Dirt, Nevada Northern’s Famous Shop Cat, Dies at 15
By Justin Franz
EAST ELY, Nev. — Almost never would a railroad journal publish an obituary for a cat. But “Dirt the Shop Cat” wasn’t most felines.
On Wednesday, the Nevada Northern Railway Museum declared that its orange-and-white store cat named Dirt experienced died on Tuesday. He was 15 several years outdated.
Filth was found in the railroad’s locomotive store all on your own as a kitten in 2008. Not seeking the tiny cat to starve, the store crews started out furnishing him with cans of tuna and gentle cat food. It took time, but immediately after a though, the cat commenced to rely on the staff, and shortly soon after that, the master mechanic introduced him to a vet for a checkup.
After a while, the cat understood that the warmest position in the whole shop was in the cabs of the railroad’s two steam locomotives, NNRy 4-6- 40 and 2-8- 93. Since of that, the cat’s fur begun having soiled so the crews nicknamed it “Dirtbag.” Later on it was shortened to “Dirt.”
“The engine residence and machine shop are pretty dirty, noisy environments. In addition to the locomotives and railroad autos being moved in and out, repair service operate goes on all the time. Dust got really wise, quite quick, swiftly figuring out wherever not to be when locomotives and automobiles were going, or work was currently being done,” the railroad’s staff wrote.
A Nevada Northern crew member animals Dirt in the shop in February 2022. Photograph by Justin Franz.
A handful of yrs ago, the railroad posted a picture on social media of Grime in the shop. The photograph went viral and shortly the Nevada Northern became regarded not just for its steam locomotives and historic facility, but for the cat that called it dwelling. Around the yrs, Dirt’s photograph finished up in publications about the globe, which includes the Washington Publish just very last yr, which pointed out him in the headline.
Dust would typically devote his times wandering or sleeping in the substantial shop complicated, but workforce say he would constantly come out to see readers throughout the each day 2:30 p.m. shop tour. When the tour was above and the friends obtained their fill of the popular cat, he’d go again to his hiding spot. When Dust was unusually friendly, even to new faces, the one issue he didn’t like was staying cleaned. “He hated being cleaned up, but loved becoming a railroader,” staff members wrote.
Railroad officials reported that Dirt was buried close to the East Ely depot. The burial site is opposite wherever the excursion trains’ locomotives sit prior to departure, and it presents a look at of the lawn, that in addition to the store, was Dirt’s domain. To commemorate Filth, the railroad designs on having two lifetime-size bronzes forged of the cat. A single will provide as his gravestone, the other will be positioned in the device store, so Dust can continue on viewing above matters.
“Dirt has followers that like him from all about the planet. But we couple at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum are the lucky ones. We got to like him in man or woman,” the railroad’s workforce wrote. “Dirt was a person-of-form.”
