I got a cabride about twelve years ago on the CP from Revelstoke to Kamloops. It was handled by a hogger that I had known through a friend. This friend of mine was with me, but didn't really know about the dealings, railroad-wise.

We were riding in #9005- a SD40M-2, and a long coal train behind us. Five SD's powered the train- two of them mid-train. After a great trip west through the Sushwap, Notch Hill and finally into Kamloops, we had a bite to eat with some other engineers on layover.

When we walked back to the station, being with a bunch of known railroaders (some didn't clue into us not belonging to CP), we were escorted, like any other employee to the sleeping quarters. This was the icing on the cake. We were with our bags still and needed a place to stay! Some other guys were scribbling names for the dorm rooms occupied by them on a chalkboard, and we followed suit. I wrote down my last name- just like many others had done, and got a suite trackside for the best place to stay in town! Upon the morning, the hogger that we rode in with was returning back to Revelstoke. I was asked by him if I would like to go with another engineer further west to North Bend. I was happy to be offered a ride. He introduced me to another engineer, and was told by him to sit in the second locomotive and it would be no problem. This unit was a leased SD45 (HLMX). This was a hot intermodal, and the run would be quick, as the new engineer had said he expected to be back into Kamloops by the end of his shift.

My friend had soon joined me there, as he wasn't an early riser, and took too long getting ready. He almost missed the train- in fact. We rode the rest of the way along the Thompson River, and through areas that would never be seen except from a train. It was great, and I still suspect that my friend really didn't grasp the whole concept of what luck we encountered on this trip. When we got to North Bend, my buddy's friend's wife was waiting at the station. She was on her way luckily to Vancouver to see some family members. At the same time we disembarked, the engineer was wanting to know if we would like to continue to Port Coquitlam, the next crew change point with another crew aboard. We declined, as we weren't sure on how to get home from PoCo.

After the fact, the best part of the trip was how lucky I was. When I had scribbled my last name on the dorm chalkboard, it was the same last name of an employee that was three weeks from retirement! My friend, on the other hand, was kicked out of there about two hours before I had gotten up for not being an employee of the railroad! He ended up at an hourly rate (seedy) motel!

almo