Kudos to our WDWD Crew
This morning Pat, Bernie, Chris & Robin descended upon Fred's place.
Fred had earlier called me to say that it was too damp to work on the railroad so I headed off with Lisa on another errand.
Unbeknownst to me, the other lads still chose to come on out...so a big note of appreciation goes their way!
Because of my absence I have no images of the lads...so here is one of Pat from the files last year.
Pat devoted his time clearing off the rails on the western front of the property as the battery in the lone blower died last Wednesday and this area was neglected as a result.
Pat was wise to bring his own blower...just in case!
Bernie made it out and assisted with many of the chores as well.
He is heading out on a river boat cruise overseas in Europe so we will miss his presence for a short while.
Have a great trip, Bern!!!
Chris devoted his time this morning to assist Fred with a much needed task indoors.
Chris offered to remove the lithium batteries from three locomotives that must be shipped out west to Grant Smith and the batteries would not be allowed in the cargo hold aboard the flight.
One of the locomotives happened to be a large scale Canadian National Rail Diesel car...not the one shown above from Rapido Trains in HO scale...but you get the idea.
Fred tells me that Chris managed to remove the batteries from all three locomotives!
Robin (in the red & grey jacket) made it over later in the morning and was able to offer two more hands in helping Chris with the removal of the batteries from the locomotives.
Fred tells me that Robin's extra pair of hands came in handy in moving the project along!
Fred also mentioned that he was quite content that some of the work effort took place indoors this morning seeing how chilly it was in the great outdoors!
Indeed, 'hats off' to the WDWD crew who braved the chill of early May to get more accomplished on the railway.
As for me...I was in Lisa's "good books" for spending the morning assisting her with her errands!
Yup...I've gotta keep the 'missus' happy on the home front!
Actually, she is more than happy to see my model railroad activities take place at Fred's where I am in the great outdoors getting loads of fresh air and exercise running about the railway snapping pics for this blog!
And...speaking of the blog...how about I share a few pics and videos from the first two sessions last season that haven't reached the pages of this blog as of yet!
These would be from our inaugural Standard Gauge session and our inaugural Narrow Gauge one!
Some pics will also appear from our WDWD sessions at the beginning of last season.
In the image above we find our two lads named Doug following the progress of a train that was wyed using the Northland Ore Dock as a lead.
This loco is a most colourful lad without a name!
Of course, we find the ore dock filled with loads on June 7th of last year.
Henk & Bill are two of our most colourful lads...but they are in competition with the colours of the rolling stock in their big yard.
Henk's Carleton Woods & Western centrecab holds down the honours in Nelson Yard on this morning.
Gerry & Steve team up on their RP&M run on this day as Bill & Henk await their first arrival of the morning.
Our eastbound passenger run reaches the outskirts of Glen Hammond.
Video footage of the train's climb into the Glen from the west.
Train #1 arrives from the east and meets its counterpart, Train #2 in front of the Glen Hammond depot.
An exciting meet is captured on video.
The passenger runs carry on their merry way out from the Glen.
Claire keeps an 'eagle eye' on her train!
Glen departure video.
A few days later on the WDWD I brought out my D&H GP38-2 to conduct a 'road test'.
This video catches me tacking onto my train which has been assembled in the passenger terminal area in Craig Leigh.
We've bypassed Douglas Yard and begin our journey west.
Westward looking video.
We spot a short caboose hop reaching the Glen on June 14th, 2025.
A Canadian Pacific road switcher is on loan to the IPP&W.
The crew works their trailing sidings at Spruce.
Bell is occupied with at least one crew at any moment in the morning.
At other occasions you may find two, three or even four crews working this area at the same time.
See what I mean?
Our IPP&W team are ready to depart with the head-end power on their train as an RP&M crew works the closer ladder to the lower right of the image.
A distant view of the proceedings at Bell.
Our CP crew have reached Ironwood in short order.
A view of two crews; one holding the siding as the other works Wellington Lake.
Some switching is conducted with the passenger run at bell.
Arrival at Spruce.
Video of Pat with his train.
With a clearance given to head to Ironwood, Pat is on his way.
More Spruce area video work.
Rounding the bend into Ironwood.
A peek at the many sidings along the west end of town.
The Algonquin unit is a blur as it rockets past the Algoma Central team at Watkins Siding.
A look along Watkins Siding.
Video of the passenger arrival in town.
We head over to the lower Peter's Pond area.
Claire & Seanna are captured on video.
On the following WDWD I ran my steam locomotive to test out some more of the trackwork that has been accomplished on these work days.
The tail end of my mixed freight.
Final video effort.
We once again thank the hockey fans in Buffalo for singing the Canadian National Anthem when the singer's mic cut out.
The named train, the "Maple Leaf" hauls passengers from New York City to Toronto and it makes a stop in Buffalo, New York.
Here is the route map for the "Maple Leaf".
We spot the train just outside of Hamilton, Ontario.
This shot is taken on the international bridge between Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario.
If you have a half hour free at some point, you should check out this video of the "Maple Leaf"!
Simply copy and paste the link below into your computer's browser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae6eI51DMr0
Here's to Father Fred!
Thanks once again go out to the members of our WDWD crew who made it out this morning to help get the railway ready for our new season.
Fred hopes that the temperatures warm up for next Wednesday when we can get down to work on the necessary elements which need addressing along the line!
We are the WDWD crew of the OVGRS in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
