The restoration of a historic signal box marks the end of a campaign to save the oldest train station in Scotland.
The iconic landmark at Broughty Ferry station was moved from its original position as part of a redevelopment of the grade A listed station area at the heart of the community.
The £650,000 redevelopment project by Network Rail was welcomed by community groups who formed a campaign to save the station when it was threatened with demolition 16 years ago.
Broughty Ferry Community Council played a key role in securing its future, which planning secretary David Hewick said was an important part of the area’s heritage.
Mr Hewick said: “The station looks very attractive now and it is much better than having the whole thing demolished.
“It has been modernised, but they tried to keep some of the older features. It has been quite a long battle to get it saved but it worked and the signal box makes the station essentially complete.”
The signal box, thought to have been erected in 1887, is no longer working but it has been retained along with the old levers on the ground floor because of its historic value.
It had to be moved to the other side of the track to enable to the footbridge to be completed.
He said: “It is part of the character of the area. If you knock down all the old things that give you a sense of place you lose a lot of the local character of the area.
“Hopefully now when people pass by on the train they will see it and think to stop here one day.
“It was terrible when the station was derelict for so long. There was a risk of vandalism but now we have CCTV and more people are using the station this has gone.”
He said the community council, along with other groups and councillors, had fought for a long time to protect the station.
He said: “This goes right back to 1997 when Railtrack’s planning agents proposed demolishing the whole station, including the station buildings, station box, footbridge and canopies.”
“They were going to flatten the whole lot and put two bus shelters in its place but we managed to stop them doing the worst.”
There were talks about getting a restaurant to occupy the station site.
The site has planning permission for use as a restaurant and there were rumours of Pizza Express occupying the site, however there is currently no firm tenant.
Mr Hewick said the community is now hopeful of getting more trains to stop at the station, adding: “There is a demand as there are more people living in Broughty Ferry.”
A Network Rail spokesman said: “The refurbishment of the station will help to preserve an important part of the local area’s history while also offering an opportunity to attract new facilities to the renovated buildings.
“We are pleased to have been able to deliver these improvements for Broughty Ferry.”