Next time you visit Slough Station, spare a minute or two to go to Platform 5 and see 'Station Jim'. He stands proudly in a glass case, with his collecting box strapped across his shoulders.
Jim was brought to Slough Station as a three month old puppy in 1894 and soon began working as a Canine Collector for the Great Western Railway Widows and Orphans Fund. He knew many tricks and was taught to bark whenever a coin was put into his collecting box.
Poor health meant that he worked for a relatively short time, but nevertheless he managed to collect the sum of £40 (equivalent to over £2,500 today)!
He died suddenly, in his harness, in November 1896. He was so popular that the local community raised money for his body to be stuffed and placed on display in a glass case. A collecting box was placed alongside his case to ensure that Jim's good work would continue.
How Transport Shaped Slough
Station Jim
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