All Cats Are Legends
Every cat has a story...listen...
Chessie, The Railroad Kitten
Click on Chessie for the items for sale
The Railroad Kitten
A kitten was found
With a blanket and a pillow
As soft as white down
They said her name was Chessie
This tabby brown striped and plain
But to those who love railroads
Her name simply meant “train”.
And the steel heartstrings still purr
But your children’s children
May never know her.
And they found her Old Man
Straight as a sentry
This proud tomcat would stand
With a full bib and white mittens
Green eyed and sleek
And they told everybody
That his name was “Peake”.
And went off to war
For the sake of her soldiers
Chessie slept on the floor
And through the yards the trains kept rolling
All day and all night
Carrying men and arms to battle
Was the railroad man’s way to fight.
To his Chessie and kittens again
But the great railroad they loved
Would never be the same.
We traveled that famed rail line
From the Motor City to Richmond
With Chessie we slept and we dined
Down through Ohio and across Kentucky
The train speeded like a dart
And every where there was Chessie
Enshrined in a heart.
And the best things often die
As a nation in a hurry
Spread its wings toward the sky
But hauling coal cars her likeness
Crowned the most beautiful train
Engine, caboose, and hopper car
All proudly wore her name
Until the great “Chessie Era” came to its end
And that sweet shape of a kitten
Was never seen again.
And the steel heartstrings still purr
But your children’s children
May never know her.
All rights reserved.
I get asked many, many times at shows...who is Chessie? Here's an explanation from C&O Railways...but there's so much more!
"The Story of Chessie and Chessie as a Kitten
from the back of a C&O Railroad commerative collection of three prints
It is a pleasure to present this portfolio of the famous Chessie Portraits-Chessie herself, Chessie and her Kittens and Peake, "Chessie's Old Man." Each is a reproduction of a copper-plate etching by Guido Gruenewald, well-known Viennese artist of the 1920's and '30's.
A lover of animals , Gruenewald was especially fascinated by cats and kittens. Using the difficult technique of copper-plate etching, he produced many prints of his family's pets in amusing poses and delicate colors. One of them, showing a sleepy kitten in bed, was seen in 1933 by an officer of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. At that time, the C&O was looking for a way to advertise the comfort of its new air-conditioned sleeping cars.
An advertisement reproducing the etching with the slogan, "Sleep Like A Kitten," appreared in the September issue of "Fortune" magazine that year. Chessie, as the kitten soon was called, appeared the following year in the first of a continuous series of Chessie Calendars.
Chessie's fan mail reached movie-star proportions. Requests for the picture poured in from every part of the world. Many admirers even sent her gifts, ranging from catnip mice to crates of oranges and cantaloupes. Because of the month in which she first appeared in the C&O advertisement, the postman brings many birthday cards to her each September 1.
The Chesapeake and Ohio is now affiliated with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1972, the partners adopted "Chessie Systems" as a new short-form name, and Chessie is still hard at work, now as the symbol of careful, attentive railroad freight services.
Chessie Systems asked the artist's daughter, Mrs. Charlotte Plochberger, of Vienna, to tell Chessie's many friends aboaut her father. This is her story:
Guido Gruenewald, painter, etcher, was born in 1881 in the Adriatic port of Trieste. His father, Cornelius Gruenewald, was a well-known landscape painter. Guido showed artistic talent very early. When his family moved to Vienna, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts and intended to make painting his lifetime vocation. However, financial troubles forced him to take a job, and for many years he was only able to paint as a hobby.
Only when he reached the age of forty was he able to devote more time to the arts. He became interested in the graphic arts, especially copper-plate etching, which involves not only etching each color plate by hand, but also reproducing each print on a hand press.
He did mostly animal etchings,especially cats. Living in the suburbs, he always had his house and garden full of kittens.
Unfortunately he died at an early age, only 54. He was the last of many talented painters by the name of Gruenewald. His daughter, his only child, did not inherit his talent."
2009 Chessie's 75th Anniversary
Congratulations Chessie!
2009 is Chessie's 75th anniversary. In honor of this magnificent event, the C&O Historical Society commissioned a commenerative stuffed animal.
And here She is!
(Click on pictures for a larger photo.)
Chessie Stuffed Animal Doll~$35
$55
Close up of Old Chessie Stuffed Animal C&O tag.
And the very new!
The CSX Chessie Doll
$18.00
The Chessie Birthday Balloon
I touched the little plush cat lying there
One tiny paw sticking out in the air
All her body threadbare, fur long gone
After so many years she’s so love worn.
The tag on her leg said “Chessie” was her name
And I wondered if I could ever do the same
To part with something beloved so long
But sometimes when hope and resources are gone
It becomes impossible to keep holding on
To the objects of a lifetime that has passed along.
But some little hand once held her tight
As soon as Mom had turned out the light
And knew everything would be all right
The angels and Chessie would guard her through the night.
The Chessie birthday balloon flew up through the sky
The string lay broken on the ground
There was no earthly way to bring her down
The wind took her away beyond our eye
And we wished her “Good luck” and “Goodbye”
And hoped that she would find
A world where life was a little less unkind
And maybe when she landed somewhere far away
A laugh and a smile would brighten
Another grown-up child’s day.
Susan M. Dern September, 2008
The 2010 Chessie Calendar
Price~$15
Chessie Items for Sale
Here be Chessie! All Chessie items for sale but many are antique or discontinued...one of a kind. Write and ask about availability or what's new we have in stock.
Items in collection indude: Chessie "C" silhouette pins~$6: Chessie sterling silver earrings~$15; Chessie sterilng silver pendant~$8; Chessie key holder~$6; Chessie money clip~$7
Reproduction Prints from C&O Railroad Calendars~$65, unless otherwise specified as an original.
Some old and some NEW!
(click on the photos for a larger picture)
Email: horsedancerdes@aol.com
http://www.allcatsarelegends.com//photos/Chessie-2009/CSX%20Chessie%20Doll.jpg
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 | "Chessie, Sleep Like A Kitten"
| | C&O Hopper Car at Port
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| | C&O Chessie Christmas Card
| | "Starlight Chessie~ |
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| | C&O Railroad 1962 Calendar | |
| | One of the color prints inside of the 1962 C&O calendar | | One of the color prints inside of the 1962 C&O calendar |
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| Original C&O Railroad Tickets
|  | Origianl C&O Railroad Tickets |
| | Original C&O Railroad Tickets
| Tickets available in | Tickets available in light green color, same Chessie picture as the green, same amount |
| | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
| | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad |
| | "Peake" |  | Chessie Tealight Candle
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| Chessie and Flowers Pillow
|  | Chessie Tealight Candle 2 $4
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And we have even more Chessie!
| | Chessie Reproduction China
|  | Fenton Glass Candy Jar (hand painted and signed) Celebrating Chessie's 75th Birthday $145
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| | "Starlight Chessie" Christmas Ball | ||
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| Chessie Reproduction China | | Fenton Glass Chessie Candy Jar
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| Chessie
| | "Kitten Number 1"
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| | Chessie Magnet
| | Chessie Logo
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| | Chessie Logo
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| Fenton Glass Chessie Christmas Ornament 2009
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| | 1993 Chessie Calendar
|  | Fenton Glass Chessie Candy Jar |
| | Chessie Family Mug
|  | Chessie T Shirt Engineer Youth Size M $16
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| | Chesssie Denim Shirt
| | Close-up of Denim Shirt Embroidery |
 | Chessie T Shirt
|  | Chessie T Shirt
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Here Now!
 | Chessie Service Star |  | Chessie Wall Plaque Limited Edition B&O Collectors Edition $40 |
 | Chessie Note Card Pack 1 |  | Chessie Note Card Pack 2 |
 | Chessie Note Cube
|  | Chessie Key Chain
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 | Chessie Mug 1
|  | Chessie Mug 2 |
 | Chessie Necklace |  | Chessie Earrings Silver tone $25 |
All Cats Are Legends accepts PayPal and all credit cards. If you wish to send a check or money order, email me.
horsedancerdes@aol.com