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The Kaoham Shuttle is a
Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...
Seton Portage Seton Portage () is a community located on a narrow strip of land between Anderson Lake and Seton Lake in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia. The community is home to two Seton Lake First Nation communities at either end of t ...
passenger rail service along the northern shore of Seton Lake in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. By BC Highway 99, the eastern terminus is about northeast of
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
.


Earlier railway shuttles

In 1934, a Lillooet–Shalalth shuttle was established, and a diameter
turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
was installed east of Seton Portage, because the initial gasoline-powered cars could only be operated from one end. This was not the case for gas car no. 107, bought in 1949, but built in 1926. In 1958, the western terminus moved to Seton Portage. The
railbus A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar that shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels on a fixed base, instead of on bogies. Originally designed and developed d ...
hauled one or two trailers loaded with automobiles and trucks on a twice daily return service. The completion of access roads and the introduction of new Budd Rail Diesel Cars on the
BC Rail BC Rail is a railway in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Chartered as a private company in 1912 as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), it was acquired by the provincial government in 1918. In 1972 it was renamed to the British ...
daily intercity service in the late 1950s prompted the end of this shuttle in 1961. In 1979, a Seton Portage–Lillooet morning school shuttle commenced. The cost was shared equally between the Lillooet School District, Seton Lake First Nation, and
BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the exce ...
(which operates the Shalalth powerhouses). The high school pupils named the single passenger car behind the locomotive as the "Budd Wiser". Students returned home on the southbound intercity passenger train.


Shalalth Tunnel

The tunnel lies immediately west of
Shalalth Shalalth and South Shalalth are unincorporated communities on the northern shore near the western end of Seton Lake in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The localities are by road about northwest of Lillooet, but o ...
. The initial tunnel, behind the “Bridge River 2 Generating Station” building, was timber lined and opened in 1915. The second tunnel, built in the mid-1950s, resulted from a line relocation to accommodate the hydro building construction. The new trackage emerged from the tunnel directly in line with the old turntable, which was removed at this time. The third tunnel, opened in 1989, was a relocation to bypass a dangerous rock slide area. The increased height clearance was to accommodate any future electrification of this section of the line.


Kaoham installation

In the St’at’imc language, the word "Kaoham" means "to meet the train". In November 2002, BC Rail ended all passenger service between North Vancouver and Prince George. In 2001, the railway purchased a pair of gasoline-powered
railbus A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar that shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels on a fixed base, instead of on bogies. Originally designed and developed d ...
units from Jim Busby Services in California, who had rebuilt the Fairmont A8 speeders. West Coach International of California carried out further modifications, with the work completed by BC Rail upon arrival in Lillooet. After the inaugural run on October 31, 2002, regular operation started the next day. "Budd-Lites" was soon their nickname. These units were initially numbered TU-108 and TU-109 by BC Rail to maintain the gas car numbering sequence but later renumbered to 10800 and 10900 by Canadian National Railway (CN) after acquiring BC Rail.


Kaoham operation

If the duplicate rear car is attached, only the lead car motor is used. Each car contains 20 school-bus type seats for the bumpy journey. This enterprise on the CN Squamish Subdivision is a partnership between CN and the Seton Lake First Nation. The former provides the driver and train. The latter handles bookings and ticketing. The service primarily exists for the isolated residents (mainly
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
) of Seton Portage and Shalalth to reach Lillooet for school, shopping, or medical needs. Consequently, most days, the train departs Seton Portage in the morning and returns in the afternoon. On Fridays, two round trips occur. When the train arrives, the crew briefly open the Lillooet station waiting area. Being CN's only non-freight operation, passengers on the shuttle are classified as "groceries" for cargo reporting purposes. Although bookings are encouraged, uncertainty exists as to whether the bookings have been recorded. Where recorded, a high ranking on the list is no guarantee of being able to purchase a ticket. Tour parties have been known to push in front to secure a seat on the shuttle, since standing is prohibited. Understandably, local residents have priority over visitors. Only cash payments are accepted for the $25 round trip (as of Sep '22). The space beside the driver is often filled with packages, groceries and other supplies. With an intermediate stop at Shalalth, the trip lasts just over an hour each way. The
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described the picturesque journey beside the lake and through the tunnel as "Canada's greatest hidden rail trip". Service farther west to D'Arcy is advertised as available by advance appointment.


References

{{Canadianmetros Rail transport in British Columbia Passenger railways in British Columbia Lillooet Country Railway services introduced in 2002