A Voice Amid the Rails: The Rescue of Tiny Willow

On a quiet stretch of the Alaska Railroad near Willow, a passenger on board paused when she heard what sounded like a soft meow through the train window. Peering down, she discovered a kitten, barely a month old, stranded on the tracks—far too small to climb to safety and in desperate need of rescue.

That night, the image of the vulnerable kitten haunted her thoughts. By morning, she resolved she could not ignore the instinct urging her to act. With her partner by her side, she returned to the scene—undaunted by the rails or the passing time. To their overwhelming relief, the kitten’s faint mews answered their return. After placing the tracks behind her, she was safe in their arms.

Though weak and dehydrated, she was otherwise in good condition. Only a few scabs marred her tail, a mark of her ordeal. The rescuers gave her a name befitting her small beginnings: Willow.

Though her future with her rescuers remains undecided, colleagues along the railway have offered to open their homes to her when the time comes.