December Garden Railroading Withdrawal

Continued Railroad Withdrawal

This posting is meant to assist you in combating your railroad withdrawal symptoms.

So, here we two gals are...hanging out in Mike's crew lounge located just outside his HO scale B&M model railroad room.  But Mike's not in the picture!  Something must be bothering him.  It's now the fifth day of the 12th month and there's no white stuff outside.  Perhaps he wishes that he could be romping in the snow with us!  Or...could he be thinking of heading out in the car on this Saturday morning to go and run trains on the IPP&W/RP&M! The weather seems conducive!  Indeed, Mike must be suffering from GRWD - yes, Garden Railroading WithDrawal!  So, to help Mike (and you) with those symptoms, how about taking a wee peek back over the summer sessions out in the garden!

Click on the pictures to enlarge them and outside them to return to the regular look of the page.

An Overall View

Standing by the curve between Spruce and Ironwood we look across the rails with Spruce immediately below us.  Off in the distance you can see the facility at Ironwood Brick.  An IPP&W train in care of a Canadian Pacific diesel is spotted downgrade out of Spruce for Nelson Yard.

Meet and Greet

An eastbound freight holds the siding as the westbound Passenger #1 takes the station track at Mount St. Helens on a gorgeous summer morning.

Diesel of the Day

Bob often brings out this colourful Santa Fe diesel locomotive to haul his ore train when it is standard gauge day.  This DS40-2 in the handsome Warbonnet scheme is a real looker!

Steaming Steamer

Not to be outdone, Bob sometimes brings out this lovely 4-6-0 steam locomotive on narrow gauge days.  It certainly captures the colour of railroading "way back when"!

Freight Train, Freight Train, Going So Fast!

Mike's Annie is hauling this mixed freight up the grade into Mount St. Helens after it departed Ironwood.  It is nice to be able to capture the entire train within the frame of the picture!

A Passenger Peek

This 'going away' shot of Passenger #2 out of Glen Hammond sees the crew stepping out on the big trestle with Pat at the helm.

Whether "Ore" Not!

Bob's ore train is hugging the ledge at this location affectionately known as "The Ledges".

Going Yard

While the Toronto Blue Jays went yard a number of times in the playoffs, their resulting run count could not top that of the Kansas City Royals.  Oh well, there's always next season!  Anyway, let's check out what is going on in these two yards, Glen Hammond below us and Nelson Yard off in the short distance.  It would appear that the train ops session has just gotten underway as Paul, Colin and Gord work as a reliable team to block traffic for incoming trains and make consists for outgoing ones.

Trestle Treasures

We spot Doug's gorgeous F units peeking out from under the big trestle at the gap near Lily.

A lower angle view affords us a better look at these gorgeous diesels.

Radical Rolling Stock

I've always loved this Canadian Pacific tanker cars...one of the more colourful characters on the railroad in my books!

Love Those Curves!

I was fortunate enough to be hanging out around the big bend outside of Spruce when the crew aboard the 455 came hurtling by with a consist of empty ore cars.

Ho! Ho! HOTrak!

Yes, it's December and we know that Santa will soon be on his way, but until that day arrives, the only Ho, Ho, Ho-ing we will hear will come from the wonderful group of HOTrackers who visited the railroad one sunny weekday morning in 2014.

Invasion of Friends

Doug and I are in the middle with some of our American friends to the outside during the annual Invasion of Friends.  This picture was taken in 2014.

A+ for Artsy

Here's an artsy shot of Rick Golding's Southern RS3 with a crewmate aboard.  They are passing the wye on the outskirts of Douglas Yard.

Location! Location! Location!

Cedar Rock is the newest addition to the railroad having been constructed and opened only last year.  We spot Carl and Paul handling the switching chores on this Invasion day.

Lawrence did a phenomenal job on the construction of the main structure at Cedar Rock which can accommodate a multitude or ore cars.

Wye Not!

We spot some lovely locomotives on the west leg of the Wye outside of Craig Leigh.

They would have just come from the engine house area.  They are eagerly anticipating a train to run!

Table Talk

Chris is entertaining the ladies, including his lovely wife Lela, while visitors enjoy a brief respite from ops as they enjoy their lunch during one of the invasion ops sessions.

Heading Indoors

Fred's living room is a mecca for train lovers as this signal is but one of many railroad related treasures which "hang out" with the gang!

Out of Bounds - But Still Spectacular

Our "off property" destination on this day is Barry's gorgeous garden railroad in Picton.  Barry hosted a fabulous session during the invasion.  I loved operating both steam and diesels on the day.  You've got a true masterpiece there, Barry!

Operator in the Spotlight

Trevor is a highly respected yard master on the IPP&W working the huge yard at Craig Leigh.  Here he is relaxing in the shade during one of the invasion days.

Trevor is spotted bringing this lovely locomotive from the loco shed.  He will make use of the track configuration at the wye to turn his engine in the desired designation for its assignment which will most likely be working Douglas Yard on this day.  We're all thinking of you Trevor!

Where is This Location?

Remember This?  Where is This on the IPP&W?

Well, Pat and Bernie weighed in on the query.  Indeed, it is the storage tanks in Craig Leigh by the big brewing facility.

Where is This Location?

Can you determine the location of this close-up view?  If you can, feel free to fire off an e-mail my way!

Going Away!

Our going away shot of the day is of this passenger train climbing the grade our of Ironwood bound for the shade of Mount St. Helens.

The Tail End

Yes, we've once again reached the tail end of this story.  I hope this little glimpse into the comings and goings on the garden railroad has helped you as it has helped me as I suffer from Garden Railroading Withdrawal symptoms.  Be sure to check in next time, when January snowstorms help us to "den in" in this northern clime of ours!

Thanks for checking in for some withdrawal medicine! 

Mike Hamer - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada