Bob the Railway Dog, an icon of Peterborough in South Australia's mid-north, is again being celebrated with a book detailing some of his many adventures.

The grey-haired Smithfield sheepdog hitchhiked across Australia on trains in the 1880s and 1890s accompanying both stationmasters and passengers.

A book titled Bob's Railway has been written by author John Wilson, who said not enough people knew the icon's true story.

"Last year I wrote a book about the centenary of the railway to Clare called The Riesling Railway, and I mentioned Bob because he went to Clare," Mr Wilson said.

"I started digging around and I found that a lot which had been written about [Bob] was incorrect."

A dog's life

Bob was born in 1883 at Macclesfield, South Australia, but one day he decided to follow some men working on the railways.

Peterborough History Group has a large range of Bob the Railway Dog memorabilia. ( Supplied: Heather Parker/Peterborough History Group )

He was caught by dog catchers, rounded up, put on a truck and sent northwards to catch rabbits during the rabbit plague.

Peterborough History Group chair Heather Parker said when the train stopped at Terowie, a stationmaster named William Ferry took a fancy to him and they both moved to the bustling railway town of Petersburg, now known as Peterborough.

"Bob started going to work with William on the station and took an interest in the trains and started riding on them," Ms Parker said.

"He rode all through South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

"He learned his craft by jumping from one train to the other as the train lines proceeded.

"He liked to sit up on the coal tender or squeeze into the front where the engine driver was because the fire was nice and warm, and it could be quite cold in the winter through Peterborough."

Celebrity status

Ms Parker said Bob was loved by all and was regularly spotted in the newspapers.

During his travels, he attended many high profile events.

"He went to banquets, he went to the opening of the bridge over the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, and we think he might've gone to the Melbourne Cup," she said.

"Anywhere a train could take him, he went."

The railway men had a special collar made with the saying 'Stop me not but let me jog. For I am Bob, the driver's dog' inscribed on a brass plate. ( Supplied: Heather Parker/Peterborough History Group )

His passing

Bob died in Adelaide on Hindley Street in 1895, but how he died is still a mystery.

"One story is he was visiting a friend who had a butcher shop in Hindley Street and he had a heart attack," Ms Parker said.

Bob's legacy was cemented in 2009 with a bronze statue in the main street of Peterborough. ( Supplied: Heather Parker/Peterborough History Group )

"He'd get off at the Adelaide Railway Station and go to that butcher shop for sausages.

"Another account says he was actually run over, strangely enough, by a meat cart."

A legacy still strong

When Ms Parker realised Bob was an icon and the town had not recognised it, she set about raising money for a bronze statue.

"When 'Bob' finally came back to Peterborough on the back of a utility truck, we had a party," she said.

Since then, community members have created a garden around the statue and have been selling pavers with the names of people's pets, which are placed around the bottom of the statue.

Ms Parker said Peterborough is one of the most dog-friendly towns in regional SA thanks to Bob.

"You might notice when you walk up and down the street there are several places that have put bowls of water out the front, under their shops," Ms Parker said.