Invasion of Friends Day Two - Part Two
Welcome back to the blog with more images and captions detailing our activities on the second day of our "Invasion of Friends".
I hope everyone enjoys the many tales we have spun!
Here we go!
We left off our morning posting with Stu visiting Lela in Craig Leigh.
Andrew and I had already run Passenger 2 and the Pool Train in the morning.
Now we are taking out Passenger 1.
Through Northland.
Westbound.
We have some visitors to the layout. Robin's family has arrived. Here, the young lad looks up at Neil as if to say..."Blow the horn!"
Carmen and Nicole.
Lawrence, Doug, John and Noelle enjoy a seat in the priority seating area.
Ric's a smart lad. He's got a wet towel around his neck.
Robin shows his granddaughter how to operate the throttle.
She enjoys watching the trains go by...or back and forth...if you're switching!
Passenger 1 meets 301 at Spruce.
Barry instructs Gaetan aboard 301.
We are downgrade out of Spruce.
Through the canyon.
Breezing by the pedestrian crosswalk.
Pat, Ric and Paul wait for more trains.
We scramble up the hill toward Blockhouse.
Bob and Brian haul RP&M 67 into Bell.
Bob's Milwaukee Road unit.
Passenger 1 threads the needle through the trestle.
Then runs below the needles under the pine.
"Lunch Time!"
We socialise.
The crew lounge.
Moe cooks up some fine burgers.
Trains are left where they stand when the lunch bell rings.
Many of us find dappled shade...
...and a cool breeze...
...along the eastern front of the railroad.
Skipper Fred!
Some of us nestle in the shade of the large canopy.
Fred's cap.
Newfound friends share stories...
...while the steamers get a break...
...from running.
Lunch closes out and the bell rings again for the afternoon operations.
Bill has asked me to cover the dispatching duties as he heads for home.
Barry follows his train.
Say "Cheese" Pat!
Doug crews with Bob.
RP&M 67 comes down to Track 4.
The crew will handle the interchange tracks.
Gaetan follows his train, 301,...
...as it climbs the grade.
Passenger 1 has to run on the left hand side at Mercer due to the fact another train, which just departed, was on the right hand side.
301 climbs the grade at Lilly.
On approach to the trestle.
Here we go!
We're through!
Taking the track into Nelson Yard.
Nicole and Bernie work Windmill Siding in Ironwood with Train 303.
303's power.
RP&M 67's power.
Relaxing in the distance.
More folks relaxing...
...as Robin and Malcolm spot and lift cars in Mount St. Helens.
The temperature falls slightly in the shade of this area.
Mr. Chris.
All of us taking a ride!
301 has arrived Nelson Yard. Paul has their next train, 311, ready to go.
Ric's diesel continues working the west throat of Nelson Yard.
She's a fine workhorse.
Pretty too!
Thanks for bringing it along again this year, Ric!
Passenger 1 stops at Wellington Lake.
A fine consist she is!
Gaetan and Barry.
Nelson Yard continues to change its personality throughout the session.
Pat and John await cars to make up their third train of the day, Train 314.
Steve and David assist Paul. This RP&M team crewed RP&M 65-66 as well as Rat 71.
The ore train.
Passenger 1 has a facing setout in Bell.
Andrew makes use of the short runaround track to isolate his car.
The new trackwork here at Watkins allows for such creativity.
With his car set out at the facing industry, he is on the roll into the depot at Bell.
303 in Ironwood.
314 in Spruce.
A quaint little town.
Switching out the trailing spurs in Spruce.
311 is ready and raring to go!
311 has been granted clearance through the junction and I have given them their green signal which you can see above the station at Bellamy. This signal governs train movements out of Nelson Yard. The signal you see to the left (red at the moment) governs movements out of Glen Hammond.
Passenger 1 has mere minutes until the train arrives the station at Firgrove.
311...
...winds its way through the junction.
Ric continues working the west end of Nelson.
Bob brings RP&M 68 back into Rat Portage.
I`ll miss that locomotive, Bob!
Working the yard in Rat Portage.
The passengers are happy to climb down off the train and meet their loved ones.
My little locomotive enjoyed its run with the passenger trains on this day!
303 continues its work in Ironwood.
An audience gathers.
Ready to depart.
A final farewell to this little orange puppy!
Beer anyone!
Ric entertains the local lad.
He`s keen to operate the throttle.
"It's all yours!" Ric tells him.
314 has been gracious as they waited patiently in Spruce for Ironwood to clear. The crew of 314 has switched over to the main to allow 303 entry onto the siding.
303 arrives.
On a slow order...
...they clear the main.
319 is cleared into Ironwood ahead of opposing Train 314.
They will complete their assignment here in short order.
311 arrives Wellington Lake.
Love Barry's locomotive.
She's so colourful.
Barry choreographs the moves...
...while Gaetan (red shirt) runs the engine.
Dispatch asks 314 to back out west of Spruce to enable 303 to run around its train.
The crew obliges and shortly runs their train back around the big curve.
Once 314 has backed up,Bernie and Nicole can work in Spruce. We applaud the crew of 314, Pat and John, for their patience.
Nicole, Gaetan and Robin.
311 continues its work at Wellington Lake.
Robin in Ironwood.
Almost done.
Malcolm works a facing siding.
An environmental shot...all green!
Working Windmill.
Hi Gaetan!
311 is now out of Wellington Lake.
I'm having fun in the dispatch booth.
Another look...
...at Ric's little critter.
An amazing machine.
Powerful too.
Hi Paul.
311 again.
In Bell.
John and Pat in conversation with Fred (out of the picture) while they wait for Spruce and Ironwood to clear.
Fred, Bob, Andrew and Doug.
Our videographer in action again!
314 is finally cleared into Ironwood.
303 is downgrade out of Spruce.
314 meets 319 in Ironwood.
The crew of 319 (Malcolm and Robin) graciously offered 314 the siding.
Again, this is the joy of operations...seeing how crews can assist each other when required.
The guestbook.
Bernie watches his train pull into Nelson Yard.
As does Nicole.
311 uses the long lead at Watkins to work the east end of Bell.
Fred's workbench area inside.
Lovely maps and images.
Lots of great rolling stock.
In cool road names.
Hey, that locomotive looks familiar!
Cool!
Nice.
A little buggy.
Nice combine.
Malcolm and Robin terminate 319 in Glen Hammond.
Ric's little railbus.
I love seeing this little guy each year!
He can speed around the railroad...
...in no time at all.
Super detailing.
Great colours.
Highly photogenic.
Is that Ric himself inside?
So cool!
Love it!
Bring her back next year, Ric.
We'll miss you, Ken...and all of our friends who made it out to this year's version of the annual "Invasion of Friends."
As Fred says, "Tootles!"
We've really enjoyed our visits from our American and our Canadian friends!
Until next year, Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Great photos, Mike!
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