April Blog Entry Review of Season

April Blog Entry

Our blog entry for April will review some unseen photos and videos from Sessions 4 & 5 from last season.

With the snows finally melting in our region, it is nice to revisit warmer times up here in Ottawa from last summer.

All three sessions showcased in this posting were accomplished in the month of July.

Hey, where's all the snow in this picture!  It certainly wasn't taken in Canada!

Session #4 Standard Gauge

Chris brought out this 'cow & calf' diesel tandem to run atop IPP&W rails on July 6th, 2024.

Remember...you can enlarge images by clicking on them and then return to the default appearance of the page by clicking outside them.

On this date we ran our standard gauge operations.

Nelson Yardmaster Henk seems to be practicing some form of 'chair yoga' while lads off in the distance check out the 'cow/calf' duo.

Bernie is 'running light' with our Ironwood Road RS3 through Spruce.  

(Oops...we must've forgotten to bring out the depot!)

He has transferred his light engine from the engine house in Craig Leigh to Nelson Yard where it will take up duties on the RP&M for the day.

Paul will use his CP GP30 where it will travail in Douglas Yard at the eastern end of the line.

Garry brought out his CNR steam locomotive to run Passenger 1.

He also brought out his CNR Alco AB tandem for Robin to run on Passenger 2.

We look over to Bell where we find a number of freight cars on the Interchange Track.

Judging by the potential traffic which abounds in the three locations above, July 6th will be a busy day on the railroad.

Hey, did you know that the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on this date, July 6th, 1933 in Chicago's Comiskey Park?  

The American League defeated the National League by a score of 4-2.

And...on this day in 1957 John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time.

They met as teenagers when Paul went to see John perform at St. Peter's Woolton's Parish Church in Liverpool.  

John was playing with his then band, the Quarry Men at the church fete/garden party.  

This was three years before they formed The Beatles.

Sadly, on July 6th, 2013, the beautiful downtown area of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec was destroyed as a 73-car runaway oil train derailed and exploded in flames.  

The loss of life was enormous - 47 souls.  

The explosion destroyed more than 30 buildings in the town's central area.  

We must learn from these incidents and it is our hope that the entire railroading community will learn from this tragedy.

Back along the route of the IPP&W, CN Geep #1701 leads Train 302 out from Bell along the lengthy Watkins Siding bound for Peter's Pond.

Later in the morning the crew aboard Train 303 arrives Wellington Lake where they commence their switching duties at the trailing siding.

This move is an easy one for westbound traffic.  

If you crew a train running eastbound and have work to conduct at this location, you must take advantage of the runaround possibilities located up the grade to the west at Watkins Siding to spot and lift cars.  

Malcolm and Steve are crewing 303 on this July morning.

Doug Culham is the proud owner of one of Lawrence's diesel locomotives.  

Doug & Moe work 301 in Ironwood at the moment.  

Lawrence also created that interesting load of buoys on the bulkhead flat you see momentarily spotted by the crew at Larabie Fuels in the top lefthand corner of the image.

It seems Garry's steam locomotive will have the honour of hauling Pool Train 33 out from Craig Leigh on this day.

Fred is in discussion with a visitor on this morning near Mercer Siding.

This CPR 40-footer certainly brightens our day!

Our RP&M crew works down in Rat Portage.

The far sidings to the east at Bell are being worked by the crew aboard 314.

With the setout complete, the crew is underway towards Peter's Pond.

They arrive the Pond and take the Lower Pond Siding as their work will see them remain in this area.

The crew aboard the train in the foreground have already sashayed up the Cedar Rock Branch.

Malcolm's Conrail unit is always an eye-catcher.

At the western end of the line, Train 302 glides down the slope out from Firgrove.

302 as captured on video.

To engage any of the videos in the blog click on the white arrow in the center of the image once and then once again.

302's entrance into Bell interrupts Train 40's movements for a mere moment.

Yet another video moment in Bell.

RP&M Train Rat 61departs the Glen and enters the environs of Bellamy.

Rat 61 as found on video tape.

The recently installed Watkins Co-operative elevator dwarfs the trains running below.

Train 314 runs through Wellington Lake and enters 'The Corners' in this video segment.

We find ourselves at the pedestrian crossing with the signals Seanna & Steve created which protect the public from moving trains.

A crew in Peter's Pond has triggered the crossing signals as they momentarily set out a car on the main line as noted in this video footage.

Nelson Yard traffic is sorted and organized by our highly esteemed yard masters.

Video footage in the big yard.

Chris needs to get his units to the western end of the yard in order to line up his RP&M train.

The power moves quickly through the yard on video.

Now on his train, all Chris requires is to pick up his van.

Continued video footage in Nelson Yard.

Train 312 ascends Clarke Grade with intentions on Spruce.

The climb up Clarke Grade is captured in this video maneuver.

Nelson Yard and the Glen are quite busy places at this moment in time.

The Nelson crew assists the crew aboard 314 who have just arrived the big yard.  

Malcolm & Steve will depart shortly and continue on their easterly journey.  The video showcases their power and caboose being swapped out.

Garry pulls out of Glen Hammond with his steam locomotive on this diesel day!  😎

Video footage of the passenger train's exit out from the Glen.  

Note the radio chatter with the crew seeking permission on radio "to" St. Helens.

Train 311 takes the crossovers at Watkins Siding to guide them in on Track 3 at Bell.

In this video check out how light the flat cars are as they bounce around quite a bit!

Train 313 leans into the curve at Lilly.

Video of 313's progress between Spruce and Nelson Yard.

We spot Doug & Moe attending to chores in Bell.

We witness their setout of the B&M car in this video segment.

Session #5 Narrow Gauge

Indeed, this Prince Edward Island locomotive provides proof that our fifth session of the season was one of the narrow-minded variety!  

It took place on the 13th day of July.

On this day in history the Live Aid benefit concert was held in 1985 at Wembley Stadium in London, England.  Now, that's one heckuva line-up!

Heh, heh!  Bernie & Mike (little ole me) managed to be fed into Nelson Yard ahead of other traffic as yardmaster Henk offers up advice to other crews to wait their turn as heard on this video effort.  

We are terminating Train 302 and will soon depart eastward aboard 312.

Earlier, Bernie & Mike faced some facing moves as they arrived Bell with Train 302.

They managed to sneak out from Firgrove ahead of Passenger 1 but they ensured the main line and station track were free for this following train.

Robin walks along the pathway in the shade has he follows his train out from Glen Hammond bound for Peter's Pond.  

The town of Stuart is clearly visible with some reefer cars abiding there.

We find an eastbound having arrived Ironwood.

Meets abound on the system and Ironwood plays host to many each day.

Mike & Bernie back their train along the wye in this video.

They continue the turn of their engine in this further video.

Then they are ready to back onto their new train to once again hit the high iron, this time heading west in video.

321 makes headways west between St. Helens and Ironwood in this video reel.

The crew works the trailing sidings at Ironwood Brick where one siding is choc-a-bloc full as witnessed in video.

Video of Bernie's 'close shave' with an oncoming freight train!

And for those who don't know...Bernie's surname is actually "Goodman"! 😀😎😄

While the trains and their crews appear close in proximity, they are actually plying the two subdivisions of the line.  

Pat & Dilip (seated) are working Wellington Lake aboard Train 311 along the Bell Sub while Bernie has just guided his train, 321, into Ironwood along the Spruce Sub.

Another video of another meet.

"Trains here, trains there, trains, trains everywhere!" as seen in live video footage.

Hey, someone brought out the missing Spruce depot!  Yeah!

Train 321 is downgrade at Clarke Hill on video while 323 drills Bell.

Train 321 continues on its westward trajectory as the crew rounds the bend at Lilly while RP&M crews are captured on the same video.

321 finds its way home on video!

Sid proves himself to be one of our awesome helpers in cleaning up following the session as he carries a bread tray of cars back to their shed.

Following clean-up, some of the lads take advantage of the cooler temps in the shade.  

We spot Bernie, Moe, Marcel & Robin enjoying some camaraderie.

Our OVGRS sticker adorns the side of this carrying case.

in other news, here's a look at the sawmill which I showcased on my other blog.

I brought it out to OVAR this past week.

It's loads of fun attending OVAR (Ottawa Valley Associated Modelers) as we enjoy a great meal, a fabulous presentation and a whole bunch of camaraderie.

I always promote our large scale section of the hobby by bringing out two of Fred's cars for display.

To see videos a series of short videos of the sawmill, copy and paste the link below into your computer's browser:

https://craftsmanstructures.blogspot.com/2025/04/sierra-west-scale-models-sawmill.html

Thanks for checking in on this blog entry.  

Here you see me performing with my band "The Mystics" at the Orleans Bowling Facility.  Loads of fun!

Father Fred is all smiles as yet another successful session comes to completion.

These smiles will continue throughout our upcoming season as we look forward to having Mother Nature on our side!

All the best to everyone in our Greater OVGRS Family

We are the OVGRS of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Barry's Teardown/Rebuild of His Railroad

Barry's Teardown/Rebuild of His Railroad

I recently received this email from Barry just a few days into the New Year.

Hello Mike,  Yes, I would very much like to pass along my very best New Year's wishes for everyone in our OVGRS family.  This will be the first instalment in a short series detailing what happened after my railroad ceased operations at the end of October.  Fortunately, the awesome weather allowed me to get most of the demolition work done before the snows came.  The weather wasn't the only blessing, however.

Most in our fraternity were not aware that an article in the Belleville "Intelligencer" was published about 6 weeks after I requested it to promote my railroad in August and September.  I had originally planned to shut down in mid-September, when leaves and other challenges often made operating difficult, to say nothing about the normally cool, wet and windy weather.  Well, the paper came through in early September, so there were a flurry of responses by people wanting not only to see it, but operate some trains.

With the weather's cooperation, we had several new people show up, including some operators.  One of them was "Steve" who actually said he was interested in helping.  He showed up generally at the time the pictures below were taken - in other words when I had already started the demolition phase of my "tear down/rebuild" of the railroad.  You will see a pic or two of Steve in future mailings.

When he arrived and I sat down with him to introduce myself, and the railroad, I asked him why his email address was from "Glen."  Of course I knew what the answer would be, and quickly assured him that my version of Christianity stated that God loves everyone and "has no favourites."  I was right in my assumption, and learned that Steve's partner is the organist and music director of Belleville's largest Anglican church (in fact, the first church in Belleville, just ahead of the Presbyterians.)  Steve is a very easy person to make friends with, and he came many times and helped with the demolition and then the restoration of an important trestle (seen waiting for him in a couple of the pictures below.)

He is a good friend.  He is another one who when they come to help, get to enjoy Bonnie's first-class lunches!

Thanks to Steve's hard work, I had the opportunity to lay out and "rough in" most of the new layout.  I will take a couple of pictures this afternoon to show you what awaits next spring.

In the meantime, I want to wish my very dear friends in our group, both near and far, a very Happy and Prosperous 2025. Woo! Woo!  Barry

The planned demolition begins along the fence line.

Tracks are removed.

On the other side of the main aisleway we see track being stored neatly.

The cuts begin!

Wow! What a difference, Barry!  Looking forward to the rebuild!

Barry tells us that this picture shows the removal of West Ben Stockyards, Cora's Corners and the south end of Quinte West.  

The trestle and Arch Bridge leading to Orleans have been removed for restoration, although I am not sure the arch bridge can be saved.  

It was always put indoors after the 2nd winter (2014-2015) did some severe damage, but it continued to deteriorate every winter since.

Here is a picture with my newfound friend and hard worker wielding his drill as he completely removed the Belleville town site.  

I followed his progress all the way up to and including Shaanenville Station with a single track which would be the basis for the  new "roundy-round"/continuous running circuit for those many folk who just want to watch and take pictures.

I salvaged as much of the old deck boards by flipping them over as I could.  

These have been deemed acceptable and are awaiting being used where Quinte West used to be, west of the curve over to Orleans.

I followed Steve as he worked along the back fence and I began roughing in the new layout around the big circle from the back fence (future relocated Quinte West) towards the Orleans/Cumberland section which will be basically unchanged.

Here is another angle on the curve from the back fence to the approach to Orleans, part of the continuous-running circuit.  The boards are temporarily supporting the track.  

To the left towards the red pail you will soon see the mainline from Ottawa to Orleans running parallel to the c-r circuit track.

As you can see here, the leaves are gone, and the frost has come; however, after the first two pics,taken in November, no less, the weather still allowed me to keep working.   

In this picture above you can see the roughed in decking leading from Ottawa to where the tracks split to either the

continuous run along the back fence or the lead to Orleans Station. 

...continuing eastward to...

...the roughed in new Belleville Station along the fence on the north of the walkway.  

On the south side is the east end of Cumberland Station, which will require significant re-working to make the cross-over heading to Mount Kamaryn and heading westward to the new Belleville and Quinte West site.

Both the main line and c-r-c (continuous running circuit) head to Mount Kamaryn.  

The main line continues into Kamaryn City while the c-r-c circles back towards Cumberland and the interchange with the main line.  

The old Sandra Bypass will be relocated further west.  

I will also have to figure out how to provide a bypass track for Kamaryn City.

It is pretty obvious that the pedestrian crossing here at the east end of Cumberland presents some interesting challenges.  

Just beyond the top of this picture is the cross-over of the mainline.

I think I have figured out the two cross-overs where the main and c-r-c lines have to change places from inside the circle to the outside.

Not long before the weather turned colder I began to rough in the new Belleville Station opposite Cumberland Station.  

There wasn't much time left, but you can see the makings of the new Belleville Station, located roughly where Shaanenville Station used to be.  

Quinte West will be further to the left, and a turntable will allow locomotives to turn around for the return trip to Trista centre or Ottawa via Kamaryn City.

This is what the interchange between the c-r-c and main line will look like.  

Rather than using a rail crossover it allows the two lines to switch sides  

The c-r-c will always have priority since it will be unmanned and perhaps I can have red/green lights to warn mainline trains of the approach of the the oncoming c-r-c train.

This is where the c-r-c line will turn back towards Cumberland and its other crossover with the main line like the one opposite.  

On the far right of the picture you can see the location of the relocated Sandra bypass.

This shows where the main line crosses over to the Belleville-Kamaryn City line from Cumberland. 

The c-r-c line and Sandra bypass will be connected to allow bypassing Kamaryn City from Cumberland when the c-r-c train(s) are not operating.  

The bottom right shows the much more complicated pedestrian crossing east of Cumberland.

Now the scene moves back to the Ottawa - Orleans line over the trestle to the left, and towards the c-r-c line on the right.  The c-r-c line will parallel the main all the way to the Cumberland crossover to minimize interference between operations and continuous running trains.

Note that the deck boards don't look too bad when flipped over.  Most of the problems of rotting were

in structural framing.  

Many lessons were learned during this whole exercise.  I will not be using stain any more, but rather porch and floor paint, for one thing.

Finally, I found this shared pic from my camera by itself.  

As you can see, it was taken right after Steve had 

finished the demolition along the fence and I had roughed in the c-r-c line as far as the waterfall.  

All that cut up wood was unusable and soon to be taken away in Robin Hornstra's truck for disposal.  

I will stop there for now, but soon I will be able to send you a map of the restored railroad.  

I am just  now beginning to design the first set of train orders with the new alignments and trains.

I do have a complete Bachmann Denver and Rio Grande # Western passenger train with my "Annie" at its head that might be nice as a c-r-c train, and if anyone coming down from Ottawa wants to bring another,  we could have them run by a couple of people who would rather not do freight operations.

I am so thankful for both Steve and the good weather for the progress made already.  

I am sure youcan see that there is still a lot of work to be done before operations restart, hopefully by Victoria Day.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year!!!

Barry

Thanks so much Barry for this amazing clinic on how to dismantle and restore a large scale railroad.

We look forward to following along with your further progress!

All the best, Fred, Mike and the entire OVGRS clan!