Views From Session #12 and Mother Nature

Scenes From Session #12

and Mother Nature

We enter the "Dog Days" of August with 22 days already in the rearview mirror for the 8th month already.

The weather is warm but there is still a chill in the early morning hours.

Our operators adjust and trains begin running shortly after 9:00 AM.

Mark sent along some images which you will see later in this posting.

Look for a sign of a miracle at the end of the post.

 Being of the standard gauge, diesels deliver the goods around the railway on this day!

Phil's power on 302 handles the switching puzzle at the end of the Cedar Rock Branch.

Len's GN locomotive will carry the goods down to Bell and back aboard Trains 40/41, the "Bell Hop".

Steve & Seanna's Canadian National switcher works the yard down in Rat Portage.

Many in the crew arrive early to assist with the setout of the cars from their bread trays and Phil is doing a great job!

Of course...we love transportation of all kinds here in Fred's backyard!

Yes indeed...Mr. Bill Scobie certainly is a transportation buff!

I'll have to do some research on the Swordfish airplane as Bill told me some interesting stories about its wartime accomplishments.

And Bill's Nelson Yard 'sidekick' Henk...soon will be flying back to The Netherlands...but not in a swordfish!

Craig & Joanne have arrived and they show Father Fred their steam locomotive.

It was great seeing you both out on this day and it sure was fun having your run 301 with Dilip & Jeff.

George & Len keep the traffic flowing at the western terminal of the line in Ralph Yard at Firgrove.

Indeed, Ralph Yard is a busy place!

Al is seen railing a car in Nelson Yard as he & Gerry assist Henk & Bill with the placement of traffic before the session gets underway.

Folks gather in the patio lounge for our quick pre-ops safety briefing.

Then it's time to run the railroad!

Because I was busily anchored in Ironwood on switcher duties with Chris, I didn't make it 'out and about' the railway as much as I would like...but I did manage to steal away to find the crew of 302 working Cedar Rock on the Bell Sub.

In behind them is the crew of 301 handling its chores in Spruce along the Spruce Sub as their train is about to enter from the east while Passenger 2 is about to arrive from the west.

Passenger 1 takes on a rather unique appearance on this day as it arrives from the east into our yard at Ironwood.

Bill is running the IPP&W doodlebug as my crewmate's switcher locomotive is tucked safely in the siding.

Here we see Chris's endcab holding down the role as the 'Ironwood Switcher' on this day.

Train 304 levels out at the top of Clarke Grade on its 'final' into Spruce from the west.

Video footage at the start of the morning in Ironwood.

The engineer has the depot in sight (out of the image to the upper right).

Quick video work.

Chris brought out his beautiful flatcar load of three tractors.

The car is not on our switch list for the session so Chris has placed it on the team track and we will have the challenge of working around it throughout the morning hours...which will be fun!

The tractor colours are 'in concert' with the SOO LINE gondola we are setting out on the western end of the siding along with two other cars that will be lifted by westbound Train 301.

Chris has tucked the block of cars in on the siding.

Then we move our power over to a nearer siding so as not to impede the progress of the mainline trains.

Video effort from the western end of Ironwood.

Before westbound 301 can make it into Ironwood, eastbound 304 has 'beaten the clock' and arrives first.

In the distance across the valley you can just make out the power aboard Train 302 at Watkins Siding on the Bell Sub.

It seems the Canadian Pacific has a monopoly on the power in this photograph!  😄

Earlier in the morning Chris & I had located 304's 'lifts' to the east end of the siding.

Their work at the moment will be to set out the gondola located behind their power and lift the black SP boxcar being held from rolling with a rail stop.

Yes, it's one car 'in' and one car 'out' for the crew of 304.

Note our Ironwood switcher engine holding safely in a far siding to the right.

304's entry into Ironwood is captured in this video scene.

304 is being held here in Ironwood by dispatch in anticipation of a meet with 301.

This allows us the time to grab the gondola and set it out to the team track in town.

The Southern Pacific boxcar that 304 has now lifted originated at the freight shed.

We pull back as far as Ironwood Brick before entering the siding in the foreground to the left that will lead us to the desired spot for the gondola.

At this point, Chris & I are beginning to spot cars from first trick trains and lift cars for second trick runs all at the same time.

Our activities continue on video.

While working at this location, Chris & I always keep an ear out on the radio.

I have heard dispatch clear 302 out from Wellington Lake to Peter's Pond.

While we await the arrival of 301 here in Ironwood, I am afforded time to railfan 302.

302 enters the verdant landscape of 'The Corners'.

While 302 is about to tunnel beneath St. Helens, the crew aboard 301 high up on the ridge is seen backing onto its consist.

In no time, 301 will be entering Ironwood for its meet with 304.

Then 304 will make haste to St. Helens.

302's progress along the Bell sub is captured on video.

301 has arrived Ironwood allowing 304 to depart.

Quick video work here at Ironwood.

301 is on the roll out of town bound for Spruce.

They lifted the three cars you see immediately behind the stock car and they set out the tank car on the side to the right.

We will shunt the tank car to Larabie Fuels while we go about lifting traffic for the second trick Train 312.

The other second trick train, number 313 will breeze through Ironwood with no work at all - setouts or pick ups!

There's the SOO gondola leading the three cars that were 301's lifts out from our yard.

While 301's van bids us farewell we see the crew already stationed in their next town of Spruce off in the distance beyond the valley!

Video fun with 301!

Mark is all smiles as he runs Pool Train 33 with his gorgeous CP covered wagon leading the way!

Yessirree, she's a beauty Mark!

A real "Beauty Mark"!  😍

Indeed, she is an 'eye catcher' with that beaver logo on the front!

Being the "Pool" train, we have equipment from both lines as the RP&M coach brings up the tail lights along the route of the IPP&W!

With our traffic cleared off the valley siding...we offer the paying passengers a lovely view of the gorge between Ironwood and Wellington Lake as we divert the train to the siding closest to the chasm!

Have fun viewing Pool Train 33's video reel.

Chris & I have a break as we await the arrival of our second trick train.

This affords me the opportunity to railfan Train 33 on approach to the depot in Spruce.

The power reaches the station platform.

The conductor in the last car gives the engineer the signal to stop as the passengers have reached the platform.

33's approach into Spruce is captured on video.

I also find Phil & Al aboard 302 down in Cedar Rock.

Mark on the left is running the Pool Train out from Spruce with crew mate Bill (out of the image).

Jeff is working 301 - now ready to conduct its spots and lifts after tucking into the siding awaiting the arrival of the Pool Train at Spruce.

301's power can get down to work!

Video in Cedar Rock and Spruce.

Train 33 takes the approach track into the Glen.

That milk has got to get to market.

Conductor Bill instructs engineer Mark in on a slow approach to the station.

Station approach video of Pool Train 33.

301 is 'polishing the iron' as the crew exits Spruce.

Dilip is showing engineer Joanne the crew's train list.

With its tail end still in the yard the headend passes the beautiful Spruce depot.

They lean into the curve at the Rockery to the west of town.

The crew now has the many miles along the "Long Reach" to handle where there are no passing sidings between the town of Spruce and their destination location in Nelson Yard.

Dispatch has to be on his toes in order to keep this lengthy stretch of track clear for the successful passage of 301.

Our video star is the crew aboard 301!

The Pool Train has found RP&M rails as it aims for the depot down in Rat Portage.

Train 33 meets RP&M Train Rat 61 toiling away in the yard at Rat.

With its passenger car safely at the station under the direction of conductor Bill, the crew will now head into 'dark' territory out on Fred's front property.

I see that the Workday Wednesday crew has a little work to conduct here with the tunnel 'facing' needing to be adhered to the opening in the fence.

Video efforts down in Rat Portage along the route of the RP&M.

Like the tentacles of an octopus, the branches offer a rather interesting 'take' on the travels in the wilderness of northern Ontario!

The crew successfully traverses the big curve on the front property at the location known as Ferndale.

Ferndale is a whistle stop along the RP&M and is named after Gord Bellamy's wife, Fern.

The headend power is passing the platform where the small depot was once located.

The re-creation of the station will be another project for the WDWD crew!

Ferndale video.

Passengers are in the dark as the train tunnels beneath Firgrove.

Here is a quick glance of Firgrove up top.

Across the valley the crew aboard RP&M 61 continue their work down in Rat Portage.

Seanna & Steve work the train in Rat.

This lovely locomotive is one of their latest acquisitions.

It is a twin to George's Ralph Yard switcher!

Video at the western end of the two railway lines.

Upon reaching the western outskirts at Bell, Train 33 has now reached IPP&W rails once again.

CP locomotive 1404 has covered a great deal of territory already with many miles still to go.

Continued video footage from the Pool Train's passage around the two railways.

Let's take a look at a few more still images.

In the photo above, Chris is directing the traffic for the crew aboard IPP&W 304.

Chris & I marshalled the SP boxcar to the east end of the siding and Grant & Pat will drop off a single gondola for us to place at the Ironwood team track.

Grant is uncoupling the gondola from his consist after lifting the SP boxcar.

He will set out the gon onto the siding closest to him.

301's crew is spotted in the shade of St. Helens earlier in the AM hours.

Cedar Rock sees a variety of traffic throughout the day.

The oil tanker platform sees a number of tank cars up in Cedar Rock.

This UP triple dome car is a real beauty!

Steve & Seanna's friend Karen has made it out to the session and hangs out for a brief moment with my Ironwood Switcher partner Chris.

Dispatcher Doug keeps all the trains on the roll without hesitation!

Fred's property sees an average of 25 folks attending each session.

In the image above you may be wondering why a passenger train is taking the siding here at Spruce.

This is by design as this is the Pool Train that needs to switch out the house track which branches off the passing siding in town.

Train 314 has reached Peter's Pond with yet another Canadian Pacific locomotive found along the line on this day.

Moe takes a break in the shade as he awaits his conductor's next set of instructions.

These next batch of pictures come from Mark's camera.

It seems we have a slight 'service interruption' at the west end of Ironwood as the tankcar split the switch.

Fortunately "Big Hook Mike" was there to save the day!

Mark's words state, "Mike, the IS Switcher is dealing with a derailment of epic proportions!"

It's truly amazing how such an event could possibly happen.

Mark mentions, "Hopefully that tank car was empty - otherwise think of the poor cows next door in the livestock car!"

Mark tells us that Pool Train 33 is on the departure track ready to head west out from Craig Leigh.

We admire this gorgeous trestle shot Mark managed to capture!

Mark indicates that Bill is the conductor on #33 this morning.

He is currently planning his and Mark's switch moves at Glen Hammond which involve exchanging one reefer for another.

Mark tells us that back during the height of the Covid era he had purchased for our club a pair of these hand sanitizer bulkhead flat cars custom made by the National Large Scale Convention folks in the US.

Mark is happy to see them in service, providing a clean and safe experience for all operators on the IPP&W and RP&M lines.

Mark tells us that he is spotted passing his namesake siding at Bell which ironically also has a CP car to match his loco for the the day!

He spotted this reefer derailment on #33 over at Peter's Pond.

Mark hopes that whatever was inside was was yummy enough for his passengers to enjoy.

Perhaps ice cream on a hot summer's day?  👌👌

"Two F-units look mighty sharp next to each other down in Peter's Pond!" says Mark.

Pool meets freight at Mercer Siding - and Mark is glad to see it used for its intended purpose!

Mark offers some good ol' fashioned railfanning at Spruce with railfan Mike off in the distance.

Thanks for all of these images Mark!

I'm proud to see my Boston & Maine boxcar in the mix at Bravo Lumber in Spruce.

And...here is the same boxcar on my HO scale Boston & Maine layout about to cross the New England River Bridge heading from Boston, Massachusetts to Portland, Maine!

Following the train session at Fred's I had to hustle over to Orleans where my band, 'The Mystics' headlined the Queenswood Heights Music Festival.

This shirt belongs to a musical colleague of mine, Derek...one of the organizers of the festival.

And...when I arrived home from the festival I built up the rafters for the O scale Wainwright Shop Doug, Rob & I have been working on.

I found time to paint and weather this great looking resin casting of oil drums.

I also painted this casting of the crane and scratchbuilt the hook.

Video around the back of the Wainwright Shop.

Video around the front of the wainwright shop.

Today I was given the opportunity to witness a miraculous transformation in the natural world.

A neighbour of ours collects Monarch Butterfly eggs from beneath the leaves of nearby milkweed plants to raise them in a safe environment.

Just this spring alone she has successfully released 47 new monarch butterflies into the world!

Last night she brought over this chrysalis for Lisa & me to experience this marvel of life.

The chrysalis was a solid colour last night but by this morning it was transparent.

Thus you are able to view the distinctive markings of the monarch's wings tucked nicely inside its safe home.

As per our neighbour's instructions we hung the chrysalis from a lamp on a piece of string with a paper clip holding the butterfly's home...and this morning, the magic happened!

The butterfly emerged from the chrysalis and clung onto it for a couple of hours as it pumped blood from its abdomen into the wings to allow them to expand and grow to full size.

Over the period of a couple of hours the wings dry and their structure hardens to allow them to fly.

I have now brought the butterfly outdoors into my front garden which is filled with milkweed plants.

Note how he/she has left the chrysalis behind and has climbed the rope to the basswood piece I used as a support.

From here on in I will refer to the monarch as 'she' although I am note sure if it is a male or a female.

Doug...the stick is one of our basswood lengths from our Wainwright shop build!  😎😍😎😘😎

With little encouragement required, the monarch climbed onto my finger.

I learned that her sickle shaped claws are called tarsal claws.

They allow her to grip plants, climb onto the underside of leaves and hang on to a variety of surfaces.

Here she is clinging onto the underside of one of my milkweed plants.

And here she is holding on to the bricks in my front wall.

I was careful not to let her get caught up in that remnant of a web you see to the lower right.

She readily crawled back onto my finger after she flew from my brick wall to a milkweed leaf.

I also learned that her tarsal claws feature sensors that let the butterfly taste surfaces and identify plants like milkweed.

She's a read cutie!

My daughter Alison snapped this image after she flew off my hand to a nearby 'burning bush' shrub on the other side of our front doorsteps.

While she was born in Canada, she will reside for some time in both of our neighbours' countries to the south of us, the United States and then Mexico as she makes her journey to warmer climes.

Alison also snapped this image of our dear friend alighting on another milkweed plant.

I have learned that most monarch butterflies live for only four to five weeks.

This little lady will live up to seven or eight months.

The reason is that the monarchs born in late summer in Canada will make the complete 3000 mile journey to Mexico (4 800 km).

This special migratory generation of monarchs is called the 'super' generation (or Methuselah generation).

Video of my monarch friend drying its wings off as she walks atop my hand.

I was thrilled when she finally decided to fly up high and ride the wind above our rooftops as seen in this video!

Godspeed little one!💓💖💗💝

And...as for me...I'll be riding the winds in an airplane Wednesday as Lisa & I travel to Wolfville, Nova Scotia by plane to visit her mom, Marion, who turns 100 this week!

Happy 100th Marion!

This photo was taken 17 years ago.

And...here is our handsome 'Monarch of the Rails' - skipper Fred!

Hey Freddie...we had a talented bunch out again this week keeping the traffic flowing along the two railways...as always.

Here's to next Saturday when we 'rinse and repeat' the fun we enjoy in your backyard.

We are the OVGRS of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada