I awoke to this sight this morning. Indeed, the hot air balloon festival is in full swing this Labour Day weekend.
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Driving out to Fred's from my home in Alta Vista, I encountered this other mode of transportation that caught my fancy. (Note...my wife, Lisa, was chauffering me to train ops on this morning. I'm in the passenger seat.)
We're close to Fred's home now so I am able to snap this three-quarters view of the old Chevy! It would have been fun to continue following this ancient lad.
Speaking of ancient lads...there are none at Fred's place. But we do find skipper Bill in yet another new hat. Looking great, Bill.
Pre-ops we catch Pat checking out the car list for Glen Hammond while Seanna and Steve do the same for Nelson Yard.
We have a new railfan in our midst.
Here is the link to Malcolm's great video work from the day. Copy and paste it in your browser for viewing purposes. You will note the coupler issues we had with the tender on my locomotive...made for some interesting car moves in Ironwood and Bell!
https://1drv.ms/v/s!ApuSckIj0HVCgusQQ3S52jactdhzIA
Garry, Pete and Pat. We welcome Pete from his home in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He'll be with us throughout the most of September.
Jim Davis has arrived and shakes Brian's hand. Jim's car mate, John, is in the brown shirt standing beside the tree. That's Robyn standing above the seated Brian. Our other dispatcher, Doug, is in the Detroit Red Wings hoodie and Pat and Garry are to the right.
Fred offers up his spiel while the others listen in...or do they?
So he brings out the sign!
Pete and I ready our locomotive for its assignment aboard 301, the westbound manifest freight out from Craig Leigh.
We trickle onto the south (railroad west) leg of the wye.
Then we move over to near the ore dock tracks to back down the north (railroad east) leg of the wye which will put our crew in the appropriate orientation to back onto our consist once the Craig Leigh yardmaster has the train made up.
It is a narrow gauge operations as this locomotive points out.
With narrow gauge freight cars, of course.
Love the stock car.
Paul, the Craig Leigh yard master, gathers up the final car for our consist.
Our chief dispatcher, Doug, takes on the role of observer as Bill Sn3 Scobie will take a seat in the dispatch booth for today's operations.
The first train I manage to lens is Passenger 2 navigating the sweeping curve in an eastbound direction at "The Corners."
Brian and Paul work the sidings in Spruce aboard Train 318 which originated in Glen Hammond.
302 is caught descending the grade through Watkins out from Bell.
That's a beauty of a locomotive, Moe!
A funny thing happened on the way to the forum. We were cleared into Ironwood and arrived the siding just as 318 did the same in the opposing direction! Yikes!
No worries, though. We opted to hold our train on the main to the east of Ironwood and assist the crew of 318 with their two "facing" moves which would be "trailing" efforts on our part. With our assistance, 318 was able to sweep through Ironwood in short order to allow us the entire town to ourselves...a "win-win" situation.
Henk is possessed! This is his new "uncoupling tool" which allows him to break cars from his train without having to bend down...as we see Moe doing in Peter's Pond.
Oh...I get it...the rake was required to clean up debris under Mount St. Helens such as aged pine needles, pine cones and misplaced rail cars...........misplaced rail cars!
The White Pass locomotive lifts Passenger 2 upgrade to the west of Spruce.
Malcolm and his grandson, Sebastien, are in charge of the passenger group of trains this day.
Here's Malcolm!
Number 14 is up to the task as the ascent continues around the big bend and on into Spruce.
Paul is all smiles as Pete and I have assisted his crew in Ironwood. That's Paul's crewmate, Brian standing just behind my crewmate, Pete.
The "team effort" is almost complete as Pete brings our train into Ironwood along the station track and Brian verifies that he has his full train ready to roll onward to Mount St. Helens.
Passenger 2 gains the station at Spruce as Sebastien brings the locomotive in on a slow order.
Our hopper car should be playing the outfield for the Toronto Blue Jays as it has managed to catch numerous pine cones en route through the verdant area in and around the Mount St. Helens environs.
Malcolm videos Train 2 while 301 begins its own work in Ironwood.
2 is on the roll past the large Ironwood Brick facility.
Sebastien observes his train to ensure all is copacetic
Two Pats in Cedar Rock...
...or is that Pat "squared".
Paul and Brian work the "all trailing" sidings in Mount St. Helens.
John has moseyed over to see what Pete and I are up to.
We have completed our work in Ironwood and have been cleared to Spruce. We had a setout and a lift at the trailing spur and a handful of cars to deal with at the facing sidings of Valley Supply and Mackenzie Lumber. With no other trains trying to get by, we enjoyed a free mainline track for runarounds. This enabled us to complete all moves in short order and we were able to make up time from the delays at Ironwood. 301 now finds its way westward to its termination point at Nelson Yard.
A few moments earlier while we were conducting some of those Spruce moves, I turned to find our good friend, Mark, snapping an image of me! We will take a short commercial break from the review of the train operations to showcase some train images Mark took while he was with his son, Ollie, at Upper Canada Village a couple of weeks ago.
We catch Mark with Ollie aboard the 2-foot narrow-gauge train, the Moccasin at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg.
Mark's wife starts her EMBA program at Queen's University shortly so, while most of their children were at the grandparents in Toronto to help out with their transition, Mark, his wife and Ollie spent time in and around the Kingston area for a couple of weeks earlier in August. Mark tells us the locomotive is powered by a marine inline engine.
Mark and Ollie rode the train several times. The line is a 7km loop which extends out to an original portion of the Grand Trunk Railway where the old Aultsburg station is located and where loco 1008 has found her final resting place. (You'll see those images momentarily.)
The rails hug the might St. Lawrence River offering spectacular views for the passengers.
Thanks for that info regarding the train, Mark. Further research tells me that the train is named "The Moccasin" in honour of the real Moccasin that played an integral role within the community. The original Moccasin is recognized as Canada's longest running named train.
In September of 2010, the C.P. Huntington locomotive was put into service.
Ollie and Mark have their pass to board!
Operations of the original Moccasin lasted from November 19, 1855 up until August 9, 1958 on the Grand Trunk Railway between Brockville & Montreal.
The locomotive pulling Mark, Ollie and the other tourists is a scale replica of the original one.
A happy pair of railfans!
Their smiles tell it all.
A sight we all love to see are the crossbucks (this one with the arm gone) and the lights...especially when they are flashing.
She's a "right" colourful train!
The 1008 at her resting place.
The Aultsville station is a 19th Century structure. Aultsville is a ghost town, one of Ontario's lost villages which were permanently flooded by the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1958.
Mark photographed this plaque which shares the history of the line.
Thanks so much Mark for the wonderful images of your day with Ollie.
Fred hosts Rhea at the crew table in the lounge.
Jim and James hold a deep conversation just outside the main table area. Jim has a spectacular garden layout at his home an hour south of the city. James is a railroad conductor living in tweed with his wife, Rhea, who was pictured in the previous image.
Henk has finished with the yard work and has put away the rake. He and Moe work 302 down in Peter's Pond.
My train, 301, meets the challenge of the grade head on at Lilly.
A grey ghost in the green!
We step out onto the trestle in the environs of Nelson Yard.
Under the green dome.
A look back at the lounge.
I mentioned "Best Laid Plans" in my title for this blog.
No, Steve and Seanna are not saying their prayers, but they may very well be.
It seems their locomotive hit a natural obstruction resting on the rails somewhere beneath Firgrove. The locomotive took a tumble and had to be sent to the RIP track.
Let's hope the damage is minimal. This "service interruption" put the crew quite far behind schedule which could likely cause interruptions later in the session. We're hoping the locomotive is A-okay after some TLC, Steve and Seanna!
Pete and I have brought 301 in on the Arrival/Departure track at Nelson Yard.
Garry, the yard master, has all things under control and we quickly disengage from our train and head two tracks over to pick up our new train, 311.
Pete pulls 311 out of the yard on a slow order.
I've gained clearance from dispatch to make the junction crossing.
Once our tail end clears I will contact the dispatcher notifying him that we have successfully cleared the junction area.
We hold at Mercer Siding to enable the crew of 302 to complete their work in Peter's Pond.
Henk and Moe with 302.
311 is in the hole as Seanna walks toward the camera man.
Jim and John...good buddies!
311's work at Peter's Pond was solely based along the mainline, so the crew gets underway in no time at all destined for Wellington Lake.
Our train rounds the bend in "The Corners."
302 has terminated at Nelson Yard and departs eastward as 312.
Pete and I have reached Wellington Lake where we have already split our train.
Our sole lift here is the green refrigerator car centred in the mix along the far siding.
With that reefer onboard, we accelerate up the grade. We are not worried about the passenger train in the distance as it will have to make a station stop at Wellington Lake.
Pool Train 15 arrives the Lake.
311 takes the crossover with clearance into Track 3 at Bell.
304 rushes headlong eastward out of Firgrove.
Train 15 stops at the station in Bell.
We are able to continue with our trailing moves well out of the way of the passenger train.
Speaking of best laid plans...here is that rather late Train 65 with a new locomotive on the point. Note the caboose on the upper track...that's train 304. Yes, we have two freight trains wanting into Bell, the location where we have just arrived...and, more importantly, the Pool Train has just arrived. The Pool Train must take RP&M rails down to Rat Portage, but Train 65 is blocking its path. It's a classic case of too many cars...not enough tracks! Congestion City!
304's crew is wise. They work Brunt's Brewery as they await a clearing track at Bell.
Bill Sn3 Scobie sent me these next few stills. Pete and I are found in Ironwood.
Dispatch has just cleared us into Spruce.
John watches on as Pete maneuvers the train.
Lawrence and Robyn have assisted the Nelson Yard master with the classification of trains and now are aboard RP&M 70 working the smaller yard in Glen Hammond.
Bill has caught the poker game in action.
I'll raise you one!
I'm busy railfanning my train.
I think it's coming...I think it's coming!
Garry, the Nelson Yard master.
I'm all smiles! Thanks so much for those photos, Bill.
Back to the action at Bell. The crews managed to work around the congestion due to the extremely late train. 311 is now underway.
Locomotive 27 tackles the grade with ease.
Down below at the junction we spot the Pool Train heading out of Rat Portage destined for Glen Hammond. Apparently he made it out of the congestion unscathed as well.
Our train.
Wow! A cool looking locomotive.
Mark had to wait for the arrival of 311 at Firgrove before he could take the caboose hop down to Bell.
George and Manny have aligned the routing for our train which terminates here.
It's off to the Armstrong for engine 27.
Lettered for the Ironwood and New England, this classy locomotive takes a whirl on the turntable.
Malcolm sent along these next few stills. Engine 14 is holding the station at Bellamy.
The east house track at Bell.
Our passenger train arrives Bell.
The train proceeds west. Thanks Malcolm for the stills. We look forward to your great video efforts later on!
Our locomotive has been turned and we run around our new train, 328, which is ready for us on the near siding.
Refrigerator car 113.
An RP&M heavyweight.
Indeed, the stock car is on the headpin...as should be.
With the Ralph Yard switcher working in the background, our train, 328, slithers through the turnouts as it leaves Firgrove.
A nice railfan shot of the train.
Malcolm also sent this pic of little old me.
Manny continues to apprentice in the yard at Ralph. George, we have a feeling your services won't be required too much longer. Ahh...you've got a few more years until Manny gets her driver's licence. (Big grin!)
Check in at a later time for the second section of the blog for this week's operation.
A special thank you to Skipper Fred for being there for us each week.
Also a special shout out to Jeannie and Syd from me!
All the best, Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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