Caption: Some nights when I went down to the yard to watch trains are more memorable than others. Looking back almost 30 years later I can safely say this one I still remember well.
That evening, a friend and I had biked down to the Kitchener yard to see if there were any trains around. We were in luck as the CN 15:30 Job had just returned to the yard from the Huron Park Spur with their train loaded with newly built car frames from the Budd Plant. After setting them off, CN GP9RM 4134 ran light back to the west end of the yard where it then coupled to three waiting hoppers loaded with fertilizer for Nutrite in Elmira. The same engineer had seen me a lot over the past month photographing them, however this was the first time he leaned out and began talking to us. He had some time before they departed the yard. He said his name was Dennis and then asked me if I wanted to be an engineer someday. He went on to tell a story that when he was a kid, he saw his first steam engine and from then on, he knew that he had always wanted to be a hogger. Then he asked my friend and I “Have you ever been up in one of these?” To which we replied a firm “no.” Then Dennis pointed to the front of 4134 and asked “Well would you like to?” And just like that we climbed-up and found ourselves inside the cab of 4134 with Dennis giving us a tour of his office. I was beyond excited at this recent turn of events and was just trying to take it all in. However, it didn’t last long as the conductor began getting back on and they were ready to go north to Elmira on the Waterloo Spur. We thanked Dennis for letting us up and began the trek biking towards home. Our topic of conversation on the way was no doubt about what we had just experienced.
Here CN 4134 is viewed coupling to its waiting hoppers for Elmira in the yard with Dennis looking back from his window. That spring, Nutrite was receiving many cars of fertilizer and the 15:30 Job would usually take-up a few at a time along with any tank cars for Sulco or Uniroyal Chemicals.