Garden Railroading - Arizona Style
Marcel has sent along some great pics of his railroad down in Arizona.
Quite the handsome stable of locomotives, Marcel!
Remember, you can enlarge the images by clicking on them.
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Marcel calls his road the Saguaro Hills Intermodal.
"Hey Mr diesel shop yardmaster, what track did you want us in?" Marcel calls out.
Check out Marcel's magnificent turntable. Hey Marcel, is it remote controlled or do you turn it manually? Regardless, it is a true beauty!
Great to see some fine quality Canadian products down south of the border, we say! (Big grin!)
CP...CN...no worries here!
Here is Marcel's message to me. "Hello Mike. We are doing well. Temps have been in the 90's since we've been here
and not a cloud in the sky. Here are a few pics of my re-build of the shop area
with the addition of the turntable I purchased a year ago. Should be completed
with all of the track connections done. My Canadian Pacific RS3 is testing the
waters. Keep well stay safe and enjoy the teaching and the music." Marcel.
We appreciate the photos and stories, Marcel! Hey, will that framework hold an upper level of track?
What a gorgeous back yard!
Lots of well aligned trackage.
Love the crossover too.
Marcel offers up these words, "This is the first train of the winter on the Saguaro Hills Intermodal Transportation System (S.H.I.T.S.) For short. After arrival at International Falls MN. A snow plow was added for delivery to Wabush Labrador/Newfoundland. HeHeHe! Transformer for Hydro Quebec."
Marcel captures his train advancing with the Donald Duck nose leading the way!
We thank Marcel for these wonderful pictures and stories about Garden Railroading in his backyard in Arizona!
Back up in Ottawa, we find Marcel's sleek silver lined passenger train on the main line in Peter's Pond with Grant's steamer in the foreground and Pat's freight consist in the background.
Mark holds Ollie as Marcel looks on.
Love the busy-ness of the action.
Let's check out the video action in "The Pond."
Marcel is the first to depart Peter's Pond and we locate his train outside of Wellington Lake.
His tail end exits "The Corners".
He's upgrade at Watkins Siding.
We view the moving action of Marcel's train.
Back in "The Pond" Pat has departed eastbound and Grant gets underway from his position on the team track.
He accelerates through the pedestrian crossing.
Those bright red passenger cars remind us of times of Remembrance and of autumn as well.
Over on the other end of the railroad...
...we find Doug rounding the bend at Lilly.
He is about to cross one of the three bridges that span Brennan Gap.
A short but colourful train!
Let's check out Doug's progress!
Marcel's passenger run is seen in the distance up in Bell as Mark brings his freight drag through Glen Hammond.
Big Red rounds the curve outside of Nelson Yard...
...with headlights pointed toward the large bridge to the east.
His general freight consist holds a variety of car types.
The Ironwood Road buggy on the back ensures all is well with the train.
We view the action out from Glen Hammond.
We find Pat and Marcel up in Bell.
Pat came up from the RP&M line into Bell...
...and now he wishes to turn his sweeper car after having already turned the locomotive.
While the sweeper is momentarily stilled, the car itself is spinning.
That's my hand you see turning the car on the table.
Mission accomplished!
Let's view the turntable in action!
We catch Marcel's caboose hop in yellow uniform descending Clarke Hill. Marcel's other train, the CN passenger consist can be seen on the trackage above in Spruce.
The stone wall offers up a lovely backdrop for this train.
We say good-bye as the UP train heads west towards Nelson Yard
It's fun to catch the "moving" action!
Before we go, I'd like to share a lovely musical video Barry sent me from his home in Belleville. It concerns an incredible song by Don McLean entitled Starry, Starry Night.
Yes, it is enjoyable for me to add a musical selection to our train blog as both music and trains are my two most important loves in life after family and friends!
Barry sent me this lovely e-mail.
Hi Mike,
"A long-time friend forwarded this to me, and I
thought you might enjoy it too. I of course know that song, but until now, did
not know the story behind it Knowing what is behind a song makes it so much
more special, in my mind. This one did bring some tears."
Best regards,
Barry
"Don McLean wrote this song about Vincent van Gogh,
who never sold a painting while he lived. His brother supported him, even after
Vincent lost his mind."
"Whoever has made this video deserves gratitude for
selecting Vincent's paintings that perfectly match Don McLean's lyrics that pay
tribute to his genius!"
I responded to Barry's e-mail.
Hello, Barry,
"I have always loved Starry, Starry Night by Don McLean.
It is a sad story of one of the greats in the history of the art
world."
"One of my musical friends actually named his son Vincent as a result of his
passion for this song...even though he knew and understood the backstory. His son, Vincent, is a great student now about to embark on the challenges
of university life in Covid times."
"Vincent van Gogh, like so many visual artists back in the day (as well as
musical composers) only received the recognition he (they) deserved
posthumously."
"I love the video with the lyrics so thoughtfully woven through his many
great works of art.
Thank you so much, Barry, for sharing!"
All the best,
Mike
Don McLean's Starry, Starry Night
Click on the white arrow twice to view.
Or...
Copy and paste the link below into your browser to enjoy this wonderful selection of music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxHnRfhDmrk&fbclid=IwAR0zZizz4PaZmkHpKwDmk3T46xcqkQi0IpVz0ZdUOIluBiNFnqwEXSgDRBQThank you to Marcel for his great pics from his home in Arizon and to Barry for sending along such a special song.
All the best, Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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