the line, the strong winds in the winter time sweep the snow from the hills and deposit it in the cuttings, thus making very heavy drifts. The snow ploughs invented by Mr. William Strandley, the Locomotive Superintendent of the company, are said to be very successful in removing these drifts from off the railway. But, although the Highland Railway is now the most northern[83] in the United Kingdom, it will probably cease to be entitled to be so called before the end of the present year, for it is expected that by that time the “Sutherland Railway” will be opened for traffic. This line is to extend from Bonar Bridge to Golspie, a distance of twenty-seven miles; not all northwards, for, for the first three miles, it goes westward, and enters the county of Sutherland by crossing the river Oykel, which is spanned by an elegant iron-girder viaduct. It then turns northward to Lairg, where it inclines to the east, and continues in that direction until it reaches Golspie. The whole of the land occupied by the line from the river Oykel to Golspie is owned by His Grace the Duke of Sutherland, whose magnificent Highland residence, Dunrobin Castle, stands on the sea-shore, within a short distance of the latter place. The gradients are somewhat severe. From the Oykel there is an ascent of 1 in 72 to 75 for about eight miles to the summit, which is upwards of 500 feet above the sea-level. There are several heavy rock-cuttings. The scenery at some parts of the line is almost equal to the finest of the many picturesque views on the Highland Railway, by which company its traffic is to be worked. When completed, a passenger landing at Dover can go a distance of 768 miles to Golspie without even leaving the railway; or if he come upon English land, close to its end in Cornwall, he can go by rail from Penzance to within fifty of John of Groat’s land. If he will insist upon coming through London, his distance will be 1,007 miles; but if he leave the line towards the Metropolis, at Bristol, and go from there through Birmingham, he will shorten the journey by 130 miles. He will save some money, but not much time, by changing. M. Vandal, the _Directeur Général des Postes Françaises_, says, in his _Annuaire_ for the current year, that there is not a railway run from Dover to any part of the United Kingdom equal to the railway run from Calais to Nice, 863 miles. That is true at the present time to the extent of 122 miles. In a couple of months—that is when the Sutherland line is opened—it will be true to the extent of ninety-five miles; and, even if, as is expected, a railway be constructed which is to extend both to Wick and to sleepy[84] Thurso[85], the tables will not be turned. The route from Calais to Nice will still be sixty-five miles longer than from Dover to John o’ Groat’s Land.