Session #4 Standard Gauge Operations
From the Lens of Chris & Mike
We "threaded the needle" today as a group.
By this I mean that we escaped any downpour of rain during our train operations.
The rain fell throughout the overnight and then thunderstorms were predicted for the afternoon hours here in Ottawa.
Alas...no rain fell during our operating session!
I ran first trick Train 302 with Chris at the top of the morning.
Chris managed to snap this artistic shot of a handsome lad off in the distance.
Now I wonder who that could be!
And...speaking of low angled shots, Chris managed to get down on the ground trackside in Nelson Yard to grab this shot of our second trick train, 312, as it got underway out from the big yard.
In keeping with the low angle viewpoint, we are now aboard our third trick train, number 321 holding in the siding at St. Helens for our meet with Passenger 4 seen in the distance riding atop "The Plateau" heading east.
Chris found me railfanning our own train down in Wellington Lake.
It was at this point my diesel locomotive ran into a 'service interruption' and we replaced the power on our train.
Here we see our train orders for 302, a train bound for Nelson Yard from Firgrove with stops in Bell, Wellington Lake and Cedar Rock.
At the end of the session Chris captured this true 'mug shot' of me - literally!
Thanks for sending along these great photos Chris!
Well...what a weekend this will be...with the summer solstice taking place on the Sunday. 💝
And...Father's Day happening on the Sunday (today)! 💕
And...we can't forget Claire's birthday Sunday (today).
Happy Birthday Claire...our summer solstice girl! 💗
And Mike's street hosting its annual Street Party on the Saturday following the train running at Fred's! 👌
We find Steve, Seanna & Claire ready to run Trains 301/311/322 on this damp morning.
But our spirits were not dampened as we celebrated Claire's birthday which falls on June 21st...the summer solstice!
Happy Birthday once again Claire!
Happy Birthday video celebration!
Gerry, Pat & Phil ham it up pre-ops.
Warnings were out that due to the overnight rains any wooden surfaces would prove slippery...and they certainly were.
In fact, two lads did slip and fall even after the warnings were announced.
We will have to create 'non-skid' surfaces on all of our wooden areas where folks walk - those leading up into the storage shed and all the crossover walkways.
It seems with every passing summer the weather forecast calls for a "chance" of rain...so we cannot afford to take any chances with safety if it rained overnight but became sunny in the morning when we run the trains.
Paul has trays and trays of cars he must clear and place before the session can begin.
Phil assists George with his setouts at Firgrove.
They verify car numbers against their list.
Here is Phil's new diesel power, his Canadian Pacific Geep.
Yes, he's a Canadian 'through and through'! 👍👍
Phil will be running the ore train on this day with Gerry.
Video of Phil starting his run by pulling the ore loads from the ore track at Firgrove in order to run around the consist to head eastward.
He will also have the task of lifting four other ore cars in Ralph Yard and adding a caboose to his train before departure out from Firgrove.
Our train, 302, gains clearance ahead of the ore train and behind Passenger 2.
302 rolls out on video!
The crew aboard RP&M Train 'Rat 61' have departed Nelson Yard and have arrived Glen Hammond.
Train 61's arrival into the Glen as found in this video.
Moe re-rails a car that someone placed on the tracks quickly without checking if all wheels were truly 'on line'!
Chris & I continue with our work aboard 302.
We are taking the crossovers which will direct us back to Track 3 in Bell after setting out a car at Dutchman's Stores over by the fence line...out of the picture to the right.
Crossover video work.
The interchange track at Bell is rather lengthy but that does not deter Chris & me from pulling the entire string to reach the back three cars we must lift onto our train!
As I drive my locomotive I pass the dispatch cabin where Doug is hard at work at the dispatch board radioing one of the crews out on the line.
Dilip passes by the cabin door and offers up a smile before heading over to the western front of the property to handle his train now underway over to Rat Portage.
Later in the morning he will run another RP&M train that will reach Bell, located behind him in this image.
Video of our work which continues at Bell.
As we work the interchange track at Bell we wait for the ore train to pass from Track 4 before heading back to our train located on Track 3.
Unit trains offer fascinating glimpses into the workings of industries involving a single product.
Ore is on the move in this video effort.
Pat is running Passenger 2 on this day and he is found video taping the movement of his train along the Spruce Sub.
Chris & I have now changed power on our train as we navigate the Bell Sub.
We tunnel beneath Mount St. Helens as the crew aboard 301 works the yard there.
This image showcases the two subdivisions; the Spruce Sub up top and the Bell Sub down below.
Passing trains caught on video on two subs!
Let's check out some of the rolling stock specimens such as this SOO gondola found on a spur track at the Northland ore dock.
The ore has been loaded into the ore freighter vessel and these cars await delivery back to the mines.
You can spot that SOO 'gon' off in the distance.
How about this cool looking milk car up in Craig Leigh? 👍👍
Down in Peter's Pond we spot traffic at the cooperage...aka 'Brewer's Barrels'.
A Canadian Pacific multi-mark is spotted at Comber's Chairs while Golding Grains plays host to two boxcars down at the southern end of Rat Portage.
The yard down in Rat 'proper' seems hardly occupied at the moment!
Brunt's Brewery always has traffic as they brew the best beer in the country!
And our dear friend Ken is the reason for it all!
We miss you Ken! 💘
Over in the town of Stuart I managed to find this great looking 40 footer!
Yet another great railway spotted in Canada!
Gerry & Phil have reached Ironwood eastbound with their long drag of empty hoppers.
They have just spotted a quartet of them at the mine here.
Let's take a closer view.
There's Phil with Gerry!
Across the valley from Ironwood, Pool Train 33 descends the grade out from Spruce.
On the upper level at Spruce proper we find the crew aboard 301 conducting their work there.
All the while the crew aboard 304 (Grant & Moe) conduct their efforts at the western end of Ironwood.
The entire operations 'dance' in the southwest corner of Fred's property is witnessed in this video.
RP&M Train 72 is departing Bell bound for Rat Portage.
The earlier trip up to Bell found the train numbered as RP&M 71.
Train 72 descends the grade and will soon tunnel beneath Firgrove.
RP&M video work.
We spot this lovely maroon & cream Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Geep.
This EMD GP7 is part of the small, distinct roster of locomotives that plied the rails for the TH&B.
And today we find this puppy plying the rails of the IPP&W!
Video of Bernie's lovely diesel locomotive.
Claire, Seanna & Steve are found working at Spruce.
They are drilling the far tracks at Bravo Lumber.
Their Algoma Central unit helps to beautify the landscape!
Video of 301 drilling the facing sidings at Spruce early in the AM hours.
In a most unusual scene, I am assisting the ore train with its set-outs at Spruce.
Ore at Spruce you wonder?
Since the mine at Fallentree is out of commission at the moment, the railway has reopened a smaller underutilized mine that once existed at Spruce.
It still has its share of ore deposits, but not on the scale of the facilities at the Fallentree Mine or Ironwood Brick.
This little change of plans offered the crew aboard the ore train a little bit more work along their route.
They are currently riding westbound where the mine track at this location is of the facing nature...thus our assistance aboard our train 312!
Rare ore video at Spruce!
We return their van to their train.
Video of the van retrieval.
Ore is on the move out from Spruce.
We continue with our switching in the town.
It's a long reach but Chris manages to uncouple the cars.
Video of our efforts at Spruce.
No, Chris is not cheating when he shoves the cars onto the locomotive.
I had already moved the locomotive up to the string of cars but they did not connect to the coupler successfully on the diesel as I changed direction...thus the assistance from Chris! 😁😎😁
Ore moves downhill at Clarke Grade.
Off in the distance at the fence line we spot Train 314 in care of the Bernie Man!
Final video segment in and around Spruce.
Henk gets paid a visit by these lovely ladies who drop off his Father's Day present.
That's Henk's oldest daughter, Manda, on the right and her partner, Chantelle in the middle.
It's the latest edition of Trains magazine!
There...that's better!
And...what a morning we all enjoyed!
Here we find Steve & Seanna's dear friend, Karen...helping Claire to celebrate her birthday! 💖😀😁😎😁😀💖
And thanks to my great partner in crime on both the WDWD sessions and running the trains on this fine day...
...Mr. Chris!
Then it was time for burgers...oh...they're almost all gone!!!
Now we know why!
Here is yet another craftsman structure I built for my dear friend, David Gardner.
The structure is from Steam Era Structures titled Opansky's Organ Works.
David was a renowned musician in the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the NAC orchestra.
He actually owned an organ just like the one spotted on the loading dock.
Now that David's layout must be taken down I was offered back the many structures I had built for him. but as mentioned in an earlier blog entry, I only chose three due to lack of room on my shelves.
When I arrived home from Fred's we began setting up for our annual Wingate Drive street party.
This image was captured on my boulevard in front of my home.
It's great to see lots of young families moving in on the street these days!
Once Lisa & I were the babies on the street...now we are the elders! Yikes!
We have a pot luck table that seems to extend forever as well as BBQ'd burgers & dogs!
No Lilly not your kind of dog!
Although she'd grab a BBQ'd version if she could! 😄😘😄😛😏
Okay...
...not very nutritious...
...but hey, it's a party after all!
There was even a craft table where the children could make these cool looking lanterns using one of those fake candles you can buy in bunches at the Dollar Store.
How cool is that!
There was even a candy counting table where you had to guess the number of candies in each container.
Yum yum!
But alas...too sweet for me!
Alison offers up a smile as the scavenger hunt parade gets underway.
Scavenger hunt video.
I had to go on a 'scavenger hunt' to dig up this image of our very own party animal - Father Fred...or as he likes to call himself...Father Fweddie!
Thanks for hosting us in the backyard once again Fred!
And thanks to Chris for sending along the images found at the top of this entry.
We are the Ottawa Valley Garden Railway Society located in the beautiful capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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