March 1987 saw the end of Class 25 operations on BR and by the 20th just three were left. 25059 was shown on TOPS at Buxton allocated on "MR83". This was the Peak Forest area trip and shunt duty so off to Peak Forest we went where we see 25059 shunting the RMC sidings in a very wintery scene. 25059 was officially withdrawn at 1400 that day.

The decision to go to mid-Wales for the Stanlow train was reinforced by the word that a pair of Rats were working a test train on the Cambrian. A spot on Tallerdig bank was in order to hear and see 25059 & 25109 thrashing up with the 1T20 1506 Machynlleth-Oxley Sdgs - Hellfire stuff!

In the classic view of the low level lines under Warrington Bank Quay station, 25072 & 25271 head the 6H33 1202 Widnes West Deviation Yd-Earles Sdgs on 5th September, 1984 with empty PCVs from the Blue Circle depot at Tanhouse Lane. The wagons would have been tripped to West deviation by the Class 08 working the T42 Widnes area pilot duty.

I am not a big fan of stationary portraits of locomotives (or "Roster" shots as the Americans call them), but I do like this nice study of 25145 sitting in the sun at Banbury Holding Sidings on 17th July 1982.

Crewe had one local trip working that was still throwing up a 25 into 1986, despite being nominaly booked for a 31. Target 94 started the day taking spoil to the tip at Alsager, then after taking the empties back to Basford Hall, did a chemical trip to Sandbach. Here 25173 heads a short rake of ZHVs away from Alsager with the 8T94 0825 Alsager Tip-Basford Hall SS spoil empties on 24th September 1986.

A day trip to Dumfries on 10th February, 1987 was quite a trek from Warwickshire, but the Carlisle-Dumfries Speedlink was allocated a 25 and as this engine then worked Target 62 to Maxwelltown and then Powfoot it just had to be done. Here 25173 stands in the yard at Annan with 7T62 the 1200 Dumfries-Powfoot ICI trip.

Prior to the picture taken at Annan of 25173 on 10th February working the Dumfries local tripper, we caught it on the branch to the ICI plant at Maxwelltown. Here the return 7T62 1025 Maxwelltown-Dumfries Yd passes the old station site and BP oil terminal.

An interesting traffic flow along the North Wales coast was petroleum coke from Humber Oil Refinery, Immingham to the RTZ aluminium smelter at Holyhead using distinctive hopper wagons. By the middle of 1986 25s were starting to be at a premium on this train but on 20th June that year we caught 25173 approaching Mold Junction with the 6E36 0738 Holyhead RTZ-Humber ORF return empties.

The second part of Crewe's Target 94 tripped to the Hayes Chemicals works at Sandbach, otherwise known as Murgatroyd's Siding. 25173 departs from Murgatroyd's on 24th September, 1986 with 7T94, the 1007 trip to Basford Hall SS North.

The other end of the flow from Caldon Low quarry was at Witton Yard in Birmingham, where Tarmac unloaded roadstone. Here 25173 waits to depart with the 7L10 1020 to Longport on 9th August 1986

Three Spires Junction yard on the Coventry to Nuneaton line was a hub for coal traffic, both from Coventry Colliery and to the adjacent Homefire smokeless fuel plant at Keresley. The branch to the Keresley site ran from the top end of Three Spires Yd and was worked by NCB locos. 25175 waits in Three Spires Junction Yard on 22nd November, 1982 while working Coventry's

Another duty synonymous with the 25s was the Camp Hill banker or Saltley's Target 57. By 1986 principal business was just the MGR traffic to Didcot Power Station. On 30th September we caught 25176 in action at Brickyard Crossing assisting 58020 with the 7V49 0925 Birch Coppice-Didcot PS.