Well, well, well! The calendar page has been turned and we find ourselves on a lovely September morning up in Ottawa. Hey, it seems we're holding a mini "Invasion of Friends" as we spot Diane visiting the lounge seated to the left.
And...that's her husband, Ed, on the right chatting it up with our famed dispatcher, Doug. Welcome back to Canada, Diane and Ed.
Say, you are able to catch some great video footage of the session that Malcolm took. Check it out at the link below.
John, in the black shirt, is also visiting the railroad from his home west of Toronto. Welcome aboard, John! Paul, holding his camera, will be your crewmate on the day.
Seanna, Steve, Pat and Garry listen in on some sage words from skipper Fred. Man, what a lovely morning it is!
Doug, in the dispatch booth is showcasing a mini "Invasion of Friends" in the fleece he chooses to wear. That's okay, Doug, I've always been a big fan of the Red Wings organization ever since the first time I saw Gordie Howe when I was a young kid.
Looks like 301 is on the roll out of Craig Leigh and into Mount St. Helens. Lawrence is at the helm.
What a kind gentleman Lawrence is. Brian, one of our newest friends in the group, has just arrived and Lawrence has offered up his crew position for our newcomer. That's pretty darned special in my books.
301 is out of Mount St. Helens bound for Ironwood. At this location you can see the two levels of rail. Our train is on the upper grade with a lower track in the distance traversing territory below Mount St. Helens.
Our opposing train, 302, is busy working Bell with Steve and Seanna on board.
Here they are! Love that railroad T-shirt Seanna!
Their train is now out of Bell destined for Peter's Pond in a location known locally as "The Corners".
With a great big disc in the sky hampering visibility, we look across the vast Nelson Yard complex where we spot Paul and Chris working Glen Hammond before they depart aboard the eastern turn. Their train, 318/319 is destined for Craig Leigh then back to the Glen.
This "going away" shot shows them tiptoeing across the big trestle on their approach to the big curve at Lilly. They will proceed on to Blockhouse, Spruce and beyond.
Garry and Steve work the western turn, Train 327/238 from Glen Hammond to Firgrove and back.
Now here's a clever duo! They are running their CN geeps independently in what appears to be an "mu" fashion. The differently number units certainly make a great pairing.
Later in their run, they are upgrade at Watkins Siding.
Where they meet this beautiful steam locomotive.
Hauling the ore train.
Here's Garry and Steve enjoying the meet. They are also relishing the fact that they are working in harmony as their two units haul 327 upgrade in a smooth fashion.
We find Pat aboard Passenger #2 in Glen Hammond.
With his steam locomotive!
He pulls Passenger #2 into Spruce.
While Malcolm runs Train 15, the Pool Train. That's Chris and Paul in the background working 318 at Ironwood.
Malcolm is right-hand running at Mercer.
He has completed his run and arrives Craig Leigh in a colour coordinated fashion...wearing Conrail blue colours.
That's one nice looking unit you have their Malcolm!
Ed has found his way to Nelson Yard where he works with Gord...
...and Colin. Say Colin had a special promotion for trains arriving Nelson Yard on this day. These were his words in a bulletin sent around the railroad in the days before ...
"Few realize that Fallentree Mine actually produces treacle ore. Last week
the ore train did not run and with a surplus of treacle available I made a
treacle tart - not quite like my ole mum used ter make as this is more
molassy. Crews coming to Nelson Yard this Saturday will be able to
avail themselves of some treacle tart."
Suffice it to say, that many a crew enjoyed the taste of this special treat. Say...isn't that Fred moseying over to the dispatch booth...most likely aiming for a taste of the treat as well! Hehehe! You deserve the treat more than any of us, Fred!
Before the session began, Paul and Neil were busily preparing 301, the first freight train out of Craig Leigh.
While Moe works the western terminus of Firgrove.
Paul holds down Train 67 on the RP&M.
John was his crewmate on the day.
We were teasing John before the session telling him that he was replacing Henk as Henk would be arriving later in the morning. To an operator, we instructed him that he had to be very loud and quite boisterous if he wanted to perform the role of this larger than life figure known to all of us as "The Dutchman". Hehehe.
While he appears to be a "dark figure" in this shot, he is nothing but. Henk is the happiest lad you'll ever find and he certainly keeps the crew in stitches each and every week!
Back to our RP&M crew. Paul uses his CP road switcher to run Train 67.
Paul and John have their train in Bell.
Hey, we can't forget the ore train, can we? Bob, that's one humongous case, for sure!
The question we want answered is "What's on the inside?"
Aha! This gorgeous steamer.
As shown earlier, Bob's ore train meets 327 at Watkins Siding.
Later, he arrives Nelson yard where Colin will offer him a special treat!
You can't beat the look of unit trains, for sure!
Before Bob arrived Nelson Yard, he was found on RP&M trackage in Rat Portage.
Let's check out the sidings at Spruce.
They're full today!
Some rolling stock photos. Here we spot a few freight cars on the sidings in Craig Leigh.
In Douglas Yard.
CNR 46106 is a bi-coloured stockcar.
BAOX 689 is colourful even if it is black.
Malcolm sent these great quality shots from his phone. Chris and Paul drill the trailing sidings at Ironwood as Train 15 passes by on the station track.
The Pool Train rounds the bend out of Spruce bound for Glen Hammond.
Out of the Glen, Train 15 meets the tail end of the ore train at Mercer Siding. Bob has the head end of the ore train up in Rat Portage on the RP&M.
Train 15 is westbound while Passenger #2 is eastbound in Glen Hammond.
Moe has Train 20 downgrade out of Firgrove headed for Bell. This is the "Milk Job".
Malcolm has his train out on the front lawn of the property as it rounds the bend into Rat Portage on RP&M iron.
The session has ended and Brian gets out his beautiful AB Canadian Pacific pairing to show me.
So, I encourage Brian to give his locomotives a go!
We capture a few freight cars out of Douglas Yard before they make it into the storage bins.
Then it's outbound from Craig Leigh downgrade into Mount St. Helens.
On the station track in Mount St. Helens.
On the way to Ironwood.
Arriving Ironwood.
Then into Spruce.
Rounding the bend to the west of Spruce.
Down the grade.
Rounding Lilly.
Through the trestle.
Into Glen Hammond.
Out from the Glen.
At Bellamy. Brian is a happy camper!
Low angled shot!
Now, why would I place a railfan picture from the other end of the continent here?
Because my daughters, Karen and Alison, snapped the pics a couple of weeks earlier on their train to the Yukon and Alaska!
Where they brought dad a special gift from their travels
And...it matches Fred's cap...only from a different year and in different colours.
Now, them's two sexy looking lads, for sure!
I hope you enjoyed Part One of our session from the first Saturday in September.
Check in later in the week for Part Two!
Have a great Labour Day holiday!
Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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