Garden Railroading: Standard Gauge Session - August 20th, 2016 (Part Two)

This posting is the second section covering our train ops session of August 20th, 2016.

From left to right, Pat, Garry and Steve enjoy some laughter before the session gets underway.
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Over in Craig Leigh, Bernie has his TH&B Geep working the lead to Douglas Yard while Steve and Seanna's locomotive passes by on the outer track.

Neil will work Douglas Yard with the yardmaster on this day.

Ah, there he is! It's Bernie, our dedicated Craig Leigh yardmaster.

Neil uncouples the locomotive to spot a car at one of the local industries.

While Bernie mans the controls.

Indeed, Craig Leigh can become busy at times.

Gord, Paul and Colin oversee the action at Nelson Yard.

The rolling stock and trains change constantly in the yard as incoming and outgoing crews allow for such changes in scenery. Wow...eleven operators all in the same picture!

Like the arrival of Bob's ore train.

Father and son work the west end of the yard with a great looking center cab.

That's Colin and Paul.

Malcolm's new unit hauls Passenger #2 upgrade at this super railfan spot to the west of Spruce.

Then, a station stop in Spruce.

After a stop at Ironwood, we find his train ascending the grade into Mount St. Helens.

Meeting 318 in Mount St. Helens..

Malcolm indicates "That's Me" while pointing at his train as he arrives the yard limits in Craig Leigh.

Lawrence has his train, Train 311, which is the continuation of 301 at Mercer where he meets Bob's ore train.

Lawrence in the driver's seat at Ironwood.

With his conductor, Pat.

Chris and Lela have Train 302 arriving Nelson Yard. They will continue their eastward run as Train 312 with a final destination in Craig Leigh.

Lela conducts the moves in Ironwood. The team track, freight house and Larabie Fuels will be trailing sidings for them while Windmill and Ironwood Brick will be facing.

Lela has 312 in a holding pattern as she awaits permission to move forward into Douglas Yard at Craig Leigh.

Indeed, Craig Leigh seems a busy place at the moment.

Paul earlier arrived Craig Leigh as Train 318. He now departs as Train 319 for his return trip to Glen Hammond.

319 heads out of the yard.

Paul's engineer, Tom, offers this railfan a wave "from the cab".

319 is now westbound back to the Glen. They have some work to conduct in Mount St. Helens.

So I head into my chopper to grab this artsy aerial shot of their power.

Steve (in the striped shirt) teamed with Garry (in the white shirt) aboard 327/328. They departed Glen Hammond earlier in their day as Train 327 with a destination of Firgrove. They are now on their return run as Train 328 where they work the yard in Bell. Garry is handling the switches along the interchange track in the background.

Garry's CN Geep is a beauty. It is drilling the interchange track while Malcolm's Conrail unit has been pressed into emergency service aboard Train 15.

328 continues to work Stuart Yard at Bell.

With their work complete in Bell, it's downgrade to Peter's Pond. Looks like they have taken the siding at Watkins for a meet. Typically, they would hold the main here, as Train 328 is an eastbound train with superiority over all westbound freights. But in giving 328 clearance to proceed out of Bell, our dispatcher asked that they take the siding realizing that their train was short and he did not want the meet with Train 311 to produce a sawby. That's brilliant handling of the railroad on the part of Dispatcher Doug, I say!

Rounding the bend at "The Corners".

Below Mount St. Helens.

Rounding the bend at Hayes' Falls.

Garry conducts the moves this day for Train 328.

Into Peter's Pond where a CN tank car compliments the locomotive nicely.

Then, up the branch to Cedar Rock.

Another artsy aerial shot taken from Moe's drone.

Bob has the ore train coming into Bellamy.

Later in the day, the ore train is in Spruce while Paul and Tom work Ironwood.

The ore train crew. Bob on the right with Doug on the left.

Pat works RP&M Train 67/68. He is in Rat Portage at the moment.

With his crewmate, George.

Nice looking switcher, Pat!

Coming up RP&M tracks into Bell.

Using the mainline as a lead to switch out Stuart Yard in Bell.

Finally, back in Nelson Yard at the end of their run.

Gord continues his RP&M run working the industries outside Bellamy.

It's a busy location for railfans as many trains enter and exit Nelson Yard and Glen Hammond in the foreground while RP&M trains climb the grade to Bell and IPP&W crews climb the upper track in Firgrove in the background at "The Ledges".