A ‘LITTLE piece of railway history’ is gone after the death of a beloved station resident.

Hundreds of tributes have flooded in following the passing of the famous Swanage Railway cat.

The cat, nicknamed Ringwood by the railway’s steam locomotive drivers, firemen, cleaners and shed staff, first arrived at the station approximately six years ago.

Staff said she would know the warmest and best places to sleep, occasionally ending up beyond shed limits on an unplanned journey if she was too lazy to wake up.

She also proved a hit with visitors and residents of Swanage who visited the station, so much so that tributes and memories of meeting her have now flooded the Swanage Railway’s website and Facebook page.

Kevin Potts, 55, a retired Royal Navy Pilot and Swanage Railway volunteer, said: “Steam locomotive drivers, firemen, cleaners and shed staff at the Swanage Railway have been left saddened as a little piece of railway history passed on.

“Swanage engine shed was, until Saturday morning, home to Ringwood the shed cat.

“Sadly, staff arriving as dawn broke found her, not in her usual place curled up next to the shed’s coal fire, but lying on the coal dock beside one of the locomotives she inevitably dodged no matter how many times she crossed the tracks daily.”

Mr Potts added that staff believed Ringwood to have a home elsewhere, but loved the station so much she returned on a daily basis.

Back in the days of steam, most locomotive sheds had their own shed cat. More often than not, the cat chose the shed.

They were working animals, adept at keeping rats and mice at bay in what were some of the last Victorian working conditions left in Britain.

In return, the cat would gratefully accept odd items of food from enginemen’s rations – either given as a sign of friendship, or snatched behind their backs in an unguarded moment.

Some railway sheds even had the cat ‘on the books’ and the railway company paid a small allowance towards their upkeep.

Mr Potts said: “Despite a dangerous environment and staff operating heavy machinery, our shed cat seemed to love the station anyway.

“Most railway stations had a shed cat in the past and some still do.

“When you’d come back into the crew room after a long day you would more often than not find Ringwood curled up on the clothes you had left out.”

Mr Potts said railway staff are now thinking of getting a mature cat for the station from a rescue centre, perhaps one that was not suitable for domestic rehoming.