Garden Railroading: July 2026

Session #8 Review

Diesels were on the menu hauling lading across the IPP&W and the RP&M Railways today.

A total of 26 folks descended in Fred's backyard on a beautiful July day.

Mike had a "Dispatcher in Training" with him today...and the railway ran magnificently!

Great Job Bernie!

Yes, it's wonderful to have another person trained in the dispatching duties in case Doug and I am would be both away on any given Saturday!

Here's Bernie in the dispatch cabin keeping trains flowing with ease & acumen!

Alas...things aren't always what they seem.

Do we have a renegade operator somewhere out there on the line, Bernie? 👀👀👀

All kidding aside, it is these lovely diesels which steal the show each standard gauge operations.

This is the "Blue Boy" Chris purchased from Brian recently.

This 'leased' unit has always been a favourite of mine!

She will handle Train 301 out from Craig Leigh on this day.

Now this is what I refer to as a "Diesel Doing a Dance"!

Paul called me over to snap this photograph of his CP GP30 after it had split a switch in Douglas Yard!

Let's head back in time a few moments earlier and check out the pre-ops activities.

This is when we all pitch in to place the rolling stock at their respective industries.

Phil & Keith lend a hand in Nelson Yard assisting yardmasters Henk & Bill with the early morning set-out chores.

Ladies...we spot two handsome lads...Phil & Keith!

This is Keith's first visit to our operations...so...welcome aboard Keith!

Bernie offers up the safety briefing before the train operations begin.

Folks listen attentively.

Fred's friend, Klaus (on the left), joins the meeting with Garry & Len.

Welcome to the session as well Klaus!

Glen Hammond and Nelson Yard are both hives of activity in the early moments of the session.

Passenger 2 breezes along the far track at Watkins Siding following its departure from Bell.

Way freight Train 302 was hot on the heels of the passenger train and now has arrived Bell along Track 3.

Track 4 is reserved for the RP&M trains due to come in later in the morning.

302's power on this day is this gorgeous Canadian Pacific RS3 belonging to Pat.

Moments earlier, railfan Mike was able to snag this shot of Train 2 reaching the station at Bell.

Video footage of Train 2's arrival into town along the Bell Sub.

In the meantime, at the opposite end of the rail line we spot Train 301 hauling into the siding at St. Helens.

Al & Keith make up the crew along with Chris.

A close-up shot of their power having led the train into the passing siding.

The crew will protect themselves against Passenger 1...due into St. Helens at any moment.

Bill is driving Train 1 on this day.

301's arrival into St. Helens is captured in this video footage.

With 301 safely held in the siding, Passenger 1 arrives St. Helens westbound along the Spruce Sub.

This video finds Train 1 meeting 301.

Tunneling beneath St. Helens we see the power for Passenger 2 finding daylight at ground level to the left of the caboose above.

This video offers a glimpse of the many operators involved in a close space yet not interfering with each other.

We visit the other railway in the system, the Rat Portage & Mattawa (RP&M) down in the town of Rat Portage located in northwestern Ontario.

The crew is in the process of running around their train at the moment.

Video reels along the RP&M Railway.

The spray can appears in the video as the lads discovered a hornets' nest in the shed where they store the cars.

Train 303 has successfully cleared the junction and proceeds "Right Hand Running" through Mercer Siding.

Meets occur frequently at this location as we catch Passenger 2 holding as 302 rolls on by.

Once 303's van clears the western turnout, Train 2 will proceed through the junction on into Bellamy and then into Glen Hammond for its meet with Passenger 1.

We have video of the meet at Mercer Siding.

304 holds its main in Glen Hammond awaiting the approach of Passenger 2.

Train 2 makes an appearance at Glen Hammond and is guided in along the station track.

The tail end of Train 304 can now depart and make room for the second oncoming passenger train from the opposing direction.

Train 2's arrival into the Glen is noted in this video scene.

Passenger 1 makes headways through Blockhouse...

...while the crew aboard 302 is busy at Brunt's Brewery over in Bell.

Video work across many valleys.

Note the 'service interruption' at the very end of the montage!

Passenger 1 meets Passenger 2 in Glen Hammond in the lee of the dispatch cabin.

Video capture of Train 1 hustling towards its meet with Train 2.

Passenger 2 hurtles towards Spruce out from the Glen.

Train 2 makes hay while the sun rises in this video footage.

Let's check in on a few more pictures for a while.

We are in pre-ops 'setting-out' mode and Keith is offering a helping hand in Nelson Yard as Phil rails another car.

Marcel & Bernie chat it up in the background by the dispatch cabin.

Passenger 2 has already reached Peter's Pond as Gary pulls his train to a stop.

Klaus is enjoying watching all of the action as a guest visitor on this day.

Paul has worked his way down to St. Helens in the far-off distance as the crew aboard 301 work the facing sidings at St. Helens.

Train 2 comes out of hiding as it had followed a course nearby the crew lounge.

It has found verdant pastures at Mercer Siding.

Train 40, the short 'hop' down from Firgrove to Bell has delivered some headend equipment that may very well be transferred to the Pool Train later in the AM hours.

My research tells me that the Great Northern adopted the handsome 'orange & green' livery in May of 1941 when the railroad first took delivery of its FT units.

Various incarnations appeared over the years until the GN replaced the scheme entirely with their 'Big Sky Blue' motif.

And...speaking of big sky blue...the crew aboard 301 make their 'sunny blue skies' presence known at Spruce as they deal with traffic along the siding spur housing Charlie's Fuels.

Al leans into his work at Spruce as conductor Keith details which cars must be set out and picked up.

Most IPP&W crews were of the 'triple nature' on this day, but I don't believe aisle space was an issue.

301's crew certainly enjoyed themselves as did the crew in the distance aboard 302 over in Peter's Pond to the far left of the image.

Engine #401, on loan to the RP&M from the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway has arrived Rat Portage aboard RP&M train Rat 61.

Their affable conductor/brakeman stands holding the railing at the front of the engine which runs 'long hood forward'.

This train is a 'Turn' from Nelson Yard to Rat Portage and back...with stops at Anderson in between.

Seanna & Steve crew the RP&M train on this morning.

We spot the Ralph Yard switcher basking in the morning sunlight.

Check out the Yellowstone steam locomotive working the ore train off in the distance at Firgrove.

Having pulled a quintet of ore cars off the mine track to the east of Firgrove...and having run around the consist, the crew has now entered Ralph Yard to lift more ore before heading out on the high iron bound for the ore docks in Craig Leigh.

Bob managed to purchase these wonderful Canadian National ore cars that once belonged to our very own Steve McKenzie...

...but this is not the entire story.

Apparently Steve had put these four cars up for sale on eBay. A gentleman from the United States purchased them. He then decided that he didn't need them so he put them up on eBay.

That's when our very own Bob Clarke spotted them 'on-line' and purchased them from this American lad.

When the package arrived Bob's home here in Ottawa he noticed our very own Steve McKenzie's name written somewhere on the box.

So...indeed...these cars made a rather circuitous route from Ottawa to the USA and then back to Ottawa and we are very happy they did - as they look great on the ore train!

The ore train snakes its way into Bell along the main line.

Bob's Yellowstone steam locomotive 1791 catches the eyes of local railfans who rarely see a locomotive of this stature.

This 'Yellowstone' locomotive was photographed in Duluth, Minnesota.

Photo courtesy of Steam Giants website.

The ore train tracks its way through the urban landscape at the west end of Bell in this low angle video work.

The train pulls out from Bell bound for Wellington Lake and points beyond.

Ore escapes Bell in this video.

The Firgrove-Bell 'hop', Train 40/41 is spotted returning upgrade at 'The Ledges'...pushing the car ahead of the locomotive.

The train makes good time on its return journey to Firgrove in this video effort.

In the audio you can hear the Firgrove yardmaster, George, explaining how a freight train had to back all the way back to Winnipeg after dangerously encountering a wildfire recently here in Canada.

This image showcases a mere portion of the Spruce subdivision with its namesake town of Spruce seen to the left with Ironwood appearing to the right.

The crew aboard 301 'threads the needle' at Clarke Canyon bound for Nelson Yard along the stretch of track affectionately dubbed "The Long Reach".

This portion of track is one of the longest on the railway with no passing sidings.

Video fun looking over a portion of the eastern sector of the line.

This 'action shot' showcases 301 picking up speed to take on the hill at Blockhouse.

At the same time, Pool Train 33 has reached the depot on the curve at Ironwood.

Here is the video I took while standing at the pedestrian crossing outside the dispatch cabin.

Train 301 terminates in Nelson Yard.

The crew will continue on their westward journey aboard their new train, Train 311.

Bernie offers up a smile as "Dispatcher in Training".

In this video I kibitz with dispatcher Bernie as I make fun of myself and my fellow very capable dispatcher, Doug Matheson.

You will hear the fun audio!

Train 303 drills the Culham Coal Company's trestle up in Cedar Rock.

The crew is lifting an empty hopper.

Video finds at Cedar Rock with 303.

Second trick Train 313 squeezes through the trestle iron on approach to Nelson Yard.

Train 313 is the video star here!

Douglas yardmaster, Paul, has made the short run down to St. Helens aboard Train 31 and has returned as Train 32.

The Northland Ore Dock is a 'crowded house' at the moment.

A Great Lakes Laker will arrive shortly to handle the ore taking it to ports in eastern Canada and abroad.

The Pool Train hauls into town and makes use of the wye to back its consist into the passenger terminal to the east here in Craig Leigh.

Video footage in and around Craig Leigh.

Earlier Bob was found enjoying himself with the ore train piggybacking empties along with loads to haul back to Craig Leigh to pack away in their cases.

Ore train video footage through Glen Hammond.

The reason I am asking Bernie who is in Spruce is because that would be the next town that Bob would pass through aboard the ore train after navigating the "Long Reach"!

Our Yellowstone friend is finding his legs out from Glen Hammond.

On a crawl through the Fred Mills Trestle.

Note the empties following the the full ore cars.

We call this train "The Sweep" as Bob is picking up ore cars from all over the railway to return to their home containers at the end of the session rather than simply picking them off the rails at their various spots along the line.

This offers one more run across the landscape for the ore train crew and it helps to keep the dispatcher on his toes right up to the end of the operating session!

Final ore train video segment for this blog posting.

Seeing as this is really a 'diesel day' on the railway we'd better snag one more video showcasing the more modern equipment.

We find the crew aboard Rat 63 working the yard down in Rat Portage.

John & Doug are crewing the train on this day.

Some nice colours are spotted in this video effort at this location.

Pat's gorgeous RS3 in CP maroon & grey works third trick Train 321 at Spruce.

Pat & Jeff crew the train with Moe.

The lads relax in the lounge following the session.

Moe checks in on Henk & Paul to ensure the BBQ is working well!

Moe is an avid outdoorsman as his shirt demonstrates.

There is the handsome lad!

And...speaking of avid outdoorsman...Moe is an avid photographer...having snapped this image on a recent trip out west!

Wow! Their group outnumbers our train operators Moe!

Truly an incredible image!

Beautiful image, Moe!

Definitely a 'three bird crew'!

They certainly know how to fish!

Indeed they do!

Let's check in on a couple of more pictures from the Panama Canal where my daughter Karen was last week.

On her first day there she simply checked out the well-known viewing platform.

We see one of the locomotives pulling a ship through the canal in very close proximity to the crowd of onlookers.

And she even snapped some images of the Panama Canal Railway for me!

I shared this image Karen took as she transited the entire canal system on a special tour boat that runs the full system once a month - and half the system at other times in the month.

Karen lucked out as the full transit happened to be available during one of the three days she was in Panama!