Volunteers are celebrating after Stainmore Railway's Chief Station cat returned after going missing for a week - just in time for International Cat Day (August 8). Barras lives at Kirkby Stephen East Station and is part of long lines of felines known not just locally, but also internationally.

The 'Tuxedo' cat is named after Barras - the next stop on the line.

Director of Stainmore Railway, Sue Jones, said: "People from all over have come to see our station cats from as far as New Zealand and Japan - many come not for the station but just to see the cats.

"We've had chief station cats for decades. It began with one cat in 1997, Rabbit, and then others have come to us as feral. The chief cat takes them on as an apprentice and tames them to get used to humans."

The Westmorland Gazette: Barras helping with a station orker's back exercises

Unfortunately, Quaker died in 2009 and handed on the prestigious role to Quaker, who then became chief station cat.

Quaker made friends with another moggy who was then aptly named Oats. During this time Barras, the current chief station cat, made an appearance when he was around 6-years-old.

Sue said: "He settled in well and was eventually allowed into the mess room as long as he didn't sit in Quaker's chair in front of the fire. He has a vocabulary of his own

"He is a very well built cat and his neck is too big to take a standard cat flea collar. He is extremely strong and muscular but the delicate chief station cat Quaker was still definitely in charge."

Sadly, Quaker and Oats died of old age and Barras was promoted from deputy to chief and became quite the character. He was always getting in fights and last year, he almost used up one of his nine lives. 

He went missing and was believed to have been attacked by a Lurcher dog. He was gone for four days before being treated at Pendragon Vets in Kirkby Stephen.

The moggy was very ill and and lost two thirds of his body weight. A Just Giving page was set up to help pay his bills which raised around £1,000. An excess of £500 from the funds was donated donated to Eden Animal Rescue.

The Westmorland Gazette: Barras helping with a station orker's back exercises

Sue added: "We have since decided to get Barras neutered however on May 1 we discovered a Tabby cat, who we've now called Belah, after Belah Bridge, who gave birth to two of his kittens - Barney (named after Barnard Castle) and Bowes (a station on the line).

"They now live in the mess room. Belah was a feral cat and didn't know what to do when then kittens arrived so Barras has done a great job of nursing them continually- he's very much the modern dad.

"He's doing a great job of taming Belah too and she's taken on the hunter role in the family now."

The historic station and steam railway, opened in 1861, and is now cared for by volunteers of the Stainmore Railway Company.

To find out more, please visit the Stainmore Railway Company.