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The Friends of the Far North Line
Cairdean Na Loine Tuath
the campaign group for rail north of Inverness - lobbying for improved services for the local user, tourist and freight operator

Update on Progress at Helmsdale Station

Those readers who use, or pass through, Helmsdale station, will have observed no activity yet in the restoration of the station building. This is assurance that the project reported on in the September FoFNL Newsletter is alive and well, but progressing more slowly than we would have liked. The current position is:

So, sadly, it looks as if you won't see any action at the station until well into 2010, but please be assured of continuing work toward achieving our objectives.

As part of our end-of-year report and letter of thanks emailed to many individual supporters we did include - as a token Christmas card - an extract from Thomas Dean & Son's Cousin Chatterbox's Railway Alphabet of 1845 (pre-dating Helmsdale station by 25 years!). We felt the entry under the letter S succinctly summarised our aspiration for the station and this detail is reproduced here.

The illustration attracted a lot of interest so perhaps the poster showing the complete alphabet with great charm should be displayed in the station when the project is complete!

Mike & Jenny Willmot