A Spooky tail…
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad carshop in Durango, Colo., had a notorious mouse problem. During Halloween 2019, Assistant Car Shop Foreman Wes Akers and Car Shop Foreman (now carman) Sean Jackson were given permission to adopt two kittens to address the issue. These little kittens were to become new D&SNG employees and not pets — one they called Blue (a gregarious gray cat) and the other Spooky (a shy black cat that was hard to catch). They came from a farm with tons of barn cats owned by the railroad’s purchasing agent Scotty Weits.
As a youngster, Spooky preferred Wes and Blue favored Sean. According to Sean, Blue — unlike her sister — was a more out-going cat that liked affection from everyone. “Oftentimes, we would find the two cats curled up sleeping in our office chairs,” says Sean. However, Blue has gone missing and is presumed to be dead. So with that unfortunate circumstance, Sean and Spooky were in mourning, which brought them closer together.
Spooky and her late sister Blue had become the new shop “mascots” within the last five years, according to Sean. “Before Blue disappeared a few years back, they both would explore, sometimes going to the depot platform or the museum or roundhouse to look around. In the winter months, Spooky gets a little fat as she tends to stay inside the shop and sleep during the day, and I assume hunt in the night.”
As caretakers, Wes and Sean have been the closest to the cats. As the longest resident cat at D&SNG, Spooky will occasionally come out of hiding to greet the morning crew and Sean jovially while looking for food and access to the outside world. “In good weather, she likes to camp out and explore the old railroad cars and diesel locomotives surrounding the shop,” says Sean. Sounds like a 24/7 kind of job, and Spooky seems to have it covered.
As Sean’s new pal, co-workers say Spooky wanders the shop looking for him at times when he’s not around — looking for tummy scratches and playtime nonetheless. “Sometimes she will follow me in the predawn hours to the depot platform when I do morning car inspections. She has even walked along with me a few car lengths, until getting distracted — that’s fun.”
Spooky is really a behind-the-scenes kind of gal. She will occasionally cross paths with yard tours, but her only “claim to fame” is on Sean’s Facebook page. He proudly shares her story with others and has even shared pictures of her at the National Model Railroad Association convention in Long Beach earlier this year.
Sean has noticed that as Spooky gets older, her job of fending off the mice is beginning to dwindle a bit, so as of this year, the D&SNG adopted two more barn cats. One is called Blue Two and the other Paulina. All cat incurred expenses are currently covered by Wes and Sean. Note: Spooky is currently not too fond of her new shop mates, as she avoids them at all costs, says Sean. “Hopefully that improves!”
Fun fact: Sean likes to say that the money he once used to buy the fellas donuts is now used to feed the cats.
Awesome to have “working” cats in your shop. Unfortunate about Blue 1.