Yard Dog from Nebraska’s Chicago & North Western Railway yard

Yard Dog

In mid-September 2022, the first nationwide railroad strike in three decades was narrowly averted thanks to a tentative deal between Class I railroads and three labor unions. The news brought to mind a labor dispute more than 30 years ago — and an unusual picket line.

In the 1980s, railroaders in Norfolk, Nebraska’s Chicago & North Western Railway yard found a very friendly but very hungry stray dog. They gave him food, a home in the yard office building, and a name, “Yard Dog.” Where he came from was a mystery but soon he was as familiar a part of the Norfolk railroad scene as the crossties and cabooses.

When the office closed on holidays, someone would be sure to swing by to let Yard Dog out for a while and top off food and water supplies. When it was time for a vet visit or more dog food, the railroaders would take up a collection.

Gentle and amiable, Yard Dog treated every visitor like an old friend — but there were exceptions. He would disappear at a run whenever children were around and would stay hidden until they were long gone. Railroaders speculated perhaps the dog had long ago been mistreated by a child.

One day, the United Transportation Union went on strike against the Chicago & North Western. I was a newspaper reporter at the time and my editor sent me to photograph the strikers on the picket line.

Norfolk was a remote outpost on the C&NW system and, as it turned out, there was no formal picket line. Instead, the workers were standing in the parking lot chatting while Yard Dog handled the picket line duties.

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