We left off section one with 302 arriving Nelson Yard. The crew changed their consist under the supervision of Henk, the yardmaster. We catch them easing out of the yard aboard 312.
The train curves to the north (railroad east) as it says good-bye to Nelson Yard.
The lone RP&M Drover Caboose wishes someday it could hop aboard an IPP&W train to see what "other lands" look like.
Well, we know what our dispatcher looks like and he's really dolled up on this day!
Below the pines.
Out into the sunny environs.
We thread the needle through the big iron.
From our cab we look off in the distance and spot the friendly giant.
With his giant of a locomotive!
312 swings into the bend at Lilly.
Then swings out of the bend.
Like a comet using the sun's gravitational pull, 312 hurtles toward Blockhouse across the same expanse of chasm it covered moments earlier.
We slow at Blockhouse...
...to make a pick-up.
We've kept the animals close to us.
Hitched back onto our train, we proceed beneath the big bridge.
We take the pedestrian crossing before tackling the long grade up to Spruce.
Stuart and Paul chat it up in the crew lounge.
Pool Train 15 makes its way through Spruce.
We did say last posting that a lot of railroading takes place on the seat of our pants as we play out the waiting game. Steve and Lawrence aboard 301 must hold in Ironwood as dispatcher Bill had already cleared our train into Spruce. You can see our train ascending the grade in behind the white house with blue trim.
Train 15 holds the main.
We round the bend.
I snap a picture from our cab of another railroad employee off in the distance in Mount St. Helens...Mr. Steve.
312 meets 15.
301 continues to hold at Ironwood.
Bill and the crew of 301 devise a plan. Rather than have us work Spruce, we will be forwarded on into Ironwood to open up Spruce for 301.
It's a devious plan, but it works! We arrive Ironwood along the main. No worries as the Pool Train has already traveled this line.
Once we clear the turnout to the west of Ironwood, 301's crew then gathers up its belongings and heads over to Spruce.
I lens 301 entering Spruce along the siding track with Train 15 gliding down the hill.
We know that we will have to back up to Spruce at some point to conduct our moves there.
We also realize that a car we need to spot in Ironwood is not on our train as it was one we would have picked up in Spruce had we been able to work there. No problems, though...another train can handle that situation. In the meantime, we consult with dispatch as to the whereabouts of the ore train as we offer to grab the ore cars out of Ironwood Brick for that crew. This is handy for the ore train as his cars are on a facing siding. We will ameliorate the situation and place the cars in a trailing manner for him.
There certainly is something reassuring and dramatic about a lengthy unit train being hauled by such a behemoth as a Mallet. We've managed to capture the locomotive hard at work on the incline. Sand is applied and no slippage occurs for this crew!
Once the ore train passes through Spruce, 301 is able to make its way out of town in the opposite direction.
The very capable crew made up for lost time with quick decision making as to their moves in Spruce.
They will find Nelson Yard in short order where their train will be terminated.
312 has grabbed the ore cars out of the Ironwood Brick siding and is in the process of backing up along the mainline with the ore cars in perfect composition for the unit train to handle.
The chugging of the locomotive echoes in the pines as the big engine comes into view.
We have lined up the siding track for the incoming train.
Plenty of room to spare.
A beautiful sight, she is.
Railfans can't get enough!
The crew sees the cars meant for them.
The locomotive is uncoupled.
The engine inches forward.
Once she gets past the turnout...
...it will be thrown and the engine will pick up its cars and then race eastward to Mount. St. Helens.
No time to hang around to view that though. 312 heads back to Spruce to finish up its work there.
Train 15 is spotted off in the distance climbing the grade out of Wellington Lake.
303 has arrived Ironwood.
Doug and I drill the trailing sidings in Spruce.
A big bird catches our eyes up above in the heavens.
She has just taken off from Ottawa's runway 32 and banks to the northwest.
Fred and Stuart engage in conversation.
It's no waiting around for the crew of 311 who are making headways after being delayed by a number of trains while running 301.
Doug and I have finished up our work in Spruce and we are able to retrieve the car we couldn't the last time around due to traffic constraints along the eastern front of the railroad.
303 makes its way into Spruce.
We set out a car at Larabie Fuels.
311 is a beautiful sight for railfan eyes!
As is 303.
303...on the roll out of Spruce.
312...climbing the hill up to Mount St. Helens.
The ridge rises on a nice gradual slope.
This allows railfans ideal conditions to chase the train.
My crew mate, Doug.
Bob has wyed his locomotive.
We approach Craig Leigh on a slow order.
The end car on the unit train. She's a beauty, Bob!
312 enters Douglas Yard.
We run by the caboose track.
The ore train of MT's departs the Northland Ore Dock.
A lovely string of hoppers, there, Bob.
We run past the bracket of cars we have just brought into Craig Leigh.
The Craig Leigh switcher.
We head over to the ore dock with the black hopper we require in our sights.
To create a lead for ourselves, we must first transfer a string of hopper cars over to another train on the dock.
Under our watchful eyes, Doug and I work together to make it happen.
Gotcha!
With the hopper car now on our train we contact dispatch for clearance down to Mount St. Helens.
Clearance is granted and we're off.
We take the siding track in Mount St. Helens.
Across the valley we spot a gaggle of railfans at the end of the Cedar Rock branch.
These are Malcolm's family members who are visiting from their home in Seattle, Washington. Welcome aboard!
Malcolm and Pat keep on working the industries in Cedar Rock with an appreciative audience.
Over in Mount St. Helens the cattle await their boarding time.
Beneath Mount St. Helens, we catch a glimpse of that beautiful Mallet.
Trains above...
...trains below.
Pool Train 15 makes another appearance in Spruce.
The ore train reappears out of the darkness.
She climbs upgrade at Watkins.
She sure is a "looker" of a train!
Doug and I are now aboard our third run of the morning, Train 319.
15 arrives Ironwood...
...where it meets 319.
The second caboose has hopped along to balance out the railroad from east to west.
Our audience in Cedar Rock.
Steve and Lawrence are aboard their third, and final, train of the day as well.
They take the siding at Watkins.
Where they hold for another train.
I think we've seen this picture before!
The bench!
"Say! I like trains!" Bill announces.
I snap a picture across the property over to the western end of the railroad.
Hey, look! Andrew has popped in for a moment. He led a service this morning and was unable to attend the session.
319 is short hood forward in Spruce.
Len appears again.
This time with Passenger 1 out from Craig Leigh bounding westward toward its final destination of Firgrove.
Love that tail end!
Paul has dropped down into Mount St. Helens with train 30, the short hop from Craig Leigh.
It is a waiting game at Watkins.
Still waiting.
The leader today aboard all of the passenger trains is Malcolm's blue sky Conrail unit.
Looks like we've got some HEP equipment on the headpin.
Engine and shed are related.
Paul's orange caboose tells us the end of this posting is near.
As does his orange shirt as he and Fred continue to discuss the size of things!
So-o-o...check in next week to see which style of hat skipper Bill will be wearing as he continues on his world record streak?
Will Bernie be back as yard master in Craig Leigh?
Or will Garry have to tell him that Paul has wrestled the job away from him?
Check in to see if Henk continues to keep Pat in stitches with his many humorous tales from his boyhood times.
Will we ever find the perpetrator of this form of graffiti on Fred's outer fence?
(We love it...don't wash it away!)
Will all the train cars be of the "narrowly minded" variety?
Finally, check in next week to learn if the great steam locomotives of bygone days come back to "rule supreme" along the rails of the IPP&W and RP&M.
All the best, Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
