"Ticket to Ride!"

Smithers Division, Skeena Subdivision, 1958 - 1959. I had just turned 15, and by now had it down to a science riding the trains between Prince Rupert and Terrace.

I had the choice of riding the 1st Class 196 or the Log Train from Prince Rupert to Terrace. Since the varnish was always double headed, I’d ride the second unit. I preferred to ride the Log Train, since it was always more interesting. Oh, yeah, it allowed me to sleep in on Saturday, since the logger left at 10:00K instead of 8:00k.

We’d leave Prince Rupert with a dozen or so freight cars, stopping at the Columbia Cellulose paper mill at Port Edward, picking up a string of empty log flats, destined for the re-load at Kitsumkalum Reload, just west of Terrace. Kallum Re-load had 3.5 miles of track with a moderate car capacity of 279 cars with only a single west end connection.

The drill was if two Geeps were assigned on the Log Train from Prince Rupert to Terrace, I’d simply ride solo in the trailing unit. If, on the other hand, a single Geep were assigned, I’d ride the caboose out to Kwinitsa, where a mandatory walking inspection was performed. And in the process, do an end-for-end switch with the head end brakeman, and ride his seat the remaining miles to the Kallum Log Spurs.

Return to Prince Rupert was in late afternoon.

If I rode the passenger train, I had a connection problem getting home. Fortunately one of my high school buddies had moved to Terrace, so I had a place to stay Saturday night, but there was no Log Train on Sunday. So the Log Train conductor would give me a “Ticket to Ride!” redeemable on the Sunday evening run back to Prince Rupert on 1st Class 195 – in the passenger section.