Bob The Railway Dog

In the heart of South Australia's railway history, a charming and loyal canine companion left an indelible paw print on the tracks – Bob the Railway Dog. A beloved icon, Bob's tale is one of love, friendship, and adventure, as he became a fixture among the steam engines and railway workers in the late 19th century. Bob was born in 1883 at Macclesfield, South Australia. The scruffy, brown-and-white mixed-breed dog was fascinated with the railways from an early age. While still a pup, Bob would often wander away from home following railway tracks to watch workers lay the line. Several times he had to be brought back to his owner, until one day, when he was nine months old, Bob ran away. Photo credit: State Library South Australia Bob found himself in Adelaide, some sixty kilometers away, where he was caught by dog catchers and put on a truck along with fifty other canines and sent northwards as part of a rabbit control program . When the train stopped at Terowie, a stationmaster named William Ferry was taken by Bob’s charm and took him to the bustling railway town of Petersburg, now known as Peterborough. Ferry trained Bob to do all kinds of tricks, and later when he was guard on the narrow gauge Northern Lines, took Bob thousands of miles with him in the guard's van. Sometimes Bob rode with the engineman generally riding in the coal tender. Later, Ferry became Assistant Stationmaster at Petersburg but Bob continued to ride the trains alone. Bob was known to venture to and from Petersburg often sitting in the front of the coal space in the locomotive tender, travelling many thousands of miles. According to the Petersburg Times "His favourite place on a Yankee engine; the big whistle and belching smokestack seem to have an irresistible attraction for him...