ANYONE who has used Slough train station will have noticed a stuffed dog in a glass box.

The adorable dog is eye-catching and would often leave commuters scratching their heads as to what it's all about.

Station Jim, the stuffed dog which stands on Platform 5 was a canine collector for the Great Western Widows and Orphans Fund from 1894 until his death in 1896.

After his death he was placed on display in a glass case with a money box to allow collection for the fund after his death.

This is a unique survival of a 19th Century dog which has remained in the same place since the late Victorian Period.

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The four-legged friend was brought to the railway station as a puppy and when he was small he was carried in the railways porter’s pocket – he was first taught to use the footbridge rather than crossing the rails which he continued to do until his death.

At four months he started to collect money as a canine collector for two years before becoming too ill to do so, but over those couple of years was able to raise £40 for the Great Western Railway Widows and Orphans Fund.

He collected one gold sovereign and occasionally the odd half-crown – but donations mostly consisted of pennies.

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Whenever he received a coin he had been trained to bark as a way of thanking the donor for their coin, much to the amusement to his patrons.

He also knew several other tricks such a sitting up and beg or lie down or 'die’. He could stand on his hind legs and take a bow. He could also sit on a chair with a cap on his head and a pipe in his mouth. If anyone threw a lighted match of the platform he would extinguish it and give a growl. He could also climb a ladder and play leapfrog with the local schoolboys.

Sadly, he died suddenly in his harness on the platform, on the evening of November 19, 1896.

It was decided to get a local taxidermist to preserve him, which was paid for by a number of residents in Slough and members of the station staff.

Station Jim still presides over Platform 5 to this day. So the next time you find yourself at Slough station, pay him a visit and place a coin in the slot in his memory.