MEMORIES OF COFFEE CREEK
"I am probably one of the few people who can say they had the pleasure of
riding Coffee Creek from Seattle to Minneapolis when it was still in
Olympian Hiawatha service and can also say I rode Fundy when it was in
CN service between Montreal and Halifax when it was in Ocean service. The car always left an impression on me, but I have to admit I enjoyed the CN trip on the car more. Now I am going to have to go to storage locker and see if I can dig up the trip reports for both trips. I should have information on the Milwaukee Road Olympian Hiawatha consist and also the Ocean consist on the dates rode I both trains. The trip over Snoqualmie pass was especially memorable as the electric up front was knocking ice off of the wire that was causing arcing in the dark sky from the snow storm. Later in Montana while we were once again under the wire, this time behind a Little Joe, a similar arcing took place as the Joe left a tunnel and the Coffee Creek was still in the tunnel and the light from the arcing lit up the entire trains exterior; sitting in Coffee Creek it was the most eerie sensation I have ever witnessed, something I will remember for life. The year I rode the Olympian was 1958 and it still carries fond memories." - Alan Pettet
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