May - 1950
Parting of the Ways
Whrn Conductor Angus R. "Sandy" McDonald of the London division retired recently after 37 years of Company service, his retirement drew an exceptionally large press coverage. Much of the editorial interest was occasioned by Mr. McDonald's pet rabbit, also named Sandy, who had kept the veteran conductor company for the past four years. Several large dailies carried the story of the two "Sandy's" which was based on the original appearing in the London Free Press.
Mr. McDonald joined the Company as a trainman on the London division on 22 Jul 1912 and was promoted to conductor on 12 Jul 1923. He had been employed on the London division throughout his career and had been on wayfreight service between London and Windsor since November, 1945.
For the benefit of our readers we reproduce herewith the story of Sandy McDonald and Sandy the rabbit, as it appeared in the London Free Press, and through the courtesy of that newspaper.
Sandy, named after C.P.R. Conductor A.R. "Sandy" McDonald who made his last run on the way freight between Windsor and London recently, is neither a dumb-bunny nor a cwazy wabbit even if he is hare-brained.
Conductor McDonald completed 45 years' railroad service, Sandy (the rabbit) completed four years and 100,000 miles of travel, which makes him, according to Conductor McDonald, not only the only rabbit to ride a caboose regularly, but the world's most travelled rabbit.
"He is smart, because he's staying in the service, scorning invitations to retire and raise a family." Sandy has resisted all efforts to persuade him to leave his adopted caboose since he first was found by former brakeman Lyle McLaggan.
McLaggan, among a reception committee of 15 or more conductors to meet retiring Conductor McDonald at the Adelaire street crossing, related that Sandy the rabbit displayed himself only once as a dumb bunny and that was when he sat square in the middle of the railroad tracks out of St. Joachim, forcing the train, engineered by Cliff Knox, to a halt. The brakeman retrieved him and since then he has made his home in McDonald's caboose.
"He can be excused for his slight error in judgment in picking such a place to sit," commented McLaggan, "after all, he was only two days old then."
Apparently Sandy has grown progressively more intelligent as time passed by. Instead of sitting between the rails, he now has a special perch on the desk where McDonald used to fill out forms called "conductors' checks."
Whenever the train whistle blows or the engineer "whistles off", Sandy knows a jolt is coming. He braces his feet and lifts his ears up to their full eight inches.
Mr. McDonald said he has never seen Sandy budge an inch when the train started, he's got lots of footage!
The doors on the caboose and attached baggage car are never closed in front of Sandy. Once, a short while after he was picked up at St. Joachim, his railroad keepers decided that since the spring had just come it would be a good idea to let him go wild again and perhaps find a lady friend and eat grass with her. However, when the whistle blew and the train started, Sandy scrambled madly on a sheet of thin ice and snow by the siding, collected his big hind feet and made "very rapid rabbit tracks" in the direction of the warm caboose.
Since that day, railroaders on the London-Windsor run swear, he hasn't left the caboose, except occasionally to be photographed. Sandy spends a reasonable portion of each day in a sand-box provided appropriately for his use in the baggage car. The rest of the time he eats. His diet includes bananas, fruit cake, raisin cookies, grass, branches, and weeds, and he chews gum for dessert.
Sandy, though photogenic, is temperamental. He demonstrated his annoyance at so many visitors in his private caboose and baggage car by ferociously chewing Mr. McDonald's conductor check book. His intemperate behavior vented, he allowed himself to be photographed at McDonald's shoulder.
Since he is remaining in service as permanent custodian of the caboose, railroaders assured the Free Press there would be a continuance of the same "rabbit" service between London and Windsor.
The reception committee meeting Mr. McDonald included conductors D.M. Chambers, Jack Taylor, Jim Robinson,
John Bradley, E.C. McAuley, George Cunningham, Alex Green, Lyle McLaggan, and H.G. Clampitt. Mrs. McDonald,
Keith McDonald, a son, and a brother John A. McDonald were also present.
and is reprinted here with their permission. All photographs,
logos, and trademarks are the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.