Garden Railroading: Session Four

Let's see...eenie, meenie, minee, moe...hmmm...no, I don't have to sing that well-known childrens' song. I know precisely which locomotive I'll be bringing out for the session on the IPP&W/RP&M on this day! Yessirree, the puppy in the middle.

For...it's narrow gauge operations on this day.

Which only means one thing!

Steamers galore!

Including mine!

Well, the odd little diesel pup is allowed to make an appearance!

Yes, session four is steamers galore...and plenty of visitors for sure!

Here we have, from left to right, Joseph, Don, Steve and Leon...all from north of Toronto.

Grant, from Cold Lake, Alberta with our good guy, Gord.

Rob, from the west end of Ottawa, with our RP&M crewman Garry.

And Rob, who flew in from Toronto late the night before!

Love that shirt, Rob!

Before we get our visitors busily to work, let's check things out around the line.

Here's Bernie at the eastern end of the rairload. He is the yardmaster at Craig Leigh.

Reminder...to view the images in larger format, click on the pic.

To return to the default page, click outside the pic.

Also, Malcolm has kindly shared a link to two short video clips he took from the session.
https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AHqlUYe1vPkRW68&v=photos&id=4275D0234272929B%2110752&cid=4275D0234272929B

Douglas Yard in Craig Leigh can be a busy place the moment the session commences. Bernie will have to assemble Train 301, the first westbound manifest of the day.

As always, he's up to the task with a smile and a chuckle.

At the western end of the line, the equally adept Moe is getting his diesel switcher ready for a long day's work in Firgrove.

Firgrove's yard is know as Ralph Yard after the late Ralph Dipple.

In this shot we also see the RP&M line which is the secondary railroad on the line...although RP&M employees will argue that fact!

Moe has Train 302 ready to hit the high iron with this lovely White Pass & Yukon steamer holding the honours. 302 is the main eastbound manifest that will traverse the entire line.

This fuzzy character...oh, no...my fuzzy photograph of this fine, upstanding citizen of Nelson Yard showcases the great fun we can have on a bright sunny day. Yes, Henk knows where to stand when the morning sun climbs higher into the sky. He is the yardmaster at Nelson Yard, the largest yard on the line. It is also located at the central point of operations.

Visitor Rob checks things out in Nelson Yard while we see the smaller Glenn Hammond yard just behind him. Glenn Hammond is the originating point for two of our trains on the system and it sees a lot of passenger traffic.

Henk and Garry are two cool heads at Nelson on this day.

With trains arriving and departing throughout the entire session, they must be on their tippy toes.

You can see the number of folks required for a session to be run. Typically we have around 16 operators. With visitors along for the ride, it is fun to pair them up with a local crew mate.

Let's check in on one of the trains that has originated at Glenn Hammond.

This is Train 318. It will be eastbound to Craig Leigh. Once the crew completes their run at Craig Leigh, their day will not be done. They will have two more trains to run, 303 and 313, which will take them back westbound across the entirety of the IPP&W.

318 passes below the dispatch booth. That's Doug handling dispatcher duties on this June morning.

Joseph is the engineer aboard 318. We catch him passing the eastern outskirts of Nelson Yard.

318 approaches the big trestle over the gut.

Threading the trestle like grandma threaded her needles!

Joseph and his conductor, Paul, have arrived Spruce. Seems to be some ardent railfans trackside observing the action!

They are safely in the hole at Ironwood where we see Passenger Train #2 enjoying a station stop.

With their work complete at Ironwood, it's upgrade into Mount St. Helens.

Paul, in the orange shirt, will have no problem handling the "trailing only" sidings here while Rob looks on with Joseph at the throttle.

Their power on this day is this gorgeous Mallet which belongs to Doug, our dispatcher.

Paul, enjoying the shade Mount St. Helens offers before heading up to Craig Leigh.

Before departing Mount St. Helens, the crew aboard 318 contacted the Craig Leigh yardmaster asking for the green signal up the line and into the yard. That's Rob off in the distance.

Upgrade between Mount St. Helens and Craig Leigh.

Into the yard environs.

Approaching Douglas Yard.

Joseph and Paul. Paul, thank you so much for hosting Joseph for the morning aboard the three trains you ran! I sure had fun railfanning your eastbound train!

Remember this shot of 302 in Ralph Yard at Firgrove? Malcolm will also be hosting a guest on this run which will traverse the entire railroad in an easterly direction. Their destination as 302 will be the large central yard at Nelson where they will take Train 312 and continue eastbound all the way to Craig Leigh. I will only have time to railfan Train 302 as I will take an RP&M train out later in the morning.

That's one lovely looking steam locomotive the crew has on the point of 302.

Malcolm will be conductor while Steve mans the throttle.

Out of Firgrove, 302 hugs "The Ledges". Like me, Malcolm finds time to railfan.

While Steve proceeds downgrade.

Here is the low angle shot Malcolm took of Steve as he exits the yard.

They have arrived Bell where they will have work to do in the yard as well as at some local industries and, possibly, the interchange track.

From Bell, they worked Peter's Pond and are now approaching the siding at Mercer while Gord and Grant share a conversation.

Then into Nelson Yard where they will terminate their train.

Where they meet the ever affable Henk!

Umbrellas in the yard offer respite from the morning sun.

Which Steve duly appreciates!

A grainy shot of the same crew now aboard 312 at Spruce.

And "yours truly" with Malcolm while our guests, Joseph and Don look on in the background.

This shot Malcolm shared of Henk who is taking some time off his feet it would seem!

I worked for the RP&M on this day - the Rat Portage and Mattawa. All RP&M crews first assist the Nelson Yard master with the assembling of IPP&W and RP&M trains that depart early in the day.

Then they take their trains out over RP&M rails. Here I am at Belson having been given the green signal from dispatch to cross the diamond at Bellamy.

I'm running the short hop transfer down to Rat Portage, basically an "out and back" train.

I've safely tucked my train on the main with the understanding that I will have time to run around and complete my moves before any further traffic enters the yard.

And completed my switching moves in the yard.

As I am a "turn" I run around my consist.

I change the orientation of the tail end.

Pull the consist back.

I now have my train set up to head back to Nelson Yard but I remain on the siding for a meet with Train 15, the Pool Train. Seeing as both our trains are going in the same direction, you could call the meet a "pass". Once Lawrence departs Rat Portage for Glenn Hammond, I'll be able to follow him out on my way to Nelson Yard.

I'm tender first on my approach to Nelson Yard.

Another visitor, Rob, has just flown in from Toronto and I invite him aboard my second RP&M train, this time a run up to the interchange tracks at Bell. Rob is a friend of my model railroading mentor, Trevor Marshall. Rob is an exceptional HO scale modeller.

Rob has brought our RP&M train into the station at Bell.

For our station stop.

Being the interchange between both railroads on the system, Bell can hold some pretty impressive meets of numerous trains. While Rob previews our moves, we spot Pete aboard eastbound Train 328 with his crewmate Paul off in the distance behind the dispatch booth. We also see the other Paul and Joseph in the yard with westbound Train 313.

I have no worries as Rob proves himself adept at the nuances of operations while Pete and Paul are old pros! Pete, by the way, is yet another visitor to the railroad. He is from Nova Scotia and is in town for six weeks...so he's quickly become a regular on the railroad! Pete is the lad in the light blue shirt wearing the ball cap and shades.

With the action heavy in Stuart Yard at Bell, Rob and I decide there's no better time to turn our locomotive for the return run along RP&M rails than now.

We've also turned our Drover caboose and are pulling it back on Track 4 after which time we will run around our train to head back home.

We've taken the turnout at the west end of Bell and are now downgrade on home rails.

A station stop at Pratt's Bottom.

Rob brings us into Rat Portage.

Where we once again run around our train to handle a few set outs and lifts in the yard.

We're back onto our train.

Where we head to Belson with some facing switch moves to conduct.

With the setout of a reefer car we run around our train. I must've been walking when I snapped this grainy shot!

Rob brings our train to a stop in Nelson Yard.

Indeed, camaraderie abounds on the IPP&W with its host of colourful trains and colourful characters.

On behalf of Fred, I know that he would say that it's always a joy to share this marvelous hobby with visitors who come from far and near. From left to right, that's Joseph, me, Don and Leon.

Rob, it was a pleasure running trains with you in the garden.

And...on my home layout. Next time you're flying into Ottawa, let us know so that Lisa and I can head out to the airport to watch you land. Lisa and I are avid plane spotters who enjoy watching the jets and turboprops land and take off at the plane spotters' area near the taxiway to runway 25.

Leon and Don also visited my home layout with Joseph, Steve and another friend, John on the Thursday night before. These lads have been to a half dozen layouts in the region over their short stay in our nation's capital. Lots to take in for sure. It was a pleasure being one of your hosts.

As always, I love to take a gander at some of the rolling stock that plies the rails of this fine railroad.

This trio really got this railfan "tanked" sitting on one of the interchange tracks in Glenn Hammond.

A trio of "billboards" in Craig Leigh.

Yellows and oranges.

Awaiting their assignment at the big passenger station in Craig Leigh.

So...tune in later in the week for "Part Two" of our fourth session of the season where we will follow Lawrence aboard the passenger train and the pool train. Note his small camera atop the cab of his steamer. It'll be interesting to hear about his account of the filming.

In the next installment, we will follow Peter and Paul (where's Mary?).

As they ply the high iron aboard trains 310, 311 and 328.

Where we may see a few meets with all the heavy traffic that is found en route.

We'll also check in on the two Pats, Brewer and Brennan, an all-star tandem of train operators.

We'll check in at Rat Portage...

...Along RP&M rails with Garry and Steve.

And we'll see all that abounds around Nelson Yard.

Ah, yes, railfanning this fine railroad is just as much fun as running the trains or dispatching, I say!

Before we go, let's visit the lovely station at Spruce, refurbished and ready for the Ottawa weather in this new season of train ops. We thank Bernie and Fred for this addition to the railroad.