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Caption: BCR 610, an RS18C, is seen here at the Lillooet shop tracks with BCR #8, the "Budd Wiser" school car in tow. The car was given it's name by the high school students who traveled on it, and every day, five days a week, it transported them, along the banks of Seton Lake, from Seton Portage to Lillooet. My understanding is that the students would return home by regularly scheduled south bound passenger service in the afternoon. Must have been a wonderful way to get to school & back. By road and school bus now but, as we all know, the train was more dependable.
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Budd Wiser. Lol. That’s pretty funny.
1995 you say?
If you don’t mind my asking. After the kids were dropped off at school what was done with “Buddy”?
Did it return back on the regular pass. train, or stay with the crew that dropped the kids off and return back to home terminal at the end of their day? Thanks Joe.
Thanks for the comments, and yes, the shot was taken in 1995. The Budd Wiser, according to the research I’ve done, made the trip to Seton Portage every weekday morning, and brought the kids north to Lillooet. In the afternoon, regularly scheduled south bound BCR passenger service, using RDC Budd units, would return the kids to Seton Portage. Must have been a special arrangement between BCR and the school system. All to the best of my knowledge. Thanks again.
I might have skipped fewer days of school to go railfanning had this been my way to get to school every morning!
Crews nicknamed this the “Baby Buggy”. It was a regular crew based in Lillooet, basically a yard crew but deemed “switcher service” account running to Seton Portage and return. Their job was to switch the sawmill at Lillooet as well as any other work required and the last chore of the night was to run to Seton Portage, get the school kids for the trip north to Lillooet and then go off duty. The Budd Wiser coach stayed in Lillooet for the next day / trip. The kids went home on the regular daily south Budd Car.
The Kaoham Shuttle now runs between Lillooet and Seton Portage to Darcy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaoham_Shuttle
not sure how accurate this schedule is http://lillooetbc.ca/PDF/Kaoham-Shuttle-Schedule.aspx
link to my image of one of the track units used on the Kaoham Shuttle. http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=32222
David – There is a brief description of how this morning / afternoon school train scheduling worked at this website: Transit History of British Columbia Communities. It’s under the Lillooet heading. I may be wrong in my assumptions so would be interested to have your interpretation, if you don’t mind.
David – This should do it.:-)
(By Claude Prutton & Mark Forseille)
Passenger ServiceBetween Seton & Anderson Lakes on the Squamish Sub (MP 139.5) lies the small First Nation Village at Seton Portage. Prior to 1979 in order for the Native Children to attend High School, the only mode of transportation was by bus over a very long & rough road to Lillooet . To provide more suitable transportation the Railway in 1979 purchased a 60 seat coach from Gulf Mobile & Ohio Railway & each weekday thereafter the Lillooet switcher ( usually an RS3 or RS18) would run down to Seton Portage & pick up the School Children. They returned home on the afternoon Southbound Budds. The Company asked the Children to come up with a name for their Coach & so a contest was held & the name “ Budd Wiser” was chosen. “Budd” being the nick name for BCR’s Passenger trains & “Wiser” because if you go to school you become Wiser.
Sorry Joe. My comment was too vague. I do appreciate your search though.
I remember, some number of years ago, reading that story by Claude on this school service (and his nifty photo, he actually has a number of nifty rail photo’s when you look thru his collection). To make my Nov.8th comment more clear, I was wondering if the school coach returned with the Budds (rail liners) or if the road crew that brought the kids in the morning, kept (while they worked or parked it somewhere until home time) and brought the coach home with them at the end of their day. The whole point of my inquiry is that a 5 day a week road job would have been a beauty to work. I bet the fellows who worked it had a lot of whiskers. Weekends off typically drew high seniority. 
I’m with Matt. School bus or comfy train seats, h’mmm? Train everyday for me.
You’ve caught a real moment in BC history.
Thanks for your input guys. I really appreciate the clarification.