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My Trip to the US
On a spring morning in 1885, a puppy was among 200 other
dogs in a sheep van bound from Terowie in South Australia's mid north,
to the far north beyond Quorn, there to be used for exterminating
rabbits.The train stopped at Petersburg (now Peterborough) and Mr W S Ferry, the foreman porter at Petersburg, exchanged another dog for the puppy which was taken from the sheep van and immediately began his railway career.
He was from that moment on known as "Bob the Railway Dog"
Mr Ferry trained him as a pup to do all kinds of tricks and later when he was guard on the narrow guage Northern Lines took Bob thousands of miles with him in the guard's van, occassionally Bob rode with the engineman generally riding in the coal tender.
Mr Ferry later became Assistant Stationmaster at Petersburg but Bob the Railway Dog continued to ride the trains.
He loved the engine whistle and the rattle of the wheels and took possession of his seat on the coal tender of any out or homeward bound train.
Petersburg was his home, he travelled hundred of thousands of miles this way, he always had a cheery bark and a wagging tail especially for the children who would shout: "There's Bob! Good old Bob"
For many years Bob rode engines all over the state, sometimes venturing interstate, he was guest of honor at the Melbourne Exhibition, Bob was also seen at Hawkesbury River stations ( 50 miles north of Sydney at Oodnadatta and in Western Australia, his last days were spent on the Silverton Tramway Co. where he died in the 1890s, his body was preserved and stood for many years in a glass case in the Exchange Hotel.
Bob's collar was kept in the office of the Australian Union of Locomotive Enginemen until it was kindly presented to the Mile End Railway Museum (now the National Railway Museum Port Adelaide) where it is now on display.
The collar has 2 small plates on it reading –
Plate 1 - Stop Me Not But Let Me Go
For I Am Bob The Drivers Dog
SAR
Plate 2 - Presented by McLean Bros & Ricc
This article was taken from the book, "The Mile End Railway Museum."
In Sept 2008 I visited Los Angeles & started my 10 day holiday with a trip to Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco, going by Amtrak bus & train & driving back, calling into Fisherman’s Wharf for breakfast & seeing the various streetcars running in this tourist area.
Besides doing other touristy things including Disneyland, I did some train chasing, including Tehachapi Loop & Cajon Pass, also checked out a small 12 mile branch line railway, the Ventura County RR, consisting of 2 locos, taking mostly imported perishables from the refrigeration storage area, together with imported vehicles at Port Hueneme to the mainline at Oxnard, thus creating considerable rail traffic.
I also visited the preserved Fillmore & Western Railway, where, besides running mainly weekend excursions between Fillmore & Santa Paula to the west & Piru to the east, it is used by the film companies to film train scenes & wrecks, usually by a large girder bridge, while most trips are diesel hauled, they do however have a steam loco for special occasions.
At Tehachapi Loop, I caught a long freight train with 4 locos up front & 2 in the middle, on the loop, watching it dive under itself, very interesting, also went to Cajon Pass, where I watched a number of trains going in each direction, more long freights with 4-6 locos up front & sometimes 2 locos pushing, these drop off at the summit & run back down the hill.
Called into a town called Victorville, on Route 66, catching a very small freight, with 2 locos 3 cars & a caboose, a rare sight these days, also observed a few freights at nearby Hesperia as well as shunting there.
Also went to Travel Town, which is a railway museum in LA, some of the exhibits are under cover & they have a good cross selection of rolling stock, including steam, diesel & electric locos & a pavilion with some very old rolling stock & road vehicles of the era, together with a local model railway club operating a large layout.
Of course rode the train at Disneyland, as well as going on the Indiana Jones ride, to some it may be a stroll in the park, to me it was nerve wracking, took a few minutes for my legs to stop shaking, after that the other attractions were chicken feed, but a good time was had.
All in all, a lot was jammed into my 10 days, but was most enjoyable.
Don. Adelaide, South Australia.
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