Pat Is Keeping Busy Over the Off Season

Pat's Activities in the Off Season

Hi Mike, I thought I would share some of my recent activities with you.  If you want to blog it, then feel free but there is no pressure to do so.  

My recent activities other than doing my research/planning of my Garden Railway at the November 8th OVAR meeting, is included in this and two other emails.

First is the operating session at Bill's Rio Grande Southern on October 23rd.

Of course, Pat...I would love to create a blog of your activities!

The first pic shows Bill and Phil overlooking the station stop at Ophir station. 

Next is a shot of Fred working Ridgeway. 

Then we see Peter moving up in the world, Phil in front of Trout Lake and Fred still hard at work.

A couple of pictures showing some beautiful buildings on the layout including Swail's Dairy

A couple of pictures showing some beautiful buildings on the layout including Swail's Dairy

The last few pics show the long string of ore, coal, box cars, etc. at Ridgeway yard.

That's one cool looking drag!

Gorgeous scenery.

Next is the operating session at Bill's on November 6^th  

First pic shows the passenger train leaving Trout lake after taking on water

Here is a smiley Jacques with Ridgeway yard at his back

How many people can you fit in Bill's basement. This shows most of the crew and Phil is thumbs up!

Same scenario from a different angle shows Fred, Phil, Peter, Grant, Tom, Dilip, Bill in the white shirt beside Dilip, and Bruce walking away. In the previous picture you could also see Bernie in the distance.

Phil leaning back for fear that I will zoom in!

He's had enough as he turns his back to the camera. 🙂

Cheers!  Pat.

Hi Mike ... here's part two of three.

Next up is operating at George's on November 13th:  Len has left the cars on the mainline so I can retrieve them on the nose of my Annie in order to place them at industries on the track to the right.

These tracks include Dominion Coal, ABL Salvage and Central Canada Cement. 

A side view of my Annie and Len's RS3 with Caboose on his nose.

The freight shunting stops as we must clear the main...the passenger train is scheduled to run at 3 p.m. sharp!  Note that George has started operating in the afternoons.  

Passenger train passing Almonte yard.

Passenger train approaching Balderson Cheese. 

George's beautiful locomotive number 45 speeding past Land O lakes car at Balderson Cheese.

Passenger train approaching Carleton Place station. 

Passenger train passing industries at Almonte yard. Note cars in background are on two tracks at Bennett's Meats.

From the locomotive's perspective perhaps.

Another shot of #45 this time passing through the streets of Carleton Place. Note Len's locomotive tucked out of the way on the westward track. 

On the same day, while dropping Fred off after the drive back from George's, I took some shots of the trees over Mt. St-Helen's at Fred's. 

He recently had some trimming done to alleviate branches falling down on the layout.

A look skyward.

Next up is operating at Operating at Michel's on November 15th :

Bill is happy to be operating at Michel's. Tom in the background coming into North Creek after I left with my train, seen on the left, part way into the tunnel.

Bill is figuring out what to do as he was mostly dispatching in the operation days before the pandemic started. My train has risen out of the tunnel and is proceeding to another tunnel which will lead into the next room. 

After switching out the empties I am now returning loaded cars to North Creek with a final destination of Saratoga.

The loads are not all filled to the top. 

The end of the train with two covered hoppers and a Gondola. 

Coming out of the 'under the stairs' tunnel. 

Things are a bit jammed up heading out of North Creek. We see Stan, Norm and the right arm of Michel in this pic.

When picking Fred up to attend the Ottawa Railway History Circle  lunch on November 16th, I took a couple of pictures of Craig Leigh under snow for the first time this fall.

Below is the link to the ORHC. 

(https://churcher.crcml.org/circle/ottawahist.html)

Douglas Yard covered in the "white stuff".

My final picture is of the nearly completed house across the street from Fred's.  That's it!  Cheers!  Pat

Thanks so much for sending along all of these great images and captions of your railroad activities in the "off season" Pat!

All the best, Mike and the gang at the OVGRS

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada