Session #6 Second Section

Second Look at Session #6

This blog entry takes us back to last Saturday when we gathered to run trains in Fred's backyard.

You will recall that we enjoyed a full contingent of operators.

This meant that all 27 trains were run throughout the session.

Some of us are hooked on fishing, others enjoy travelling.  We here at the OVGRS enjoy running trains in a highly prototypical fashion - even if we also head out to the rivers to fish or to visit in other lands!

With so many folks signed up for the session, we were able to run the passenger trains concurrently where they would meet at the midway point in Glen Hammond.  Here we see Passenger 1 taking in the scenery around the town of Spruce.

Chris visits me at my dispatch hut in the early morning hours with a cuppa Java in hand!

Diesels from all over North America are leased by the IPP&W and this Alaska unit is just one example of the colourful array of power one will see trackside.

Mark is "ready to rumble" aboard RP&M Train 71/72, the Nelson Yard/Bell Turn.

We were so excited to see Bob "out and about" following his very delicate surgery.  He told us his hair has grown back but that the stitches on the back of his head resembled a fine-looking section of railroad tracks!  You're funny, Bob.

Bill gets down to business over in Nelson Yard as Henk's yellow center cab unit shuffles cars in and out of trains.

It was at this location below St. Helen's where many trains encountered issues with some actually derailing either their locomotive or some of the cars in their consist.

We soon learned that the culprit was a combination of a large gap in the rails coming out of the curve and the rails in one section of the curve leaning to one side with the rails in the other section of the curve leaning to the other side!  This video begins the story.

Train 314 navigates the curve on a "slow order" from dispatch.

Nice!  A triple meet is held in Peter's Pond...a railfan's delight!

Video of 314 exiting the curve and entering "The Pond".

314 will have work to conduct up in Cedar Rock - thus its taking of the Cedar Rock Siding.  Train 323 under TH&B power has just completed its work in the lower pond area and holds that siding.  The ore train is powering through with no work to conduct here.  Originally dispatch was offering first honours "out" to 323, but then the strategy was switched to allow the ore train to vamoose out of "The Pond".

Triple meet video!

The ore is on the move westward.

Ore train video.

323 follows suit.

Here we have a very short video of 323 on the move.

Train 323 takes the crossing with the slow order restriction in effect leading into the curve.

The arrow showcases the gap in the track where a straight section of track "kinks" into a curved section.

This situation was addressed during the Workday Wednesday maintenance section which you read about in an earlier blog entry.

Video at the "crazy" curve.

323 has "made hay" along the Bell Sub and arrives at Wellington Lake where the crew will be lifting the blue & black B&M car from the Wellington Lake siding.

Meanwhile, high up on the plateau Train 321 travels along the Spruce Sub into Ironwood out from St. Helen's.

Dual train video effort.

323 is cleared through Watkins Siding targeting Bell in the distance.

The crew slows to a stop on Track 3.

Video tape of 323's progress through Watkin's Siding.

The dual units of the Northland Road work the upper sidings at Ironwood.

                                                    

They have protected their train for the passage of Pool Train 33.

Ironwood meet on video.

RP&M Train 73 makes an appearance along RP&M rails just outside of Stuart and Bell.

When their work is complete the crew will return home aboard RP&M Train 74.

Train 323 takes advantage of the west ladder at Bell to conduct its work.

Passenger 4 has gotten underway out from Firgrove later in the day.

The passenger run takes the main while the tail end of 323 resides on Track 3.

Moe guides Passenger 4 eastward at Watkins Siding.

314 makes its appearance in Nelson Yard and will depart as 324.

Patty take a break in the shade seeing as he is always "made in the shade"! 😎

Train 314 has found its way up the Cedar Rock Branch.

The crew is busy drilling the trailing sidings here.

I have always admired the black 40' boxcar in behind Dilip's diesel.  Now I can admire the diesel too!

314 as seen on video up in Cedar Rock.

With the work completed up the branch, 314 has been cleared right through Mercer Siding.

A lovely looking train makes headway east (geograhical west).

Green is granted and the crew breezes on through Anderson to the junction.

Video of their progress at Mercer.

On through the junction.

Billy Boy hams it up for the audience and Dilip gets a kick out of his antics!

Past the rear of the depot at Bellamy.

And...on into Nelson Yard.

Video footage of the train's progress.

Mark had to leave early so Henk graciously took on the role of RP&M driver for Rat 63.

Henk rounds the big curve out from Glen Hammond.

Video of Henk's efforts.

Mark & Bernie finish up their run as they depart Bell for Firgrove.

These next three images showcase three IPP&W trains all rolling in to their respective termination destinations.  In the above image 323 ascends the grade into Firgrove.

Train 321 rounds the big curve outside the eastern throat of Nelson Yard with Glen Hammond in the crew's front windows.

IPP&W Train 322 speeds through Mercer Siding with a high green allowing them to progress through the junction where they will take the Glen Hammond turnout.

Video footage of 321 arriving home.

322 has home in its sights as well.

322 as captured on video.

Passenger 3 slides down the slope and enters Clarke Canyon.

A lovely dome/observation car is in the mix.

The tail under ducks under the bridge as the train approaches the old Blockhouse location.

Passenger train video.

I snapped this image from my dispatch booth above Glen Hammond as the eastbound passenger run comes to a stop at the station.

Marcel's Seaboard Lines Geep didn't see action on this day.  She idled her time away on the engine house track in Nelson Yard.

With three trains terminating their third tricks all at the same time, this lets us know that the RailOps program does an admirable job of keeping traffic flowing smoothly along the line in a balanced format.

Now that we have two industries here, operators are presented with a greater challenge in switching out the west end at Bell.

This TH&B 40' boxcar sure brightens up our day!

Dilip and John work the sidings in Ironwood.

Dilip also picked up this wonderful B&O caboose from the Lawrence Watkins collection.

The crew arrives home in Craig Leigh as the headend power breezes by the Northland Interchange track.

Craig Leigh video work.

Aha!  We have two RS3's running wild near the wye!

Wye video movements.

Our Ironwood Road unit.

Coming home to roost on video.

The engine house doors are opened.

Robin has enjoyed a fine trip, even if it was fraught with "range issues" with the throttle.  Fred tells me that the insertion of new batteries settled things down!

Engine house video.

Dilip videos his own train!

Lovely Dilip!

Video of a video capture up on the plateau.

Earlier in the morning, the MT's were waiting for pick-up to be taken back to the mines.

A trio of handsome cabeese!

A lovely D&H specimen.

At the start of the morning we gathered in the crew lounge.

Dilip enjoys a treat as Garry looks on with lots of fellas in the background awaiting the pre-ops safety briefing.

Post-ops it's time for lunch.

The gentlemen enjoy a few stories.

While others listen in.

Fred joins in the conversation.

Here is a final look at the "Lock & Paddle" event which took place in Ottawa on the same day as our train operations.

A total of 87 vessels took part in the festivities...

...with some 125 people floating along the Rideau Canal in kayaks, canoes and even the Dragon Boat pictured above.

First out as the gates open!

Many more to follow!

The ropes along the sides of the lock help paddlers to stabilize their craft as the current builds.

Many of the young people who work the locks for Parks Canada are university students.

A look down the canal to Dow's lake and the area around the Glebe neighbourhood of Ottawa in behind.

The lockmasters got in on the fun spraying water over the advancing paddlers.

It certainly was a perfect sunny day for the event.

The organizers were thrilled with the turnout seeing as this was the first time this event has been held in our nation's capital.

Next year they hope for many more participants!  Yikes!  All of these photos are courtesy of CTV News.

And speaking of colour...I share once again this photo of Glen Hammond and Nelson Yard to prove that our railroad is just as colourful and just as much fun as the Rideau Canal "Lock & Paddle" event!

Now to a black & white photo of one of my many bands taken at a local brew pub here in Ottawa.  

That's me second in on the left of the image with my acoustic guitar.  

My electric guitar is on the stand in back by the drums.

And...speaking of colourful folks, Fred is the most colourful of them all!

Thanks for checking in on this second section of Session #6.

I still have many photos and videos from all six sessions we have run this season that I have yet to post.

They will be held for a rainy day or for sometime in the off season!

We are the OVGRS of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada