We are sad to report the passing of Karen Cragg on 7 December 2020, aged only 50. A well-known and much-loved member of the Far North Line team, Karen had been a driver on the line for many years.

She began her railway career as a secondman at Thurso depot. When the depot closed around 1996 she transferred to retail, to run the booking offices at Thurso and Wick. Karen moved on to become a guard and, three years later, a driver. Our erstwhile Secretary, Gavin Sinclair, remembers her well, having first met her at a careers event in his schooldays when he wanted to be a train driver.

Frank Roach, of HITRANS said, "Karen was the face of ScotRail in Caithness. Having run the booking offices in Wick and Thurso she made the great leap to train driving, becoming the first woman driver in a Highland rural depot. She was unflappable, ever optimistic and ever-smiling and dealt superbly with customers and staff. Our family miss her passing through at Rogart."