Station cats

[Seabrook]

From my own experience cats adopt the places where they are found. You only need to feed a stray a few times and you have an passing lodger for life. They have their food, quick kip in their favourite place and then they go on their way. By no stretch of the imagination do they ever become your cat. The Diesel Repair Shops at Stratford had a small cat called Sansom in the 80's, who was a notably brave ratter. Traincrews on the other hand tend to detest them. Places like Willesden HL Sdgs and Bescot Messroom had cats. If you did not know, you could sit on their favourite chair and your trousers would be covered in their hairs. I will admit I personally did not like them in Messrooms!

[Squeaky88]

hi Francesca my friend used to own Christow station and he had a female cat called Ginger who purred loudly.

Squeaky

[boilersuit]

Originally Posted by Seabrook

By no stretch of the imagination do they ever become your cat.

Seabrook makes a very salient point here. We do not own cats. In fact it can be argued that they own us.

[Michael]

Gromont station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway has a cat, or Rodent Control Officer as he's known. His domain is around the engine shed and his cat-house is near the grave of his predecessor at the entrance to the foot tunnel. According to the "Yorkshire Steam" DVD, all the stations on the NYMR have a cat!

[Belmont Road]

On Island Line at Shanklin there was a station cat that I think was on the payroll! I understand that cats were sometimes on payroll (feeding) to keep mice and rats down in depots and stations. The Island Line cat used to take occasional train rides up to Ryde Pier and back. The staff advised that he used to know where to get off when the train returned to Shanklin. He used to sleep on the ticket machine in the booking office the travelling public loved him!

[wyvern]

The Rail Cat
by George Dixon


(George Dixon is quite famous for his tales of the days of black and white

[redudley]

Originally Posted by ccmmick

I was thinking to myself which is not very often but i think Station Cats are old railwaymen from a past life.
So i must be going to be a big Ginger Tom and yes i have had a couple.

ccmmick.

Of cats or pints

[ccmmick]

Originally Posted by redudley

Of cats or pints

Both
But one of my cats died last october and he was a real character he used to follow me to work on early turns and walk right into the depot with me i only lived half a mile away, all the blokes used to call him Tiger

ccmmick.

[wyvern]

From Rudyard Kipling:

" I am the Cat who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me."

[Dave Rowland]

"Tiger, tiger, burning bright, watch out - you'll set the jungle alight" - Spike Milligan