A Look Back to 2023 Canada Day
Hi folks! This blog entry will showcase images that had not made it to the blog in the past due to the vast amount of pictures I take each session.
This does not mean the images are "leftovers" or "discards". There just wasn't enough room to post all of them from our previous sessions.
Today's blog entry showcases those unposted pics from Session #4 which took place on Canada Day 2023. All of the images from the first three sessions managed to get posted.
The yard in Nelson attests to the fact that this will be a rather busy day out on the line!
Malcolm's Conrail unit will head up Train 303 on this day out from Glen Hammond westbound for Firgrove. My records tell me he will crew with Chris on this fine morning which celebrates our country's birthday.
Moe's Canadian Pacific unit will take care of business between Glen Hammond and Craig Leigh on its easterly journey. Records indicate Doug C. will be his crew mate.
Gerry rules Nelson Yard with little ole me on this day. Henk & Doug enjoy a few stories in the background.
Speaking of sharing stories Bill & Doug enjoy some laughter as Moe looks on. Robin examines his routing instructions aboard the RP&M.
Grant & Malcolm are spotted off in the distance beyond the broad gap pre-ops. Malcolm will run along the IPP&W this fine morning and Grant will handle the RP&M.
Speaking about "beyond the broad gap" New Zealand railroading is certainly located beyond the broad expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
Dispatcher Bill has the T-shirt to attest to this fact!
Who rang my bell? %$^#@&^*!@#*&$%.
Why, it's Henk coming to pay a visit!
Doug & Moe...in a more serious discussion.
Paul & Marcel check in at the lounge just before the pre-ops meeting.
Indeed, it's another "crowded house" coming out!
Fred will get things underway in short order.
The lads certainly enjoy the friendship that is found each Saturday morning both trackside and resting in the lounge.
Craig Leigh is a-buzz with activity already - and the session has not begun as of yet! To the right, Bernie will handle 302 out from Firgrove while Seanna & Steve will take 301 out from this east end location.
Bob has arrived which means we will be running ore all morning!
The lads & lasses are gathering nearby the lounge...
...and finally, the trains begin to roll! Marcel & Pat have Passenger 2 underway as they approach the midpoint of the line. From Bellamy their next stop is Glen Hammond...halfway home!
The Drovers' Caboose is found on the team track down in Rat Portage.
These venerable F's "soldier on" in 2023 despite their advanced combined age. Doug and Grant haul RP&M lading behind this beautiful AB pairing painted and lettered in Doug's home road.
We find Doug's F's at home on his Garden Railroad with a full pilot on the front end. So, we will take a short commercial break to showcase Doug's wonderful outdoor large scale railroad.
I have brought out my D&H unit to play trains! Paul and I are enjoying a joke as Doug looks the other way! Heh Heh!
Doug's railroad is truly magical!
Pete looks on as a steamer runs through the triple trestles at Doug's place. This span must have taken some time to create!
I snapped these images at an St. Lawrence Division of the NMRA "open house" Doug hosted back in 2015.
Love the foliage!
Love the Hostas...and that trestle too!
Doug houses his equipment in these long storage sheds. Pete examines the locomotive and rolling stock.
Chris walks on in the distance as a train traverses the verdant landscape.
Not only is the garden colourful...the cars are too!
Here, on another day in 2015 the lads enjoy a morning of operations.
Lela conducts the ore transfer through the flowering ground cover.
Back to Canada Day in Fred's backyard. With all this train action in front and behind, Doug hugs the umbrella pole "just in case" the draft of the passing trains comes his way! Passenger 2 is "on sched" making headways eastward along the Spruce Sub out from Ironwood in the distance. Malcolm's blue Conrail unit is in care of 303 seen departing Wellington Lake on the Bell Sub in its westerly direction.
301 took to "the hole" for the meet with the passenger train. With its passage, they are now able to proceed back onto the main in order to conduct their remaining work in Ironwood before continuing on to Spruce.
Paul offers up a great looking smile!
Ditto Pat & Marcel!
The power is heavy today aboard the passenger run as this railfan drools at the sight of a "faraway" visitor!
Canadian Pacific GP30 #5202 holds down the honours in the big yard at Craig Leigh. Paul Anderson owns this strong puppy!
A "rolling stock review" finds another lad far from home on IPP&W rails in Douglas Yard.
The "Feather River Canyon", is a railfan's hotspot on the WP with trains photographed with the images appearing in many a magazine article and on many RR websites on-line.
The Northland Interchange traffic is most heavy on this morning.
Who doesn't love the clean appearance of parallel tracks holding down a couple of braces of cars in "unit" form?
Tidy, yet soon to be gritty...when the ore fills these 16 puppies!
Tanker traffic finds its way to the Ironwood Brick facility.
303's power switches out Wellington Lake situated halfway between Peter's Pond and Bell. The GP30 model not only looks handsome in CP's colours...she's a beauty in Conrail dress as well!
I've made a few snippets (aka screenshots) from a video of 303's ascent out from Wellington Lake...
...and from its approach into the yard at Bell.
The crew skirts alongside the Interchange Track as it slows to a crawl.
Malcolm and Chris bring their train to a full stop with the town of Stuart spotted off in the distance.
They will have just enough time to run around their consist and work the east end of the yard before the ore train makes its arrival known.
Video of 303 on the Bell Sub. The "chuff chuff" sound of a nearby steam engine makes one think Malcolm's engine is misbehaving! Heh heh!
Remember, to engage a video simply click on the arrow in the middle of the image once and then again.
Speaking of the ore train, Bob & Mark have engine 1791 in control as the crew rounds the big bend on the western fringe of town.
We re-live those "good old days" when the caboose thrived in the railroad environment and they were ubiquitous souls!
The ore train is captured by Mike on video coming down from Firgrove.
The crew have the main line set up for them.
Three crews are now working simultaneously at Bell.
They are Henk & Dilip aboard the RP&M, Bob (pictured to the left) & Mark aboard the ore train as it transits the yard with Malcolm & Chris out of sight in the distance to the east.
Of course, we appreciate our dispatcher, Billy Boy, for choreographing all this activity with acumen!
Video thrills at Bell Junction!
The rolling stock spotted both in consist of the trains and on the sidings at Bell offer up a magnificent blend of colours.
Malcolm & Chris had their stockcar placed directly behind the locomotive in this shot taken just after their arrival in town.
We always remember our good friend, the late Ken Brunt whenever we view traffic at Brunt's Brewery. You were very special to all of us, Ken!
Chocolate anyone!
Aha! We find milk leading up the headend on the Pool Train! The dual tanks rest securely atop the well designed flatcar.
Why all the red?
"Why, it's Canada Day 2023 of course!" as Bernie smiles our way!
While CP never did have a single dome tankcar in this livery, we rather like the appearance the model manufacturer chose as a "what if?" offering! Check out the triple dome car holding hands with our CP friend!
We peer out over Spruce to Ironwood and Wellington Lake where we spot a trio of handsome lads.
Flowing back in time a few moments earlier, we spot Bernie off in the distance examining the work he must do with 302 near the fence line.
Larabie Fuels is handling light traffic at the moment.
Henk chose to pop in for a visit and not run a train on this day. We appreciate Henk for all he does for the entire group.
(We eventually twisted his arm and had him crew with Dilip on the many RP&M runs of the day!)
Likewise, Paul is yet another of our dedicated members who is most helpful in so many ways.
Gerry manages to snag a pic of "little ole me"
snagging a pic of "he"!
Doug & Grant have arrived Rat Portage and are in the middle of conducting their switching. That's Ralph Yard in Firgrove off in the distance to the left.
Gerry and I have managed to keep Nelson Yard organized and tidy for the time being...time will tell..as you never know! 😎
We find Malcolm and Chris to the east of Bell.
And...in Stuart to the west of Bell we find Dilip & Henk.
Ore reaches our yard at Nelson.
Mark brings the big engine to a stop.
Gerry will have lifted the ore cars from Fallentree Mine on their behalf.
Footage on video of the ore train's entry into Nelson Yard.
The Nelson Yard crew have borrowed Bernie's TH&B diesel on this day.
We find Gerry lifting the ore loads from the mine on the far eastern outskirts of Nelson Yard near the blockhouse.
Meanwhile...off in the distance we see the Pool Train making headways towards Peter's Pond at ground level near the pedestrian crossing.
Ore video taken at the Lawrence Watkins Trestle.
We leave you with these couple of screenshots of Train 301 at track speed taken nearby "The Rockery".
Steve & Seanna have been cleared into Nelson Yard where they will terminate their train and continue on their westerly run aboard 311.
301 is captured on video "making hay" westbound toward Nelson Yard.
Before we leave, I would like to update you on the progress from our Workday Wednesday crew. Bill has painted the walls of the structure the gang has been working on of recent. Bill tells us another coat of lacquer is required and then assembly can get underway.
As for me, I have completed this delivery wagon in O-scale for Doug.
It requires a couple more coats of black paint atop the roof to hide the tab & slot locations. I will also add a touch of black paint over top the .020"brass axle that is fitted between the eyelits of the fifth wheel frame which supports the shafts leading out to the long arms. These arms will attach to the horse equipment.
Here are the four models I have completed recently. The steam donkey is fully done with weathering and all. It was finished way back in the summer. The road grader, log wagon and delivery van all require eventual weathering when Doug and I meet again...so those shiny parts will be covered up with some amount of dirt and grime.
There has been an interesting discussion among friends with regard to the "lack of heft" for the spokes on the log wagon. This is the kit as brought out by the manufacturer. I will be able to add some heft with added coats of paint on the spokes. Many log wagons actually had thick wooden spokes. Rest assured, the treads on all three wheeled models will be grimed up with dirt as they ran in the mud of the earlier roadways found in our area of Eastern Ontario.
And...speaking of roadways of early Eastern Ontario, our guest speaker at OVAR for next Tuesday evening will be Steve Manders where he will be offering up a presentation of the early railways, tramways and roadways of Eastern Ontario.
Fred and I hope to see many of you there!
Thanks for checking in on this latest blog entry with images and video from our session back on Canada Day 2023.
I will be sending more images your way from our Canada Day session in an upcoming entry!
Above you see me playing a borrowed guitar while down in Nova Scotia a couple of summers ago.
All the best...Fred, Doug, Bill, Mike & the entire OVGRS clan
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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