As I recall it was back in the early fifties that I was assigned to trains No.1 and No. 2 on the west end (Laggan Subdivision ) firing for an Engineer by the name of Jimmy Kirk. Our locomotives were always large, oil burning, 5900 Selkirk 2-10-4’s, usually the higher numbered semi streamlined ones. On one particular trip, when I was with him, Jim was asked to take a large, double barreled, shot gun to Calgary to be repaired at a gun shop there. It was quite a common practice for the residents of small town Field to ask the train and engine crews, working into their terminal, to deliver and or pick up and return small parcels to and from Calgary. Even railroad men living in the larger city of Reveistoke, further west, often asked for such favors when the required service wasn’t available in their home town

Shortly after this trip with Kirk, I took a holiday vacancy firing a passenger job on the east end (Brooks Sub.) because the hours were better. When the two weeks were up I returned to my regular job of firing 5900’s on the Laggan Sub. for Jimmy Kirk. I asked him if that repaired shot gun had been returned to its owner in Field? He told me the following funny story.

I don’t remember who the Fireman was, but I do recall Kirk saying that they were a long time in Calgary station on that particular evening, loading express and mail. As a result they decided to take a little water at Cochrane because they had to stop there anyway and it had been nearly three hours since the tender was filled on the Alyth shop track. Without this stop they might not have had enough to make it to the tank at Morley.

Anyway, to make this short story longer, when that Fireman climbed over that warm fuel oil tender tank, to spot Jim for water, two very rough and dirty bums (Hoboes ) appeared. They were stealing a ride from the C.P.R. on that cool night, and by sitting with their backs against the dirty but heated oil reservoir were able to keep warm. Their concern was that the Fireman might flood them out by spilling cold water over when the tender tank was full and they made the mistake of swearing at him and telling him to be careful not to wet their resting place. BIG MISTAKE!

As soon as our Fireman slammed the tank cover down and pushed up the water spout, Engineer Kirk started out of town because they didn’t want to waste any time - the train was already quite late from the Calgary delay. When the Fireman returned to his post and got the oil firing valve and damper open and the water pump regulated he went over to Kirk’s side of the locomotive cab and told him about those two characters up on the tender that had him such a bad time back at Cochrane. Jimmy said that he would fix those guys when they spotted the engine for water at the Morley tank. And he did!

Kirk had been an army sergeant in W.W. One and was a large burley fellow, the kind that wouldn’t take any guff from anybody, especially not from two bums that were stealing a ride from the C.P.R. So after spotting the locomotive at the Morley water tank he got that large firearm out of the cupboard and started up the tender ladder with the Fireman right behind him. As the two of them walked over the oil tank those two obnoxious characters peeked over and, in the moonlight, saw that large, double barreled shot gun with Kirk and the Fireman right behind it. At this time the Engineer shouted NOW GET ! It must have been a scary sight because they GOT!, fleeing over the back end of that 12,000 gal. tender hardly even touching the rear ladder in their haste to get away. Jimmy said that the last he saw of them was when they climbed over the right of way fence and were headed for the bush and trees a half a mile away. I wonder if they thought that every C.P. locomotive was equipped with a SHOTGUN?