Paws for a celebration as Station Jim returns to forever home at Slough

A beloved stuffed dog based at Slough Railway Station has been restored and returned to his forever home this week.

Station Jim, who rests in a glass cabinet on platform five, was a familiar face to travellers passing through the station in the 1800s.

Great Western Railway (GWR) teamed up with Museums Partnership Reading, Arts Council England and the Aldama Foundation to bring the iconic station mascot back to his former glory.

GWR Business Assurance Director, Joe Graham, said: “Station Jim has charmed visitors to Slough station for generations and we’re pleased to have helped restore him to his former glory.

“We’re extremely proud of the work we do within our communities and have listened to the wishes of our customers and colleagues to ensure Station Jim is returned to his forever home.”

The much-loved Victorian pup has been given the ultimate treat, complete with a new bespoke cabinet.

Born in 1894, Station Jim arrived at Slough as a three-month-old mongrel puppy and quickly became a legend on the Victorian railway.

He was fitted with a collection box and harness and charmed passengers around the station.

The popular dog would bark with delight at each donation and perform tricks in aid of the Great Western Railway Widows and Orphans Fund.

Station-collecting dogs were a familiar sight on the railway from the 1880s. During Jim’s short life, he collected more than £40 or the equivalent of more than £4,500 today.

Following his death on November 19 1896, Jim was preserved with his original collection box – a testament to the affection of countless travellers who knew him.

Museums Partnership Reading Programme Manager, Anna Jones, said: “We’ve been delighted to work with Great Western Railway, and for the support of Arts Council England and the Aldama Foundation, to complete this unique restoration project.

“Station Jim is very much a part of the fabric of Slough station, and we’re going to be celebrating his story and the town’s railway heritage by launching a programme of community engagement in 2026.”

As part of this year's Railway 200 celebrations, more than a century later, Station Jim was taken away to the Museum of English Rural Life for a well-deserved makeover.

The specialist restoration included the construction of a new cabinet, complete with a banquette reupholstered with vintage railway fabric sourced from the Didcot Railway Centre.

Now the historic hero is back in his rightful place on Platform 5 after its grooming.

Station Jim has remained an enduring inspiration, featuring in a 2001 movie of the same name and a children’s book written by Louis de Bernières in 2005.

A new QR code to be placed on his cabinet will mean Station Jim can continue raising money for the Samaritans and remain a welcome sight to passengers for many years to come.

On behalf of the Aldama Foundation, Tim Knox CVO, said:

“The Aldama Foundation is pleased and proud to be part of the consortium that funded the rescue and conservation of ‘Station Jim’, a lovable canine curiosity that has amused and puzzled travellers on Platform 5 of Slough’s magnificent Victorian station since 1896.

“What is more, we are pleased that he is going back to where he belongs, and what he does best, raising funds for local charities.”

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