' Hear my train a coming !'

We headed out in the sunshine for Dingwall this afternoon ready to see the steam train as it returned from Kyle of Lochalsh. The station café was closed so we went to the Wimpy for a coffee as we were a bit early.
As we returned to the station we picked our spot on the Bridge and just as we got to the top I spotted the smoke rising above the trees and the train was heading towards the platform. What a great sight, a magnificent LMS Stanier 5 4-6-0 5407 The Lancashire Fusillier. She was one of the last working Black 5's and was withdrawn on 4th August 1968. After spending sometime as part of a steamtown collection it was bought in 1974 by Paddy Smith and returned into service including three seasons in the late 1980s as the Jacobite train running between Fort William to Mallaig. It has appeared at the beginning of the Black Comedy Movie 'Keeping Mum' and an Agatha Christie episode of 'The Mystery of Hunters Lodge' in 1991.

Glad we had our 'anoraks' as it poured while we were there. We tried to catch up with the train and managed to just get to Inverness station before it did.