Garden Railroading: Session #16

Second Viewings From Session #16

Our 16th session of the season found us celebrating the final day of September.

We were able to run all trains although we did have single person crews on a few.

No worries as all "singles" were experienced runners.

Paul arrived extra early to use the blower to remove the fallen leaves from the trackwork around the railroad.

She's a powerful beast, eh Paul!

The tracks look ready for the trains!

Passenger 2's consist gleams in the rising sun!

Chicken wire for Nelson Yard to prevent those darned chips from falling through the cracks...

...brought to us by none other than the man himself, Mr. Scobie.

Our set-out instructions for Nelson Yard. Garry and I will run the big yard on this day.

CN and CP gather together in Craig Leigh.

Doug's Northland Road #4 toils in the east end.

301's consist has been made up by Doug & Sid and is ready to go!

Dilip will be running Passenger 1 out from Craig Leigh.

He's a happy camper!

Steve arrives with his locomotive.

Len must be in town if we find a Great Northern diesel locomotive nearby.

This RS3 in CP garb works to assemble the passenger train

Seanna smiles in her ON T-shirt!

Here's Pete from Wolfville, Nova Scotia!

Moe commemorates our indigenous peoples by wearing orange on this very special day.

Garry and Steve chat in a busy looking Nelson Yard.

Across from Nelson Yard we find Steve working Train 303 in Glen Hammond. The location known as Bell is in behind Steve along the fence line.

Cars are set out at their requisite industries and sidings.

Five ore cars squeeze in on the ore track outside the yard throat at Firgrove.

A CP road switcher without stanchions works the freight departure track in Firgrove.

Paul looks over to skipper Bill as he is about to ring the bell to get the session underway.

There's captain Bill.

Steve and friends listen in when Fred offers some words of wisdom.

Fred chats away.

There's Len's loco once more with throttle resting atop in anticipation of running down to Bell.

Ralph and Pete are assigned to the Rat Portage & Mattawa trains on this day as they verify their cars on Train 71-72, the turn which heads up to Bell.

Another look at the black and blue hues in Spruce.

My locomotive crawls in behind the RP&M train as I continue to build other consists which will eventually leave Nelson Yard. The spur to the left of their train acts as my temporary yard lead.

There's Len's train underway at "The Ledges" heading for Bell. This is Train 40, laden with headend equipment.

Steve will be working the other Rat Portage & Mattawa trains with Marcel. There first call will be Rat 61 and they will work through Glen Hammond and then on up to Rat Portage where they will make their turn back to Nelson Yard.

Our other Steve has reached Mercer Siding.

He now has a good load of ore on his headpin.

We spot the tail end of Passenger 2 as the crew slows for a stop in Bellamy before meeting Passenger 1 in the Glen.

In my earlier blog entry I showcased the leadup photos for a video of Passenger 2 crossing The Gap...but an incorrect video ran instead of the passenger one. (My bad!) 😎

Here is what you saw in the last entry.

The Fred Mills Trestle certainly is a hot railfan spot!

Pat agrees!

Here is the correct video of Pat's run.

I have also fixed up the video in the previous blog entry. 😎

Pat has successfully navigated the big curve at Lilly.

We catch the train heading east through Blockhouse without a station stop.

Continued video taping of Passenger 2.

Ore reaches Ironwood.

Steve has been cleared in on the main.

Seanna holds the siding as Pat works the west end of the yard while Steve threads the needle.

Video of their efforts.

So...here's the challenge. Steve must retrieve his four loaded ore cars from the facing siding at Ironwood Brick which you see off in the distance to the right. We have two other trains in Ironwood working alongside the ore train. Seanna is eastbound in the layover siding but her train is too long for the siding. Here's what we did. Seanna sent the tail end of her train into the Ironwood Brick siding and attached her caboose to the four ore cars. This meant her train was no longer fouling the mainline with its overdrawn length as her extra cars were in at the industry to the right. Steve then pulled his ore train east so that the tail end of his train cleared the switch way back near the depot on the curve to the west of Ironwood and then he broke away from the remainder of his lengthy ore train with a handful of ore cars and ran up the main to the east toward St. Helens.

Seanna was then able to pull all the cars including the ore traffic back onto the layover siding and because Steve had pulled the tail end of his train clear of the switch (out of the image) way back at the station, Seanna was able to bring her locomotive out onto the main in front of the station where Steve's tail end had once been.

This image was taken a few moments earlier as Steve was arriving and Seanna was holding at the west switch near the station end of Ironwood. Because both Seanna's and Steve's trains were too long...we shortened them by having Seanna tuck part of her train in the Ironwood Brick Siding and by having Steve pull the detached ore cars off his train further east once his tail end cleared the switch you see where Seanna wishes to exit the siding.

Here was the issue. Seanna's length fouled the mainline meaning Steve could not escape. By having Seanna push the fouling cars you see up into the Ironwood Brick siding and return the remainder of her train back into the overflow siding to the left, Steve was able to escape in order to shorten his ore train along the main. Seanna was then allowed pull the ore cars out and shove them onto the head end ore cars of Steve's consist. (Confusing - perhaps!)

Continued video of these movements at Ironwood.

We see Seanna having reached in and grabbed the loaded ore traffic.

She hauls west along the siding.

The crew aboard 304 continue their work here as well.

This video offers a valuable lesson as spoken by George who has walked over to watch this incredible action. After I tell Seanna to back the lifted ore cars onto Steve's train, George indicates that you never shove cars onto a standing train. What should happen instead is either Steve uncouples his engine from his ore cars and moves slightly ahead so that Seanna can couple onto the string without the ore train engine attached...or, vice verse...Steve pulls further east with his short string of ore traffic already on his engine and Seanna merely sets out the ore lifts onto the main, uncouples and returns to the siding allowing Steve to back onto the lifted cars which are now free standing on the main. Thanks, George, for that valuable lesson that I am sure is a "new learn" for many operators! 😀😃😄

With the additional ore cars now on his locomotive...

...Steve proceeds to back on to his train with Seanna's tail end safely tucked in while her headend is out on the main in the distance just beyond the ore train's caboose.

He then seeks clearance out from Ironwood.

Continued video moments in Ironwood.

Steve's departure out from Ironwood to St. Helens is captured in this image.

Here we see two trains on the two different subdivisions. The ore train is traversing the Spruce Sub while Passenger 1 makes headways along the Bell Sub.

Plenty of discussion from the participants in this video as Seanna must now wait in the siding for the arrival of Passenger 1 at Ironwood - hot on the heels of the ore train!

Seanna has once again tucked the remainder of her train in the Ironwood Brick Siding to allow a clear passage for Passenger 2.

I'm teasing Pat, the engineer on the passenger run asking him if he has "Head Lice" - my little tease about the fact I see no "Headlights" on his locomotive. He gets the picture soon enough! Listen in on the video!

Indeed, it is the "good old days" of Canadian railroading where the way freights gave way to the passenger service.

Not any more!

When I took "The Canadian" out west two summers in a row a number of years back, we held in the sidings many a time to allow the fast freights quick access down the line!

We must commend Seanna for her abled assistance in aiding the ore train and then patiently waiting in the siding for the passenger run to arrive and then depart - not to mention to hold for the crew of 304 who were continuing their work here in Ironwood. This video catches Train #2 on its way east from Ironwood.

Train #2 flows eastward while we spot the tail end of a westbound freight down below in the canyon.

It would appear there has been a service interruption with 303 down below with a boxcar on its side.

While we do inspect the trackwork for any natural debris before the session, a twig or even a pine cone could fall on the rails at some point after the session has begun and interrupt service for a while.

Seanna smiles and says, "Helping other trains is simply part of the fun!" Seanna's a real trooper as her assistance has pushed her behind time somewhat...but this happens on the real railroad.

Video activity from the area.

A maintenance of way crew was sent to upright the fallen boxcar on the Bell Sub.

Train 303 is now underway albeit with a damaged car in tow.

Steve brings his train into Wellington Lake on a slow order restriction.

Train 303 as found in this video footage.

I have completed the Dolbeer Steam Donkey Engine for Doug.

It will help make up a large sawmill diorama that I have yet to get underway.

The steam donkey was invented in 1881 by John Dolbeer.

It revolutionized the logging industry.

Dolbeer developed a high pressure steam engine that would turn a rope spool which could reel in even the largest of trees with ease.

Doug and I will have it serve the same purpose on our diorama as we will not have a log pond.

Hey, here's my completed gas fireplace now installed in my train crew lounge!

Love it!

Our good friend, John Soehner, sent me a group of photographs of trains and of the natural beauty which abounds at this time of the year. John will be our presenter at OVAR Tuesday evening and his presentation is high up on my "must see" list! Most of the captions are in John's words. Here is John's message my way:

Mike, Some of Mother Nature's recent works! Feel free to use as you please.

Mother Nature got out her easel and oils around September 23, 2023.

This is when I shot a pair of trumpeter swans along Crow Lake Road.

This is in a swampy beaver infested area.

Three days later she was adding more hues to the canvas!

Indeed, Mother Nature has a gift with colours!

Add on two more days and CPKC is adding more colours to the scene as well!

John certainly has an eye for capturing the perfect image!

Love the livery on that second unit from the Kansas City Southern, John!

A trio leads CPKC. The CPKC is the first and only transnational rail network in North America connecting Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

Unit 7029 leads CPKC 132 over the Mud Lake Trestle on a lovely shot John snapped on September 28th, 2023.

Kansas City Southern unit #4601 acts as mid-train DPU (distributed power unit) on 132 at Mud Lake.

Now into October...

...even more colour is being added...

to not only the swamps...

...and other wetland areas,

but the higher grounds as well!

Like at Mud Lake and Bolingbroke siding!

Well, John...

...what can I say?

Your images are outstanding all of the time!

I look forward to your presentation at OVAR Tuesday evening!

Back at Fred's I re-post the two drawings George made of the siding and industry names up in Firgrove, Ralph Yard and Rat Portage for our labeling benefit.