We were sad to hear of the death earlier this year of onetime BR freight manager Jim Welsh, who pioneered Far North freight with Norfrost and others in the mid 1990s. After the inaugural run of the Caithness Entrepreneur on 30 September 1995 trains ran to Georgemas Junction once or twice a week for several years and developed to include Safeway containers, although these unfortunately ceased to operate when Safeway was taken over by Morrisons who preferred road haulage.

John Holwell, a former colleague of Jim's, writes, "Many in Scottish freight and West of Scotland operations will remember Jim who worked with the legendary John Clark at Motherwell for some time before transferring to freight marketing with Transrail. Always a cheery positive individual with a 'can do and will do' attitude. He will be missed, but his memory will live on".

John Yellowlees, FoFNL member and ScotRail Honorary Rail Ambassador, remembers a typical action by Jim when someone from the Culross Community Council wanted a bag of coal at the time of their 400th anniversary celebration in 1992. Jim obligingly dropped it off from a passing freight train. As John says, "Roll on a successful timber operation, which will be the best tribute to Jim."