Seanna's Pictures From Session #16

Seanna's Pics From Session #16

With a number of folks snapping images for our blog this past week, we are able to showcase the session with excellent coverage.

This time we thank Seanna for sending along a few images my way.

Seanna ran the big yard at Nelson as the Assistant Yardmaster with Bill.

When she had some 'down time' she assisted Gerry on IPP&W Train 302.

Indeed, there are many roles one can have if they attend a session at Fred's.

The big yard demonstrates a rich capacity to handle a vast number of outgoing and incoming trains as Seanna's early morning image showcases so wonderfully.

With drinks in hand, Bill & Steve have all of the traffic set out in the big yard pre-ops.

Steve will eventually move over to Ironwood to run the yard switcher there.

Fred's brother, Ted, looks over the action at the eastern throat of the yard as Andrew & Doug hold a discussion off by the pedestrian crossing where earlier in the month a 'Bigfoot' was spotted!  👀👀

Neil is the bravest of souls treading into "Scobie Territory"!

For...it is said that those who tread in Nelson Yard aisleways without permission will suffer the wrath of the Willy Scobie!!!

He has been known to get on Fred's tractor to scare you from his territory.

But...much of the time he is spotted with his 'sidekick' - someone from a "nether" region of the world...or a "nether land" just lazing around the big yard!  😎😁😎

But...we love our Yardmaster Willy and his sidekick (where is his sidekick - oh yeah...overseas enjoying those Dutch pastries!) seeing as they both keep our trains running on time upon reaching the big yard!!!  👍👍

Seanna snagged some pictures for us from the pre-ops briefing in the crew lounge.

It seems Gerry has his hands up as former police officer Bernie reads him the riot act!

"There'll be no rioting around these premises just because our numbers are smaller this week!" Bernie is heard to say.

All kidding aside, Bernie is in the process of delivering the safety briefing.

Pat is crewing RP&M Train 71 which will head up to Bell following the completion of his work here down in Rat Portage.

We see him snagging an image of Seanna who is in the process of snagging an image of him!

Here is a vintage view of the mill at Rat Portage courtesy of the Toronto Public Library Archives.

Thanks again to the Toronto Public Library for this look at the 'Reduction Works' in Rat.

Shipbuilding was an important part of the town's make-up as there are many bodies of water found in the "Lake of the Woods" district in Ontario.

The three towns of Keewatin, Norman and Rat Portage amalgamated and received a new name in 1904.

The first two letters from each town name were joined together to form the name of the new larger area.

KEewatin, NOrman, RAt Portage formed the town of KENORA

Pat is found working the yard at Rat Portage.

Steve took on the task as the "Ironwood Switcher".

We spot him to the left helping Moe with his assignment aboard Train 301.

My research indicates that the Ironwood tree is a very 'urban tolerant' tree.

In the past, the very dense wood was often used for tool handles, cogs and sleigh runners.

Many an inexperienced camper has tried in vain to chop a dead ironwood stem, only to reel at the jolt as if hitting an iron pipe!

Its bark is grey-brown in colour and appears as tiny strips of wood...offering up a shredded or shaggy appearance.

The leaves are made up of sharp double-toothed edges.

A wide variety of animals feed off the fallen, seeds and foliage of this tree.

They include:  The Ruffed Grouse, Songbirds & Finches, Wild Turkeys and the Downy Woodpecker.

Squirrels, White-Tailed Deer, Small Rodents and Rabbits feed off the branches, twigs, fallen seeds and low-hanging buds.

Andrew has reached the end of the Cedar Rock Branch and works the trailing sidings.

Second trick Train 312 reaches St. Helens.

Gerry crewed the train with photographer Seanna.

Doug strolls outside his dispatch cabin on a calm and sunny September morning.

Thanks Seanna for all of your wonderful images from the session!

In other news, Barry hosted two lovely ladies from Ottawa to his garden railway.

Robin Hornstra (on the left) assisted Barry with the session.

From left to right in this image we see Mariane, Bonnie, Barry and Renate.

Mariane & Renate were a part of the federal government Bible Study group that Barry was a member of when he lived in Ottawa.

This lovely lady is Mariane's mother.

Bonnie gave Mariane the blanket on the day of the visit.

Her mom wasn't attending the train session as she isn't mobile enough to make it around the grounds, but Barry tells me that it was really nice to see her wearing the blanket to keep warm.

Barry tells me that every morning he & Bonnie pray that they might be a 'blessing' for someone on that given day.

Most often, Barry tells us, they will never know the result...but on this day they saw the result of their prayers through this lovely image of Mariane's mom!  

💖💕💗💕💖

And...keeping with the "Giving Back" theme, my band 'The Mystiks' performed for the Dementia Society of Ottawa-Renfrew's annual Walkathon.

We arrived at 7:00 AM to set up in the bitter cold of "Plus 4" degrees and began performing at 9:30 AM.

In total, over $280 000.00 were raised including corporate donations.

My family has been affected by dementia so for me it feels good to 'give of my time freely' for such a great cause!

Wow...two hundred and eight thousand dollars raised!

Thank you Ottawa-Renfrew!

Yup we had as much fun this year as we did last year!

Now we go on tour to Europe and play the capital cities in eight countries...so I'll miss coming out to Fred's for trains!

If you believe that last sentence then I'll sell you some ice from Canada's Northern Regions!  😎❤😎

On behalf of Father Fred, a great big "Thank You" once more to Seanna.

Even though the crew was a small one on this Saturday morning, they ensured both railways met all of their obligations.

Tomorrow morning the WDWD crew will get on with some more maintenance along the rail line.

We are the OVGRS of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Bernie's Pics From Session #16

Bernie's Pics From Session #16

Bernie sent along a good number of photos for our enjoyment.

These were taken during our Standard Gauge train operations occurring on September 19th.

We had a 'skeleton crew' but the folks managed to keep the trains rolling across the Ontario landscape.

There were many other train activities taking place in the region.

Many of these involved a number of our regular crew members.

Remember...you can enlarge the images by clicking on them and you can return to the default look of the page by clicking outside them.

Andrew and Phil are seen carrying trays of rolling stock to Nelson Yard on a crisp Saturday morning. 

The sun would soon heat us up for a very nice day of running garden trains.

The trays keep on coming. 

Bill will soon arrive and start the process of placing the rolling stock to their assigned track locations.

Bernie was busy setting out cars at Bell and Glen Hammond.

 Besides the paper work, one can see the green blower off to the left.

It is very much required pre-ops to clear the sidings at Stuart Yard from tree leaves and other natural debris.

Phil is standing in the early morning shadows at Spruce. 

He is assigned to Train 304 on this day.

Long sleeves were still needed until the sun started to warm things up.

 Andrew is found down in Peter's Pond assessing his moves for he must head up the Cedar Rock branch.

He is working westbound Train 303 having departed Glen Hammond earlier in the morning.

His final destination will be Firgrove.

 Here he is seen pushing a colour coordinated gondola. 

SOO rules this day!  👍👌👍

 Fred’s brother Ted dropped in to watch the action. 

Doug is seen in the tower controlling traffic.

Seanna found time from NY duties to lend a hand to Gerry.

They have reached Watkins Siding with 302 and will, no doubt, have a facing move to conduct at Wellington Lake.

To the left we spot 301 off in Ironwood at the moment.

 Meanwhile, Steve found time from his NY duties to lend a hand to Moe.

Doug tells me that Steve acted as the Ironwood Switcher on this day.

 Neil switches RP&M Train RAT 61 at Glen Hammond while Pat is busy with 71 in the town of Stuart.

Bill - wondering where his Nelson Yard assistants went!

Neil - studying his switching orders at Glen Hammond.

Likewise, Pat studies his switch list for Stuart Yard.

George was found organizing his rolling stock trays at Firgrove.

Bob and Bill are looking at coupler problems with the ore train as Ted looks on.

Doug in the dispatch tower keeps the railways operating smoothly.

Seanna and Gerry are spotted once again working 312 at Wellington Lake. 

Moe is sharing the narrow aisle as he conducts business at Ironwood.

 Bob is departing Nelson Yard with his beautiful locomotive in charge. 

A bad ordered ore car has been removed from the train and will make its way to Fred for repair.

 

Gerry has arrived at Peter’s Pond with 302 while Andrew departs after working Cedar Rock. 

Is Gerry scowling at the Paparazzi?  ❤👀❤

Andrew retrieves a balky box car that derailed several times under Mount St Helens. 

The track was clear and the car finally made its way through to Bell.

Gerry is playing with choke cables as Seanna handles the RS3 at Peter’s Pond.

Bob backs the ore train loads onto the Northland ore dock.

Bob’s shiny new CP GP38 handles the loaded ore train with ease.

After dropping his caboose, Bob keeps an eye on the ore train as he backs onto the Northland ore dock.

A busy “Y” at Northland. 

Bernie’s TH&B GP7 has set out two Northland cars for pick up by 323. 

Phil’s CP GP9 waits to complete the “Y” as Bob’s ore train prepares to depart with a train of empties.

A different angle showing the busy “Y”.

Gerry brings train 312 into Craig Leigh behind the IPP&W RS3. 

He will set out a boxcar into the Northland Interchange before proceeding to Douglas Yard. 

Bernie has pulled a boxcar out of Northland that will be picked up by 321 as it departs Craig Leigh.

Andrew switches 324 at Spruce in the warm sunlight.

  Bill takes a break at Nelson Yard.

Bill is known for wearing railroad and aviation themed t-shirts.

 This day he shows off a ‘T’ from the National Warplane Museum titled: Wings of Eagles. 

It depicts a USAAF B-17 being escorted by two P-38 Lightnings.

 Seanna has a big smile as her day ends at Nelson Yard.

Not to be outdone by Bill, Seanna shows off a colourful BNSF t-shirt.

We see Pat switching train 72 at Rat Portage.

George - awaiting the final train 323 into Fir Grove.

Seanna and Phil are all smiles as Fred listens in. 

Dara O-Higgin, a friend of Fred's, dropped in to test a locomotive he was working on.

Andrew is in the background finishing up switching 324 at Ironwood and will terminate at Douglas Yard.

 Andrew operated a matched set of SOO equipment in the white scheme. 

Here is his shiny caboose.

Andrew's SOO Line #370 locomotive represents an Alco RS-2 diesel locomotive. 

The pair certainly looks cool running together!

We watch a video of Bob working the ore train at the wye.

Speaking of Bill's T-shirt adorned with airplanes, Mark couldn't make the session at the last moment as his lovely daughter learned that she was selected to volunteer at the air show across the river in Gatineau, Quebec with her cadets squadron.

Mark tells us that she was very enthralled. 

In her words, “It would be my dream to fly one of these jets!"

Mark's response...“Go for it, Emilia, the sky’s the limit! 

(No pun intended)

Mark was then able to make it out to run trains at George's on the Sunday instead.

Here we see him in a 'selfie' with his beautiful Ontario Northland diesel locomotive.

Here is the story in Mark's own words:

On Sunday I visited George with the Ontario Northland locomotive I had planned to bring to Fred’s on Saturday.

 Hey look, the mellow yellow colours match! 

I was wearing my George’s Trains t-shirt to commemorate both my first hobby shop from childhood in Toronto as well as the joy of running trains on the layout of our good friend, George Wellington.

To watch a video Mark took of his locomotive pulling a train simply copy and paste the link below into your computer's browser to gain access to the film.

https://www.icloud.com/photos/#/icloudlinks/02fqNFiJx68LBQbcKXAmrwyZw/

I had to miss this great operating session as I was delivering a clinic to the St. Lawrence Division of the NMRA.

The clinic was titled, "Dancing With Dioramas" and in the image above I shared how I built the resin station for my friend, Chris Lyon.

But before delivering it to him and 'planting' it on his home layout I chose to create a diorama for the depot so that I could bring it out to the NMRA meet and our OVAR train dinner meeting.

I'd rather showcase the structure on a diorama than having it stand alone on the display table.

Then, I dropped in on Chris at 10:00 AM one morning and by 4:00 PM the scene on his layout 'morphed' from what you see in Image 3 to what is found in Image 4.

I had also brought along a number of trees I had made from the flower of the 'False Spirea" plant to plant in the background.

Chris & I enjoyed the camaraderie found when modelers gather to work together on a scene.

His backdrops are hand painted and are simply gorgeous!

Then I shared my notion that your model railroad is simply a group of scenes (think dioramas) stitched together to form a great landscape.

In our dear friend, the late Bill Meek's case, we see the wonderful 'hybrid' bridge he created making up one scene...with some critical diorama elements such as a water feature, a change in elevation, a backdrop and a train illustrating movement.

This follows into the farm scene with the Alder Models barn...with the suitable farm details along with the lovely painted backdrop.

The barn scene turns into the farmhouse depiction where Bill had constructed two plaster kits of farmhouses and joined them together to form a single large home for the farmer and his family...with the lovely wagon and the cattle alongside the tractor creating a realistic story.

Passing beyond the farmhouse is the old highway 17 that ran from Ottawa to Montreal...now the 174.

From the highway scene we find the first craftsman kit Bill ever purchased...a stone farmhouse that truly speaks to "Eastern Ontario"...and Ontario in general...with horses filling out the farmer's field and the bridge leading into Hawksbury seen off in the distance.

Bill has used creative license to have the upper train running into Hawksbury with the lower train arriving Glen Robertson...with the two locations being approximately 35 kms apart (roughly 21 miles).

Image 4 showcases the ball diamond that hugs the tracks in Glen Robertson, a ball diamond that actually exists in this location.

Thanks to Bernie for snapping all of these fine looking images and the video he was able to send my way.

Bernie tells us that Fred is in his "Happy Place" watching the train action on the IPP&W!.

We thank Father Fred for hosting the skeleton crew...a month early before Halloween.

That sentiment came courtesy of Seanna!  😎👀😎

Next week's session is already filling up with at least 20 names so there'll be no skeletons in the closet then!

We are the OVGRS of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada