The Nevada Northern Railway, which is located on the ‘Loneliest Road in America,’ is an ancient relic that attracts travelers from all around who want to see some “touchable history.” These 1906 railway carriages are a sight to behold, but they are far from the only tourist attraction in the region.
Dirt the Railway Cat, one of Nevada’s mascots, may be found wandering about the East Ely Railroad Depot Museum. He’s known for his distinctive marks, which give the impression that he’s been working on a locomotive all day, coated in coal. “As tours move around the facility, guests are astonished to learn about the railroad’s history and stories. Then, as if he knew it was his turn to show up, he did.
Then, as if on cue, Dirt wanders into the tour room, or out from beneath one of the trains, and sits in the midst of the group with a sense of pride that only he can have,” Eric Mencis, the railroad’s manager of visitor services and social media director, told Bored Panda.
At the East Ely Railroad Depot Museum, meet Dirt the Railway Cat and ‘King of the Shop.’
The East Ely Railroad’s engine building is the only place the renowned cat has ever called home. He was born there 11 years ago to a wandering stray. “She [his mother] had her kittens under one of our trains, specifically a 1907 rotary snowplow” (a Rotary Snow Plow is a huge steam-powered train snowblower). Mom and the other kittens have gone, leaving this one gorgeous cat alone and afraid to come out. As a result, our train personnel would leave a can of tuna on a chair for this cat every night. “Eventually, the cat warmed up to the crews,” Mencis added.
The crews nicknamed the cute cat Dirt because he likеd to roll around on the engine house’s dirt flooring and climb all over the coal stacks on our steam-powered train. “The cat’s fur pattern is actually white and orange, but because he started rolling in the dirt and climbing on the trains at a young age, his white fur gets stained gray,” Mencis explained. “At a young age, Dirt learned not to lick himself clean, likе normal cats, because being part stray, he likеs to stay oily and dirty because it helps keep him tough-looking and also in a sense keeps him clean because things don’t stick to his fur and bugs don
Dirt’s appearance isn’t the only thing that makes him a good fit for railway life; he also has the right personality: “Railroading was the second most dangеrous job in the world when our trains were created. Mining was the country’s most dangеrous employment, and we were a copper mining railroad doing the country’s first and second most dangеrous occupations in the same spot at the same time. Millions of tons of rock were moved by train 100 years ago to be melted down and turned into copper, which gave energy to the globe. When you look at ancient photographs of those men, you can tell they have stories to tell by the expression in their eyes.
“Dirt is one of those old-time railroaders who now lives as a cat.” Dirt inspects the store as if he were the manager, making sure everything is in working order. The sort of leader who started at the bottom and worked his way up, the type who understands how difficult the task is but believes in his men’s ability to do it. He goes about his engine house with a sense of pride, as if these are his trains, and he says he is proud of the workers that keep them running. “He’ll get on and walk around the trains as if inspecting them, making sure no bolts are loose and the bearings are properly lubricated,” Mencis explained.
“Dirt is one of those old-time railroaders who now lives as a cat.” Dirt inspects the store as if he were the manager, making sure everything is in working order. The sort of leader who started at the bottom and worked his way up, the type who understands how difficult the task is but believes in his men’s ability to do it. He goes about his engine house with a sense of pride, as if these are his trains, and he says he is proud of the workers that keep them running. “He’ll get on and walk around the trains as if inspecting them, making sure no bolts are loose and the bearings are properly lubricated,” Mencis explained.
“Dirt had kittens years ago, and most were similarly orange and white and became exactly as nasty as Dirt,” says Dirt, who governs the engine house alone. We rehomed them because most of them didn’t know how to live around trains, and many of our train personnel and volunteers adơрted them and took them house. One of Dirt’s kittens stayed in the engine house for approximately seven years until finding a new home little over a year ago. Since then, the dirt has been repaired.”
Dirt, likе many other animal social media phenomena, grew in popularity when the museum started a social media push: “Dirt has always been popular with museum guests, but we have to keep getting the word out to keep the museum alive.” We’re in Ely, Nevada, a hamlet that’s 200 miles from anywhere. Since I started working here at the railroad three years ago, our social media has only continued to develop.”
Dirt’s fame, however, was an unintentional success story, according to Mencis: “I originally uploaded Dirt approximately two years ago, and he garnered some attention from those who had already met him.” Then, on a calm day, I uploaded Dirt and stated, “Dirt wants to explore the world,” and asked others to sharе him and tell us where they were from. It took off, and his following began to grow. Then one of our volunteers, Steve Crise, a great photographer, snapped an incredible portrait of Dirt, and it went off. We played off of the fact that you could get a feel of Dirt’s personality from the images. When we sharе him with his admirers, we make sure the post includes his personality.
“Dirt says come on lads, we need to get this thing fired up, we have trains operating this weekend, let’s get to work,” as a photo of Dirt in front of a steam locomotive generally says, and people adore it.”
