What does a radio station do to celebrate "National Hobo Day?"
Rick Shane, producer of the "Good Guys" (Gary Zane and Scott Christopher) morning show on KKAT radio, decided to act like a hobo and hop on a freight train. He sneaked into a boxcar at Salt Lake's Rio Grande station on a train with seven engines headed south at about 7 a.m. Friday to see how far he could ride before being kicked off or being able to exit safely.Meanwhile, the "Good Guys" promoted a station contest with listeners guessing how far Shane would get. Shane took a cellular telephone along and called in with regular updates on his location.
Shortly after 9 a.m., he had passed Mills (south of Nephi) and was still headed south at about 70 mph. By about 10 a.m., Shane's train had moved out of cellular phone range.
Finally by 10:30, he called the station from a pay phone to report he had gotten off at Milford, about 225 miles south of Salt Lake City. The train had apparently stopped for some sort of crew change.
Shane had been fearful he'd end up in Nevada or California.
"I feel pretty good. I'm glad this is over," Shane told KKAT listeners. "I played like a hobo."
Within 30 minutes of stopping, he was able to hitch a car ride back to Salt Lake City.
Bart Ellison was the winner of the contest with his Milford guess. He won dinner, fair tickets and a CD.
KKAT is planning what may be another outrageous promotion Tuesday, this one related to the baseball strike.