In July 1983 I rode the Rogers pushers from Rogers up to Stoney Creek and back. This was a fabulous day because the CP crews at Rogers were more than generous in allowing me to visit the crew facilities, shoot the breeze with them, and finally give me a ride up the hill. At the end of the day I felt like the CP crews expected every railfan who wandered by to go for a ride. No exceptions!

I met Tim Hamm who was a bit notorious for his recent (in 1983) coal train run away down the west side of the pass. His story of the accident and explanation of how he did not make a mistake (carmen screwed up) were quite engaging.

At the point I went for this ride the McDonald track had been surveyed and everyone knew CP was planning to close the pusher terminal. The next few years would be the last hurrah for this operation so those assigned there were working to make the most of it. Many were guys with a lot of seniority and were taking advantage of the benefits offered by CP. They worked two pushes and then were off in facilities provided by CP. If I recall they were assigned to the terminal for a couple of weeks or a month and then they got to go home and spend a week or two there before returning.

The ride itself was of course very impressive. There's nothing like riding in a set of 6 SD40s at run 8! The feeling of dropping from nearly 30 mph down to 15 mph in a few hundred feet as the train started into the grade is unparalleled. Crossing Mountain Creek and Stoney Creek was as anyone would expect quite impressive. The crew coordination between the head end, pusher, and caboose crews was a sight to see. I still do not know how the pusher crew knew to shut 'em off at back track at Stoney. It all just seemed to happen without a word over the radio.

Wish I could do it again...