Garden Railroading: July 2021

Workday Wednesday - July 28

A few of the lads gathered today to work on the railroad and to help keep everything in spickity-span shape.

Of prime importance on this day was the installation of a handrail and a warning board across the entrance to the area in back of Mount St. Helens indicated the lip and rise in elevation.

When I first arrived the property, Pat was hard at work.

This could be a pose for a well-known painting!

Lawrence was kept busy across a number of projects.

Paul then arrived to assist the crew.

Doug was running his sweeper car and assisting with rolling stock.

Here is the lad who cuts Fred's lawn out front...cutting the neighbour's lawn on the property next door to the east.

Skipper Fred!

It's a giraffe out near the interchange yard!

No it's not...

...why it's our good friend Paul...trimming back some nature on behalf of the railroad.

Now we know the reason why we had seen the Tyvek material on the two houses out back.

I'm caught in the act of hammering down a few of those small white nails holding the name tags in Mount St. Helens. Yes, I left a slight lip for a claw to pull them up if needbe.

Down to work on the safety warning board.

Some of my mentors.

The handrail is in tight.

She won't budge.

Just the right height as well.

We'll have to get some black and white electrical or hockey tape to create the striped look on the handrail that you see on the footboard as Lawrence tells me you cannot paint the aluminum.

Looks good, lads!

This should assist both visitors and the regular crew when walking around this area of the railroad.

It's a good indicator that there is a lip where the elevation changes here.

The bi-coloured lillies are in bloom.

It is fitting to have their rust colour...

...in the rust garden!

Across the street.

Oh...look in the distance...

...a kitty cat guarding the rails.

Let's zoom in on that picture shall we.

When I got home it was time to fry up some Lobster Mushrooms I got at my bass player's farm recently.

They are safe to eat...and yummy too!

Then it was on to the task of repairing the "wear" on my guitar...just like the Willie Nelson effect.

After using wood filler to build up the area, I glued on a pick guard for the guitar.

This model of guitar does not come with a pick guard and it was time to apply one. A paper outline from one of my other guitars comes in handy here when selecting the correct size and shape.

After twenty years of wear and tear...a pick guard was needed. Here you see the wood filler applied and sanded.

And voila...looks like new. It's been a busy day for me!

And...speaking of guitars...here is a short video segment of my Hamer guitar that Lisa bought for me a few years back! Imagine having your name appear on the headstock of your guitar. "It's not a Fender, it's not a Gibson...why, it's a Hamer!"

Hope to see many of you out on Saturday!

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

Steam is Supreme (Session #3) July 24th

We continue with our look at the narrow gauge train ops from this past Saturday.

Remember, you can expand the images by clicking on them and return to the default page by clicking outside them.

This dynamic duo represents all the gathered brethren on this narrow gauge morning.

Corresponding equipment is of the narrow minded ilk.

These next five pics come from Bernie's camera. We find his crewmate for Train 302, Pat Brennan, unloading his locomotive from its carrying case.

Still in Firgrove, Bernie shot this image of George and Lawrence organizing the set-outs in this location.

Sid looks on as Pat works the sidings up in Cedar Rock aboard Train 327.

Marcel enjoys his Tim Horton's drink before the session begins.

Pat has arrived back in Peter's Pond after descending the branch from Cedar Rock. His crewmate, Robin, holds the clipboard with the train orders as Sid continues to follow the action. Thanks, Bernie, for these five images!

Hey, it looks like Marcel has pulled the ore cars from the dock and readied them on the arrival/departure track in Firgrove.

It would appear that he'll be ready to go when the session gets underway!

Nelson Yard glows magnificently in the early morning hours.

Bill and Lawrence converse in the crew lounge.

Marcel has been given a train assignment upon his arrival. He will now work the ore train.

Fred, Moe and Paul gather around the table. Looks like a new car Paul has come across.

Jean and Sid pay us a visit. It's so great to see you both out!

Paul and Chris discuss strategy pre-ops.

Pat and Robin watch as Bernie replaces the car storage bins beneath Bell.

Pat and Paul amble about in search of cars.

Henk and Bill have sought shelter from the heat of the morning sun.

Indeed, it takes a full crew to set up the operations each week.

We spot a gondola at the Hamer loading dock in Rat Portage.

An interesting flatcar load.

The trio of parallel tracks in Spruce.

Some headend traffic.

These cars will find their way on Passenger #2.

They look splendid in the shade at Firgrove.

Henk organizes himself for another exciting ops session where he will man Nelson Yard.

Here is the crew assignment list for today's action...with a few minor revisions and another to come.

The crew lounge table acts as a magnet before a session.

These are not train orders the lads are studying. These are the sheets indicating car placements for the various locations found around the railroad. But, it looks like Robin (in the white hat) is about to radio dispatch for clearance out from Glen Hammond to Peter's Pond aboard Train 327!

It was such a pleasure to be able to spot the ore train for the first time this season. We thank Marcel for taking command of this assignment following a change in crew.

327's power makes the junction trackage as it begins its journey westward.

She's a lovely locomotive, Pat!

A closer view.

Paul and Doug have reached their first town enroute aboard 301 in the early morning hours.

The crew has everything under control as the dappled shade offers relief from the rising sun.

Doug's beautiful steamer is always up to the task.

They'll be done in short order and then it will be off to Ironwood, the location where we have witnessed their assist with the ore train's moves.

The local Nelson Yard switcher transits the curve beneath the cedars outside Nelson Yard.

We must underline the success of the recent siding track extension at Watkins. This offers dispatch a multitude of possibilities when arranging meets of two (and sometimes three) trains. Bernie reviews his orders as his train, 302, holds the siding for a meet with an oncoming train. Moments earlier 302 had trailed Passenger #2 down the line. Train 2 received clearance to proceed into Peter's Pond while 302 was held back.

And...speaking of sidings located far away from town locations, Mercer Siding offers flexibility as well. The arrangement here is straightforward allowing crews to take the righthand track following North America road traffic rules!

The ore train makes headway through Spruce. Marcel is doing a masterful job with this unit train!

Paul uncouples the gons as he and Doug provide an assist to the ore train as reviewed in the previous blog posting.

We thank the crew for sacrificing their own running time to assist the railroad in this manner!

The loaded ore train has arrived the Northland Ore Dock and begins trading loads for empties.

The west leg of the wye (geographical south) acts as the lead for the ore dock.

Our Craig Leigh yardmaster, Paul, assists Marcel with his moves.

The tail end of the incoming train is parked on the single track beside the engine house.

In this image, 302 has hauled some cars up to the end of the branch in Cedar Rock.

318's train resides on the passing siding while the crew conduct work outside this image.

Throughout the course of an operating session, the sidings in the various locations along the line constantly evolve in their appearance as cars are lifted and set out.

302's power is sandwiched between a quartet of gons.

Our lead picture appears again. This lovely meet demonstrates the beauty of the steam locomotive. While many may think this pair are twins, they are actually two very different engines.

The crew aboard 327 carry on with their work in Stuart Yard.

This CP switcher arrived Bell aboard RP&M Train 65. The engine has already been turned on the table and now works Bell as Train 66.

Working the far end of Bell to the east.

Lots of traffic here.

Mike's storage case.

His locomotive is born once again...

...for yet another lifetime of action!

He backs it down the track...

...where the engine will be turned on the wye.

Video of the process.

An eastbound drag rolls into the yard at Bell.

The turnouts guide the train down the ladder bound for Track 4.

This is Train 302, just beginning its day's work.

Pat and Bernie are all smiles aboard 302.

Cruising to a stop on Track 4, we spot cars in Stuart Yard two tracks over.

The station comes in view.

302 captured on video tape.

As mentioned before, with 22 trains running on this July morning, meets would be the order of the day...and the one we find here in Peter's Pond is no exception to the rule.

327 is protected along the mainline in order to offer up the station track for Passenger #2.

Chris follows the progress of his train as he departs Peter's Pond for Glen Hammond. Robin and Pat are now able to begin with their switching moves once more aboard westbound 327.

Meet captured on video.

Some time later, we catch up with engineman Robin having arrived Bell on Track 3 while his conductor, Pat examines the switching orders for Stuart Yard and the interchange. They are now in charge of an eastbound drag, Train 304.

Some more time later we catch the same crew now aboard their third run of the day, Train 314.

Robin is in the cab so we don't see him, but in the next video we will see his crew mate, conductor Pat.

With Mount St. Helens in view, this will be their last stop along the line before terminating in Craig Leigh.

314 is homeward bound!

314 video reels.

We follow the route of the RP&M down into Rat Portage.

Diesel unit #6539 crawls along the foretrack at a slow pace...

...as Moe switches out the trailing industries and team track off to the east.

Manifest freights offer up a wide variety of rolling stock.

We check out the video reel.

The eastern end of the line deals heavily in freight movements as we spot crews in three towns. (Cedar Rock to the right is actually a western location on the railroad.)