Wednesday Work Sessions

 

On Wednesdays throughout the summer, Fred invites anyone from the gang to come on by for general camaraderie.  I must thank Gord and Bernie for the photographs in this posting.

 

 

And...if there is a new idea that wants to be brought to fruition, the crew can make it happen.

 

 

Such as the addition of this new siding in Rat Portage that faces in the opposing direction of all other sidings at this location on the railroad.

 

 

The new siding was made good use of at our last operating session.

 

 

This file photo shows what the area looked like before the new siding went in.

 

 

Well...this Wednesday, Paul brought an idea he had to reality.

 

 

He created a bed for a railroad station to be placed at Rat Portage.

 

 

Now all passenger trains running down the RP&M have an additional station stop.

 

 

Paul has even come up with the idea of a new run from Firgrove for the Firgrove yardmaster.

 

 

The run would depart Firgrove and head east to Bell.

At Bell, the locomotive would be turned and the train would then run down RP&M rails where it would stop at this station, among others along the line.

 

 

The train would terminate in Nelson Yard where the locomotive would be turned once more.

 

 

The crew would then return back to Bell and Firgrove along the RP&M with yet another locomotive turn necessary at Bell.  In this image, Garry and I are enjoying all the great work Paul has accomplished on this fine day.

 

 

As is Henk.

 

 

Fred and Lawrence came up with an additional operations idea up in Cedar Rock outside of Peter's Pond.  They will be moving the large facility for ore cars from the main area of Cedar Rock to this section beside the branchline.  Here we see Garry, me and George holding a discussion with Fred.

 

 

The facility on the left will be moved to the new location and it will be serviced by a trailing siding.  A second trailing siding will be placed beside the structure to serve either as a team track or a second facility to be determined at a later date.

 

 

The next sequence of images were snapped by Gord and show the layout of the land after Fred had installed the turnouts leading into this new area at Cedar Rock.  The track is temporarily in place just to provide a "look see" how things are going to develop.

 

 

Note the nice flow of the three tracks curving back in the direction of Peter's Pond.

 

 

The two newest turnouts are the right hand one installed in front of the facility and the left hand one near the bottom right of the image.

 

 

This new expansion in Cedar Rock will not interfere with traffic flow during our ops sessions.

 

 

Lawrence and Steve will ensure that suitable trains will be allocated to make the run to the new facility.  Their plan would be to create a balance of switching opportunities shared amongst the crews that would be stopping in Peter's Pond for the run up the branch.

 

Therefore crews will not be bogged down spending an inordinate amount of time up in Cedar Rock.

 

 

Lawrence is overseeing the work that will create the two further trailing spurs at this location.  George and I have acted as earth movers.

 

 

Lots of earth, brick and rock movement was required to create the platform for the new sidings.  Garry offered an assist with one particular heavy rock in between many other necessary jobs he was performing.

 

 

 A wee little break after moving the heavy stones and bricks.

 

 

Lawrence is determining proper placement of the supports for the trackbed while George offers sage advice throughout.

 

 

A bit of elbow grease!

 

 

At least the work is done in the shade!

 

 

Henk arrives later on to check on the efforts.

 

 

Things are shaping up.

 

 

I take a break and meet with Bernie over in Craig Leigh.  Why the tape measure, you ask?

 

 

He and Lawrence have been discussing the notion of building an ore unloading facility somewhere in Craig Leigh that will support 32 ore cars.  It will have to take the shape of a peninsula.

 

The original idea was to have the ore track lead come off the main just behind Bernie's left shoulder at the location known as Northland. 

 

The lead would depart the main roughly where the caboose is in this image and the peninsula would materialize here.  However after Bernie and I put our two handsome heads together, we realized that placing a peninsula at this location would hinder the yardmaster's ability to work both Northland and  the wye effectively.  The peninsula would have to be created 90 degrees off the fascia of the layout and would take up a great deal of space in the walk around area.

 

Why not have the ore dock lead come off the main just where the two legs of the wye meet, roughly at the spot where the last passenger car of this train is located?  This placement will prove beneficial in three ways.  The turnout would not hinder passenger trains when they are being wyed.  The angle the peninsula would diverge from the fascia would be much less than 90 degrees...pretty much any angle we desire.  Finally, Fred would still have total access to the engine house and the tracks that lead into it.  A win-win-win case all around!  Man, what a boon to train ops, for sure!

 

 

Another bonus...we have the turnouts available...and the straight sections of track too!

 

 

Note how four parallel tracks of roughly seven feet in length will support the entire ore unloading facility.

 

 

The turnouts to allow this to happen.

 

 

With seven inch center spacing, 28 inches plus a couple of inches on either side are all that is required to accommodate the trackage necessary.

 

 

Furthermore, a large building could be erected similar to the enginehouse visible to the upper right.  It could be designed in a number of ways...to cover all four track perhaps halfway down so that half the cars are covered...or have the structure cover two of the tracks leaving two visible...or have no structure at all.  (Someone want to take on a winter project - the building of a large ore carrier - a ship never before seen on the IPP&W)  Hehehe!

 

 

Well, that's what you get for putting a few minds together...Lawrence and Fred's included!

 

 

The man himself with our Craig Leigh yardmaster.

 

 

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out a further development...the naming of the mine.
It reads, "Fallentree Mine - Aggregate - Treacle - Minerals"

I'll have to get a close-up view of the sign on Saturday during our next operations.

 

With all that work accomplished, both physical and mental, it is indeed time for a refreshing break!

Thanks to all the lads who came out for Wednesday's work session.

All the best, Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada