66507 now in charge after the reversal at Honeybourne. I'll put my hands up here and admit that I completely miscalculated the exposure needed to counter the harsh backlighting and this accounts for the poor quality of this image, which needed quite a bit of post-processing work to get even to this stage. The train ran into the exchange sidings where the wagons were deposited. The locomotives were stabled overnight at Long Marston, presumably due to the crew's hours being limited and ran back to Bristol Kingsland Road the following day. I was surprised at how little interest from enthusiasts this rare working over the southern part of the Cotswold Line generated. I understand that there was just photographer at Charlbury - a most attractive location - see   Martin Loader's photograph here, I was alone at Chipping Campden, there were 2 at Honeybourne and just three of us witnessed the arrival at Long Marston. I can only surmise that the average enthusiast doesn't regard anything with class 66 power worth a look, even on the most unusual route. Still, I shouldn't complain. The peace and quiet of the Cotswolds is pleasant without too much company...
	It has been quite widely known that a rake of MkIII stock has been inside Long Marston for complete refurbishment and painting into BR blue & grey livery. It's first public run was made on 8 March 2007 as an ECS move to Crewe behind 47805 + 47812. 5Z47 was originally booked to leave Long Marston at 14.14, this was retimed to 12.25 but due to various circumstances the train didn't make it away from Honeybourne until 15.47. I had put all my eggs into one basket and went straight from home to Lower Moor on the Cotswold Line where, with an on-time departure, the light would have been perfect. The chickens came home to roost when it became clear that the train wasn't going to get away from Honeybourne much before 16.00. This being so, I decided a shot at Honeybourne would be the best chance of at least a bit of light. In retrospect, the right move would have been to have gone there first, as it stood on the East Loop for ages. Still, with the way the light was fading, I'm not too unhappy with the result. The shot I took a few minutes later without the speed restriction sign being quite so obtrusive wasn't sharp; the price one pays for shoooting at 1/125 at f4 on a 200mm lens....
	Having checked another image I took from a slightly less wide angle from the one above, I thought that this shot showed the track layour and overall ambience of Honeybourne a little better. I don't think it's 100% sharp but without excessive post-processing which would have wrecked it altogether by over-sharpening, it's about as good as it gets. I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities to get photographs of the stock on charters over the coming years, probably with a wide variety of locomotives.
	I've included this final image because I do like to have some human interest in my pictures on occasions. The crew, whose high visibility jackets still carry the name of FM Rail, have obtained permission to allow 5Z47 off the Long Marston branch, set the points and waved the train forward onto the main line to Evesham and Worcester. Note the token instrument visible in the hut - the only remains of a signalling system at Honeybourne which comprised of 5 signal boxes controlling hundreds of points and semaphore arms.
	Tuesday, 27 March started with thick fog over Warwickshire and Worcestershire, thus scuppering my railway-related plans for the day. I went for a couple of hours walking in the late morning and returned home to find a message on my BlackBerry saying that 31452 + 31128 were on the way from Gloucester New Yard to Long Marston with 10 JIAs and 1 TEA for storage. I had plenty of time for the short drive over and arrived to find the fog just beginning to lift. About 10 minutes before the train was due the sun finally managed to break through the fog, this giving some interesting, not to mention challenging, lighting conditions. As it happened, 6Z19 led by 31452 was about 25 minutes late arriving and this allowed the sun to move round far to give a touch of illumination on the side of the train as it approached the bridge adjacent to the yard.
	After a short delay while the train crew were briefed on the move into the exchange sidings, 6Z19 pulled forward allowing the chance to photograph the single TEA tailed by 31128. The fog had lifted from the immediate site at Long Marston, but the background looking towards Rumer Hill, just outside the village, was still well shrouded.
	As soon as the train had come to a standstill in the exchange sidings, 31452 was uncoupled and ran forward to gain entrance to the second road so that it could run onto the front of 31128 before returning to Gloucester. The longer lens I used for this view really makes the peripheral mist stand out, separating the yard from the background.
	I was walking around Stratford-upon-Avon during the morning of Friday 30 March 2007, when my telephone rang and I was told by someone in the know that a class 66 was at Evesham station, in fact it had just been shunted into the up siding to allow a passenger train to pass. This could really mean only one thing; that it was en-route to Long Marston to pick up some wagons. There was no rush as it was likely that the path used would be the one around mid-day so I finished my shopping before walking home, picking up my camera and driving to Long Marston. The gate into the site was open for rail traffic and sure enough, after about a 10 minute wait, 66179 ran into the exchange sidings, coupled onto a rake of 20 mostly green JNA boxes, and at 11.45 moved out onto the branch to Honeybourne. The 2nd box in the rake was at least one quarter full of water, which sloshed around like a small swimming pool with a wave machine working! This week has seen a lot of misty weather, and today was no exception; quite decent light levels, but no sun and a lot of background murkiness.
	After photographing 66179 leaving Long Marston I decided to have another shot at Honeybourne Junction. Once again there was no rush as the train stopped on the branch shortly after leaving the site, presumably so that the Long Marston ground crew could attach the tail light, thus saving the locomotive crew a long walk. The train arrived at Honeybourne at 12.15 but it was clear that there would be a delay as the 10.52 Adelante from Paddington calls at the station at 12.32, meaning that the single line from Moreton-in-Marsh to Evesham is occupied. Here is 180111 approaching the station with 66179 and the JNAs visible on the branch. The crew member at the ground frame will have to wait for the Adelante to leave Evesham about 12 minutes after leaving here, before he will be able to extract a token from the machine in the hut which will unlock the ground frame and allow him to operate the point levers.
	Here is another view of 180111, this time leaving Honeybourne station for Worcester. The scale of the site here can be well seen here, with the currently unused island platform prominent to the right of the train. It is possible that the line will be doubled in the forseeable future, in which case the island will be again used by up trains. The rusted lines on the extreme right were once those used by trains to and from Stratford-upon-Avon, and also by locomotives needing to use the coaling stage or those depositing wagons in the associated sidings.
	Once the passenger train seen above had reached Evesham, the ground frame was released to allow 66179 and its train of JNAs across onto the main line. The sight of an EWS locomotive with wagons mostly in Freightliner colours is slightly incongruous; it is this sort of combination that makes this sort of shot worthwhile for me, despite the poor light. I later found out that the train was a 6Z49 to Healey Mills, the JNAs probably being destined for a new flow commencing the following week.
	A DRS 66 locomotive made the first run for its sub-class over the Cotswold Line to Long Marston on 10 April 2007. The move, 0Z66 from Crewe, was run by Victa Rail and was to pick up the rake of KAA flats visible on road 1 of the exchange sidings at Long Marston , previously used on Blue Circle cement trains around Wiltshire. 66419 is here seen waiting for the gate to be opened to allow it into the site. A new fence and gate is under construction, but it looks as if these won't completely ruin the shot.
	Here is the first DRS 66 to enter Long Marston exchange sidings having just been attached to the rake of KAA flats which it will take to Chaddesden Sidings at Derby. Some of the recently arrived JGA hoppers can ben seen in the background; these came in on 30 March 2007 topped and tailed by Cotswold Rail's 31452 and 31128. The Long Marston ground crew had gone back to their HQ by this time, the 3 men visible being those who came in on the locomotive.
	Once the KAAs had been coupled to 66419 and all the requisite checks had been made, 6Z66 was able to leave Long Marston's exchange sidings and join the branch to Honeybourne. The signs of Spring are well developed here, with plenty of blackthorn blossom in evidence. There will be a good crop of sloes here in the Autumn which, along with some sugar and a bottle of gin, will make some excellent Christmas cheer! The train stopped when on the branch and the other 3 crew members presumably had to walk along the length of it to rejoin the locomotive.
	The branch between Long Marston and Honeybourne has an overall speed limit of 20mph together with a couple of slower sections where the line crosses roads. This gave me plenty of time to drive down towards Honeybourne and obtain this shot as the line swings around to the south before running roughly parallel with the Oxford to Worcester line just prior to it arriving at the end of the former East Loop. These flats will be used on a Purfleet to Grangemouth service carrying swap-bodies brought in by sea.
	A First Great Western Adelante ran south into Honeybourne station before 66419 arrived at the East Loop so there was obviously going to be some delay before 6Z66 would be released onto the main line. Here is one of the several shots I took while the train was static. The great beauty of digital photography is that one can take as many shots as one likes with varying exposures and later pick the better images to keep, without having to pay for the film and processing of transparencies, half of which may well end up in the bin.
	There was a bit of delay whilst a couple of passenger trains went south and north respectively, and this allowed the sky to clear a little thus giving a decent bit of sun which lasted just, but only just, long enough for this shot. Under a lovely cloudy sky, 66419 crosses over from the East Loop to the main line at Honeybourne with 6Z66 to Derby. For a closer look at one of the 12 KAAs in the consist, please click on this hyperlink.
	A rake of 11 Virgin liveried MkIII stock moved from Wilton to Derby on Wednesday 25 April 2007, although the original destination was Gloucester. This, together with the fact that 47818 was the motive power, set the alarm bells ringing for a Long Marston run. This happened the following day, with the exit from Derby being timed for around 09.00. The train was booked to stand in Worcester Yard from 11.48 to 14.05 but I thought that this was unlikely to happen in practice. I decided to have a first crack at 5B19 somewhere on the Birmingham to Stoke Works Junction section of line and arrived at Stoke Prior at 11.00. 47818 came slowly into view just 6 minutes later and here is the train crawling towards an adverse signal protecting the junction to the single track round to Droitwich and Worcester. A route indicator was illuminated as the train approached to show that the road was set for the branch. The bird just visible in the right background is a Common Buzzard, a specie frequently seen all over the western part of the Midlands, even appearing over my own garden in Stratford-upon-Avon on occasions.
	I was convinced that 5B19 would not sit in Worcester Yard as booked so made my way as quickly as possible to Evesham. I had been in position on the road bridge between the station and signalbox for only a couple of minutes when I received a 'phone call saying that because of a late running down passenger train 47818 was on its way from Worcester. It's nice when these hunches come off and the result was a picture with the sun on the front, which would not have been the case some 150 minutes later...
	It seemed likely that 5B19 would have quite a wait at Evesham until the late-running down Adelante had cleared the single track from Moreton-in-Marsh. This meant that there was plenty of time for a leisurely trip to Long Marston itself to photograph the arrival of 47818. This was the locomotive's 3rd visit, but the weather was so awful on the first that even I didn't bother to go over. Yes, it was that bad! The 2nd trip involved the locomtoive taking in 87017 and 87011 on 10 April 2006 but I must have had a pressing engagement elsewhere to have missed that. Here is the train of MkIIIs approaching the site on the branch from Honeybourne in rather harsh backlighting. A lot of work has recently been carried out on the track here, even to the extent of attending to the fishplates. The dark appearance of two of these can be seen just in front of 47818.
	Here is the customary view of the train entering Long Marston; my first since the new fence and gate have been completed. Fortunately, these are not too obtrusive and at least are green, unlike the vast majority of pallisade fencing found around the railway system. There was no traffic to come out of the site today so 47818, as soon as it was uncoupled from the stock, ran out light diesel, presumably to Gloucester.
	I knew nothing about this train until 47810 was reported as hauling 2 barrier wagons through Evesham station at 09.45 on the morning of 30 April 2007. A little digging revealed that the working was a 5Z38 12.35 Long Marston to Derby and Loughborough conveying 2 HST restaurant cars and Virgin power car number 43103. However, the power car was refused for carriage because of a faulty drawbar and a side door that would not close. Here is the shorter than expected formation, comprising 47810 with vehicles 6336, 40425, 40417 and 6338, passing Lower Moor on the Cotswold Line at 13.07. The recalcitrant power car was left in the exchange sidings at Long Marston, presumably to receive attention before another attempt is made to move it to Brush at Loughborough.
	This train was known about in advance, although the headcode for the inward light engine move, 0Z66, made me think it would produce one of the DRS class 66s on hire to Victa rather than the Oxford Blue 47839. I knew that the train was to comprise the short rake of KAA flats remaining at Long Marston so I tried to use a location that would emphasise the locomotive but still show the KAAs reasonably well. 6Z66 is here at seen at 14.17 passing the public footpath crossing the line near the site of the long-gone Broad Marston Halt, just a short trip down the branch from the Long Marston facility. The first set of flats which left Long Marston on 10 April are already in use by Victa on their Purfleet to Grangemouth service, so I assume that those that left today will soon also be in use.
	The weather over last couple of days, writing on 3 May 2007, has been characterised by a cold cloudy start to the day with warm sun breaking through around lunchtime. Had the sun co-operated from the start of the day I would have gone to one of 2 or 3 locations where a sunny shot at around 10.30 would have been just the ticket for this train, 6Z80 Bescot to Long Marston. In the event it was fully cloudy so I made just the quick trip to Long Marston to record 66150 arriving with a set of 18 TDA tanks wagons. The train arrived a little late at 11.14 to find the gate into the site firmly locked with no sign of any ground crew to let it in. It transpired that EWS had not told Motorail Logistics, the site operators, that a train was coming! I telephoned a contact in the site who arranged for the gate to be unlocked. There was nothing to be taken out and the locomotive was soon uncoupled and made its way back along the branch to Honeybourne to gain the booked path back to Worcester and thence Bescot. There is evidence in this photograph of some weedkilling activity. This happened about a month ago, but was sadly done in the middle of the night. I would have loved the chance to have photographed an MPV down here!
	The day after the photographs above were taken, I took this picture of HNRC No.12082 shunting the TDAs. The move was from No. 1 road to No. 3 and this has just about filled all the available space in the main yard. Looking around the site, every space seems to be taken up and if more stock is to be stored here, I think that some extensive movements will have to take place. Roads 1 and 2 have to be kept clear for arrivals and departures, both being necessary so that a main line locomotive can be released from the stock. The 2 Tiphook TIAs are more clearly seen in this view than on yesterday's shot; there is another at the other end of the rake.
	Here is another view of the recently arrived TDAs and TIAs which rather better shows the amount of stock stored in the yard at Long Marston. It should be remembered that there is a huge area not visible from this viewpoint, with approximately 25km of running line and sidings available, so I can't imagine that there is going to be a capacity problem here once a bit of shunting and general sorting out has been done. It is to be hoped that at least some of the many bogie tanks stored here will see more use.
	Following the open day at Long Marston on Saturday 9 June 2007, normal business was resumed by the following Tuesday, 12 June. The train involved was 6Z80 05:50 TO Bescot Down Side to Long Marston which consisted of 12 IWA and 5 KVA ferrywagons. I had planned to photograph this at Honeybourne and on receiving a telephone call from a friend saying that 6Z80 had left Worcester Yard at 09.03 I headed out. My route took me past the site at Long Marston but on reaching the road to Pebworth and Honeybourne I found it closed for resurfacing work. There would probably not have been time to use an alternative route so I just turned around and went to the roadbridge at the end of the branch, where, after a short wait, saw 66021 with its long train approaching. Amazingly for such a dull day, the clouds parted as the train reached me and a touch of sun appeared. According to signs on the roads around Long Marston, there will be several weeks of disruption due to road works so this shot may not be available in the short term. Click  here and  here for a closer view of a couple of the ferrywagons.
	Whilst 66021 was being uncoupled from 6Z80, HNRC 12082 was busy propelling the 2 former FGW Motorail wagons used in the display at the Long Marston open day away from the yard and back round to the secure area. This part of the site is rather overgrown and this shot was just about the best I could do from a