It's far from being the end of the line!

"I'M nervous as heck!" confessed Karen Blessington, as she prepared to launch her own railway line last Friday.

"I have never spoken in public in my whole life so please bear with me..."

The huge crowd certainly did that and they loved every minute of the occasion as the flag went up again at Grantown East exactly 50 years to the day it last went down.

It had been quite a journey "from sadness to joy" as she put it, following those drastic Beeching cuts of the 1960s.

"The Phoenix has risen from the ashes of a derelict brown site. Of course, I couldn't have brought my daydream into reality without the help of many people – and I want to sincerely thank my partner, Dave Garman, who has been my guiding light," said Karen.

There were special mentions, too for Sandy Ross, the Revack Estate manager, and his son Mitchell, who had helped build the miniature railway which made such a majestic centrepiece for the opening. Crowds lined up to savour the full 600-metre journey on the exquisite little steam engine before making their way to the full-size dining carriages for railway fare unlike any on the main line.

Sophie Macleod and the Revack Team were all richly praised for their part in putting together an attraction which Bill Sadler, of the Grantown Society, could only describe as "absolutely top-notch".

"Everywhere you look you see quality," he said. "The past here has a wonderful future, it's been built for the future and I wish it all the success it deserves."

Among the special guests were Ms Blessington's own children all the way from Los Angeles, Schuyler and Aven.

Highland games world champion Bruce Aitken was there to give some first rate demonstrations on the specially-created arena and Hamish Stone also attended, piping in the crowd.

"Sadly, my dear friend Jimmy Gray – the last engine driver – passed away exactly seven weeks ago today. I wish he could have been here to share and celebrate this achievement," added Karen.

But there to do the honours was James Telfer (95), the last signalman at the station and he revelled in the chance to set things moving once again at Grantown East.

Musically the seal was set on the day by local maestro Hamish Napier, whose album The Railway was played live in three separate sets to high acclaim from music-lovers.

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