Fortunately for him he is not responsible for replacing the equipment or repairs to Chappellton Station.  It’s a good thing the roof supports were strong enough that the street above didn’t cave in!

Thanks for the photo, Greg!

Scott

Photo: The Milk Train passes the “Hockey Specials” on it’s way to Wholinthal. The RDC is heading to Bayside with Titan fans while the larger train carrying Wolverine fans is heading to Chappellton.

Last night the Titans played the Bashers in Bayside and the Crushers were host to the Wolverines.  Fan specials ran from Wholinthal to Chappellton and from Tidewater to Bayside.

The Wolverines won against the Crushers 12 zip.  Local fans could see the defeat coming so left early and jumped on the late combine.  They knew it would take longer to get home, but felt safer than if they had traveled on the special with the Wolverines fans!  I think it was a good decision since, judging from the amount of cleanup and repair the maintenance crew will have to do, Wolverines fans are rather rowdy.

The Titans were bashed by the Bayside Team 6 – 3.  It was interesting to note the difference in fan disposition between Wolverines and Titans fans.  The RDC that carried the latter received very little damage in comparison  I guess they were not in much of a celebratory mood after their loss.

Next week should be interesting!

The Wayfreight crews doubled as passenger crews last evening.  In keeping with Union regulations those operators received bonus pay – 1 extra Kimmie Treat at break time!  Barry ran the Wolverines fan train while Ewen ran the RDC with Titan fans.  After taking the fans to the games those guys had to run over and grab the local switch engines to get their Wayfreight trains ready.

Photo: Tom stands back to watch a rare sight on the BS&T. The Special Passenger run carrying Wolverine fans to Chappellton rolls through Stevenville.

Tom ran the local job in Stevenville.  It’s been a while since he was able to make it to an operating session on the BS&T (since he tried to take a picture of me – and failed miserably).  It took him time to get into the swing of things, but once he got on a roll he did a fine job.  I haven’t gone through the switch list to make sure everything got delivered to the right places, of course, but I’m sure there were no mistakes.

Photo: The East Bound Wayfreight cleared the west switch a few minutes ago so the Interchange from Wholinthal is able to leave town heading for Tidewater. The local switch crew has a string of cars ready for the Wayfreight.

Ken was late arriving so Chris grabbed his usual place switching the local industries in Chappellton.  I’m not exactly sure what Barry is doing (running the East Wayfreight).  Perhaps it’s some new hand signal system that Management is not aware of.

Derwin is running the CN Interchange train from Wholinthall into Tidewater.  You can see it just leaving town in the distance.

Photo: The East Bound Wayfreight is heading onto the station track in Stevenville as the Transfer from Bayside waits on the mainline.

Here’s a rather common pose for Derwin.  Ha!  I guess I should say, in all fairness, that he is waiting for Barry and the East Bound Wayfreight to finish swapping cars with Tom in Stevenville.  It’s just coming through into the station now so Derwin will soon be on his way.

Photo: The Combine has just cleared the switch so the Transfer is able to leave.

Unfortunately Ken missed a lot of the early activity on the railroad.  I was just getting the Coal train into Chappellton when he arrived so I handed that task off to him.  He completed that and then performed local switching in Kenville and Derwin’s Drop.  Sorry,  I was too busy turning trains for their return runs and I did not get any photos of those areas.

I didn’t get many photos of Ewen either.  He must have been behaving himself, otherwise I’m sure I would have gotten a photo or two of him.  He ran the West Bound Wayfreight in the first half of the session and the East Bound in the second half (Barry ran the second East Bound).

All in all it was a great session.  There were the inevitable equipment failures – tank car fell apart after it was knocked by a big hand (wonder who!) and a few coupler springs went “sproing”.  Barry lost a loco for a few minutes after the decoder in it reset itself.  Thank goodness for DecoderPro!  I had the loco reprogrammed and back in operation in a few minutes.  Unfortunately it was not until AFTER he had to get helper service over “The Ridge”.

So next week (May 2nd) we are back at Derwin’s “Canadisle Rail”.  The following week is Mother’s day so we will not be operating.  We’ll be back on the BS&T on May 16th!  Derwin and I will be just returning from the MFMR Annual Convention on May 23rd, so we will not be operating that evening.

Remember, if you are planning a trip to Prince Edward Island you should contact me to set up some layout visits or an operating session.

Scott

So, last evening’s session started with some harsh words from Management.  Management’s wife had to leave for work by 10:30 so the crews couldn’t waste time socializing.  Management was pleased that it can still put fear into the hearts of its employees since they were done in record time – shortly after 10:00.  Good job guys!  You’ve earned your bonus of extra cake or cookies at the next session!

We were all pleased to see Tom was able to make it last evening.  For the first weekend in a few months he wasn’t driving a bus somewhere.  Because of Tom’s appearance we were able to fill the position of Local Switcher in Kenville & Derwin’s Drop which helped to make the session run smoother.

Derwin has been getting a lot of practice running the Interchange and Transfer jobs and last evening was no different.  He’s just pulled into Tidewater with the Transfer in the photo on the right.  Now he’s getting ready to sort out which cars are to be put on the CN Interchange and which are to remain in Tidewater.  Then he has to sort cars to build the return Transfer to Bayside.  Fortunately he will have the yard to himself for a little while so he can get it all worked out.

Ken ran the Chappellton Local, as usual.  He’s becoming very familiar with that job as well.  During a typical session he moves close to 50 freight cars to and from industries in the town.  The second East Bound Wayfreight (Barry) is in town to pick up and drop off some cars to provide Ken with more work.  Barry’s spotted the passenger combine at the station platform while he switches cars with Ken’s assistance.  When he’s done here Barry will take the Wayfreight to Kenville where Chris is waiting with the Kenville switch job.

Chris took one of the easiest jobs on the layout working as the Local Switcher in both Kenville and Derwin’s Drop.  The job does requires a lot of running between the town, but there aren’t usually a lot of car movements to and from each town.  I was not able to get a photo of what he did during his off time, but suffice to say he discovered my stack of Model Railroaders.  Anyway, the Wayfreight has pulled right into town to spot the combine at the station while Chris pulls off Kenville cars and adds the east bounds.  Then Barry will have to back onto the main and head up the hill to Derwin’s Drop.

He’s made it to Derwin’s Drop.  While he’s waiting for Chris to arrive to run the local switcher he checks the line ahead to see what’s up.  Normally he would meet the West bound Wayfreight here but it’s nowhere in sight.  He’s a little concerned that he might meet it before Stevenville.  A quick call to the Dispatcher tells him the West Bound is a little behind and will wait for him in Stevenville.

A rare meet in Stevenville as the West Bound wayfreight waits while the East Bound passes on the main.  Ewen is looking a little disgusted since he knows he’s usually in Derwin’s Drop by now.  A little fetch up with the Bayside Yard crew has caused him to be behind. He was the Bayside Yard Crew, of course.  Once the East Bound is clear the West bound can continue on to Derwin’s Drop, finally.  Then Tom (running the Steveville Local Job) can pull the combine off the East Bound to spot it at the station platform.  Then Tom and Barry can get on with the job of swapping freight cars.

In the meantime, Derwin is struggling over The Ridge with the Transfer returning to Bayside.  It’s a long one tonight so we had to get the Kenville Switcher to run as a helper.  Derwin met Ewen and the West Wayfreight in Derwin’s Drop.  That meant there was nothing in Ewen’s way for the rest of his run to Kenville, Chappellton, and Tidewater.  Or was there?  Hmmm… I think Management had a little surprise for the BS&T crews…

A rare sight on the BS&T indeed!  A special passenger run made an appearance.  Here it is snaking it’s way back to Wholinthall after making a run from there to Tidewater.  Management decided it was time this train made the run to pick up the passengers that have been stranded for months in Tidewater!  (Operations were actually going quite smoothly so I thought I’d stir things up a bit.  I didn’t even care that I was running a C-Liner – almost an F unit!)

Apparently someone had a surprise for me.  I like being THE photographer not completely because I like taking photos.  I like being THE photographer because it is then impossible for me to be IN any of the photos.  I heard a familiar click as I was rerailing the passenger train in Wholinthall.  The person responsible for this act of, dare I say TREASON! has been brought onto the carpet and dealt with.  I know it should have been in a less public setting, but it was a heat of the moment thing.  TOMfoolery such as this will not be tolerated.  Fortunately the photographer was not very talented.  On another note, stay tuned for a new business on the BS&T – Tommie’s Drive Through Sewer Sucking Service will added in the near future.

With his work done in Kenville and Derwin’s Drop, Chris was assigned the task of the return Milk run.  He’s backing into the milk platform in Kenville as Derwin brings the US Interchange into Wholinthall (upper track).  Things are beginning to wind down as most jobs are almost finished.

As you can tell we had a lot of laughs as usual.  We also had plenty of socializing time even though we were under a bit of a tight schedule.  It shows the advantage of having one or two more crew members.

Here is the full gallery of photos from the evening – some did not make it into the post.

Later!

Scott

Last Saturday a group from the Codiac Operators made the trek across the bridge for a day of operating.  Our first stop was Derwin’s Canadisle Rail.  We had a great time there, and a great lunch – thanks Derwin and Shelley!

We arrived at the Bayside & Tidewater about mid-afternoon to round out the day.  I was looking forward to having a full crew, but a couple of the Moncton guys decided not to come due to the weather.  We had a snowstorm on Friday and the forecast wasn’t too bad, but they didn’t want to take a chance.  The weather can be a very unpredictable thing.

There were enough guys on hand that I was able to have a yard operator in Tidewater for the first time.  I think things went a little smoother there because of it.  Too bad for Jim I didn’t have a yard operator in Bayside.  He would have gotten out of there with the Wayfreight a lot sooner.  The poor guy didn’t understand the instructions and was going to put every car leaving the yard onto one train.  Hmmm… I seem to remember someone doing that on another layout.  Who was that?  Oh yeah!  It was me on Steve’s layout in Saint John just last year.  I guess I can’t be too hard on Jim!

Other than that there were no horrific stories – like what happened to Derwin with the CN Interchange to Wholinthall last time.  But I won’t dwell on the past, just point you to the story in case you missed it – Derwin’s ill fated run to Wholinthall.

Milne took this photo of Derwin derailing a freight car (or is he breaking something?) while John is checking out his instructions.  Using switch lists is a little new to these guys since they are very used to car card systems.  Either way, you still have to find the car at the industry and sometimes they aren’t where they are supposed to be.  Good switch crews are hard to find!  HA!

Jim finally did make it out of Bayside and is pulling into Chappellton to drop off cars and pick up a cut heading for Tidewater.  Mike has things under control and is very glad I suggested he take the Chappellton job.  There is definitely a height advantage working on the lower side of the room.

Milne took this photo as well.  It’s great to have someone else on hand to take pictures since I’m usually too busy.  It begs the question, though… Why did he have so much free time?!

Milne took this shot as well.  It’s a different perspective of just how crowded things can get when there are lots of operators on the same side of the room.  Fortunately I didn’t get really greedy for layout space and make the aisles any narrower.  People can still get by one another.

I guess I should clean the light fixtures in the ceiling.  Those lights never get used.

I didn’t run a train so I guess I’m just observing – making sure folks understand how the layout works.  It looks like Derwin is waiting with the CN Interchange (Yes, he’s running that one again!  You’d think I’d learn!) for Jim to finish in Chappellton so he can get into the yard in Tidewater.  Derwin’s glad he won’t have to do the switching for the Interchange and Transfer trains for a change.  It can get a little confusing (and we know how easy it is to confuse Derwin).  Dave has things in Tidewater under control.

Derwin took this shot of Milne running the East Bound Wayfreight into Kenville.  John took the task of doing the local switching in both Kenville and Derwin’s Drop, and providing helper service over “The Ridge”.  It’s not one of the busiest jobs on the layout, but it does keep a person occupied and provides a bit of variety.

All in all the visit went really well.  All the freight cars went to the right places and everyone had a great time.  We are now looking forward to out trip to Saint John on the 20th to operate on a couple layouts there.  It will be a joint trip with some Half Nutters and some of the Codiac guys.  I hope Steve and Doug are prepared  for the havoc we can bring!

Later!

Scott

The cupola is laying on the ground, the handrail between the cars is at an odd angle, and the ladder is missing.  A search crew found it the next morning just after sunrise.  They had to use a helicopter to do an aerial survey of the area.  They couldn’t believe how far the ladder flew from the scene!

It’s also amazing that no one was injured!  Conductor Ima Lukyduk was heating up some soup and pouring coffee at the time.  “I was trown onta da cot dere an a bunch a pillows landed on top o me.  They kept me from gittin covered wit the soup and coffee I was heetin’ up!  I’m glad I sleep a lot an have a good mattress (from U & M Mattresses by the way) and lots a pillows on hand!”

The caboose is now at Fixum Car Repair in Chappellton where it will hopefully be repaired before the next operating session. They already used the crane to put the cupola back on the roof.  I really hope they straighten it up!

How many demerits do you think that’s worth!?

Scott

The station in Kenville is a Tichy Train Group plastic kit.  It is a simple Milk Shed/Station but really adds to the area around the passenger station. The kit came with dozens of milk cans that I will be able to use as detail bits at all the milk stations.

The kit also came with a handcar shed and accessories that I placed to the left of the milk station.  It’s hard to get a clear photo through the trees and buildings.

The milk station is Derwin’s drop is almost across from the passenger station.  It is a Banta Model Works laser cut wood kit.  This kit was a real pleasure to build.  There was lots of strip wood – I didn’t have to worry about errors in cutting and wastage.  The walls were notched on both the sides and bottom to assure a good strong glue joint and squareness.

Because this structure is out in plain view I will be sure to add some extra scenery around it.

The power for this train is two Proto 2000 0-8-0 locomotives.  One of them has sound (Loksound).  I had hoped that the two of them together would have enough power to pull the 4 milk cars up the grade between Kenville and Derwin’s Drop.  Unfortunately they do not have quite enough weight to provide the required traction.  They start spinning about 1/2 way up the grade.  So the Kenville local switcher will provide helper service over The Ridge.

The milk train is heading through Stevenville on it’s evening return run from the dairy in Wholinthall.  The Transfer from Tidewater is waiting on the siding to get into Bayside.

The two locomotives rumble past G-Mac Transfer.  The crew will have to wait for the Transfer to clear the siding before they can back their train into the station to drop off some empty milk cans.

After dropping empties in Stevenville it’s off to Derwin’s drop.  No backing into milk stations  since it has drive up service!

The train will leave Tidewater at the start of the session and stop at the Freight Station in Chappellton, the milk stations in Kenville and Derwin’s Drop, and the passenger station in Stevenville to pick up full milk cans.  Then it will head to the dairy in Wholinthall.  Toward the end of the session the Milk train will come back and make the same stops dropping off empty milk cans and tie up in Tidewater.

Scott

Derwin chose to run the new Milk Train which also got him the CN Interchange and Transfer jobs.  He’s bringing the Transfer out of Bayside in this photo.  The previous guy in the yard had made a bit of a mess and Derwin had a lot of tidying up to do so he was a little late leaving.  Ewen says he’ll pay more attention to track diagrams next time.  I’ll point out something in another photo in this post that we will refer to as the “Incident”.

I’ll have more detail on the Milk Train and The Incident in a coming post.

Barry decided to try solo ops and chose to switch Kenville and Derwin’s Drop since it would be an easier task for a newbie. When I was describing the job to him I said “You’ll be really busy if both wayfreights arrive at the same time.  No need to worry because that rarely ever happens”.  HA!  It happened – twice in the same session!  So I gave him a hand in Derwin’s Drop when the wayfreights arrived.

I think he handled the task quite well.  At the end of the evening he said he had a great time!  He also said something about it’s nice to know that there’s something more to model railroading that building a layout and watching trains go around in circles.

Ewen thought he’d also try a less hectic job that local switching and took the West Bound Wayfreight. After break he became the East Bound #2 for the return to Bayside.  He’s just pulling into Kenville with that train.  I had to put the camera down shortly after this because the West Bound #2 arrived in Derwin’s Drop.

Chris, for some reason, jumped at the chance to switch in Stevenville. He’s watching Derwin bring out the Transfer in the first photo of this post.

Greg ran the East Bound Wayfreight  He is also running the second have of his job as East Bound #2.  We finished exchanging cars and he’s just leaving Derwin’s Drop.

Ken did the local switching in Chappellton, as usual.  He got off to a slow start due to a power glitch (more below) so was behind for most of the first half of the session.

I ran the Coal Peddler and helped out (I hope I was helping!) where needed.

I mentioned a power glitch in Chappellton – the whole industrial district lost power early in the session.  It took a while to track it down to one of the turnouts from the main line into the industrial area.  It decided that it was not going to route power to the whole industrial district.  I didn’t have time to install new feeders (I should have done that years ago – anticipating a turnout failure!) last evening so Ken had to keep the turnout set for the siding.  He also had to watch traffic coming into town in case a train ended up on the poorly maintained industrial tracks.  It made for a hectic evening for him.  Sorry Ken!

Ewen is backing up to connect to the rest of East Bound #2 as he prepares to head for Derwin’s Drop.  You can also see the tail end of the CN Interchange as it heads into Wholinthall.  Wait a minute!  This is the 50’s – why is there no caboose?  I’ll have more details about the “Incident” in a future post.  Stay tuned!

Between fixing a power issue and working in the car shops I’ve got some work to do before the next operating session in two weeks.  I’m going to try to reform my procrastinating ways and get things done in advance.  Hmmm… I hope.

Later!

Scott

We left my place a little after 7:00 am.  I must say this in my own defense and before anyone else mentions it – I was distracted with conversation as we came to then end of my street and, by force of habit, I turned right as I do 95% of the time.  There were a few (3 to be exact) comments about “Where are you going!” at about the same time that I realized I should have turned left.  A quick turn-around got us on the right path.  Fortunately the rest of the day went quite a bit more smoothly.

A motley crew - photo: Milne H.

Our first stop was at 9:00 at John S’s.  We had to have a pit stop at the Tim’s down the road from John’s so we were about 5 minutes late.  John, Milne, and Jim were waiting.  After a brief verbal overview of the layout for the benefit of the new guy we got underway.  I had worked in Riverview on previous visits and liked how it operated so I chose it as my job.  The work pace there is just enough to keep you busy, but not swamped.  Plus you’re not in the way of other operators so it is easier to get work done.  It wasn’t until near the end of the session that I managed to get a few pictures.

Tom has just finished his task and hands the throttle off to John.  Milne is just about finished working in Coverdale.  As you can see the layout is multilevel (3 if you count the lower staging fiddle yard).

It is always fun working with the Codiac Operating Group.  They like to joke around and have a good time while they “play with model trains”.  Jim, of course, was very quick to point out that he was not the latest recipient of the Golden Demerit Award and pointed out John’s achievement (which was prominently posted on his bulletin board).  John seemed proud, and Jim was relieved not to have received the award for once.

I apologize for the quality of this image.  I had to sneak up and take it quickly so he wouldn’t get up to avoid the embarrassment.

This was a common pose for Derwin on a previous trip to Moncton Please note photos 4 and 10 in that post.  Photo 3 of that post is a variation on the theme – I think it was the reason he took the job.

I was worried it would be a trend again this time.  My intention was to catch him in this position at each of the three layouts we visited, but oddly enough I was unable to.  I think he actually worked on the other two layouts!

The first 2 photos in that post show a very happy Jim presenting the first Honorary Golden Demerit Award to Derwin.  It is quite rare that Jim does not receive the award.

We left John’s for Dave W’s basement empire and got there, in his words, “early, but on time” and caught him in the middle of cleaning up.  John and Milne came with us and Doug C. and Ben O. joined us shortly after we started operating.

Ewen was behind the photographer. Photo: Milne H.

After a brief into to the layout and his operating procedures we got underway.  No one else volunteered for the job so I took the Riverview Yard job.  The location had the same name as John’s but the level of effort was nowhere near the same!  It’s really a task for two people.  I’ve worked there before and the experience did help but unfortunately not enough.  I struggled through, but I’m afraid I left things in a bit of a mess.  Sorry Dave!

Derwin, as usual asked which job was the easiest.  I don’t think he got his wish.  I could not catch him sitting down.  Ewen worked with Jim in West Riverview and Tom helped John in Baltimore.  Doug and Milne ran mainline trains to keep traffic flowing.  It was very enjoyable and the time flew by.  It was lunch time before we knew it.

After lunch we went to Chuck’s (Don’s HO) to shop, spend money, and chat.  We were able to leave on time to stay on schedule and arrived at Doug C’s right on time.  It was the first time we operated on Doug’s layout.  It was a real treat!  Thanks Doug!

Neither John nor Milne could make it to Doug’s so there was just the four of us plus Doug, Dave, and Jim.  Murray joined us not long after we started operating.

I picked another yard job – Moncton, but Dave offered to help out. I’m not sure of the location names where Tom, Ewen, and Derwin worked, but they were as busy as I was.  Again, Derwin did not have time to sit down during the op session.

Doug’s layout is a fairly large multi-level layout.  There is quite a bit of separation between the levels making the upper level high.  Ewen worked a yard on the upper level which was quite funny since it was almost above his eye level.  Doug has lots of step stools and platforms around so Ewen found the tallest one to stand on.

Tom even felt more comfortable using a stool.

Derwin worked a job on the lower level.  He was quiet and kept out of trouble so he must have been working hard.  (highly unusual!)

Before I show the next photo I must show this one to demonstrate that Jim actually did work during the session.  I’m not sure what he’s doing but I’m sure it’s important.

Murray is keeping an eye on his train as it leaves the Moncton Yard.

I couldn’t catch Derwin sitting, but I caught Jim having fun twirling the throttle cord.  HA!

It was a long day but well worth getting up early on a Saturday and driving to Moncton.  The Codiac guys are always great hosts and really do like to have fun.

Thanks guys!

Scott

The Half Nuts gang has been growing this fall.  We’ve picked up a few new members and a couple potential members as well.  The BS&T operating session held on Dec. 21 saw one of the largest operating crews ever assembled.   The new guys, and even some of the old crew, are still getting used to operations on the BS&T.  I can understand the new guys having trouble, but the more experienced crew members shouldn’t have difficulty.  It’s not like I change the jobs every op session – just every 3 or 4 – HA!

I do change things up every once in a while to try to make operating more interesting and challenging.  There is more traffic on the layout now than this time last year.   I have plans for the new year that will see even more traffic, but only when crew size warrants it.

Back to the op session.  We had 8 crew members on hand with regulars Derwin, Greg, Ken, and Tom – new regulars Ewen and Chris – prospective member (just checking things out) Barry, and visiting honorary member Steve D.  Since this was Barry’s first time out he was Derwin’s Brakeman.

Greg gets the 2nd run of the East Bound Wayfreight ready to leave Tidewater.  The CN Interchange (Derwin and Barry) from Wholinthall has already arrived in the yard and cars have been set out from the Yard for it’s return run.

Ken is busy switching in Chappellton as usual.  Things aren’t quite as hectic there as they were before splitting the Wayfreights into two runs.  Ken has a little more breathing time now.

Steve is just checking things out waiting for his next job.  He ran the coal train in the first half of the session – a nice easy job.

Tom is busy switching local industries in Kenville and Derwin’s Drop.  There is so little action in each town that they hardly justify their own crews so the jobs are combined when available crew warrants it.  Usually Wayfreight crews do the local switching in these towns.

Derwin and Barry are running the Transfer from Bayside to Tidewater down The Ridge.  This train moves cars from Bayside that are destined for Tidewater and The CN Interchange in Wholinthall.  On it’s return run it  moves freight destined for Bayside and the newly instituted train to US destinations.

Derwin has the Transfer down The Ridge and is making the run into Chappellton.  Ken will be glad that it’s the Transfer since it just runs through town and doesn’t bring any work for him.  The Transfer will have to wait in Chappellton for Greg to get the Wayfreight out of the Yard.  Once the Transfer gets into Tidewater the real work begins there sorting out the cars for the return run of the Transfer and the CN Interchange in Wholinthall.

Meanwhile, things are pretty calm on the other side of the room.  It looks like Chris is running the 2nd half of the West Bound Wayfreight into Stevenville.  He’ll soon be working with the local switcher, Ewen, in Stevenville to make his deliveries and pickups.  Next stop Derwin’s Drop, where he should meet the East Bound Wayfreight.

Tom is busy in Kenville moving some freight around.  He’ll soon have to make the run over The Ridge to Derwin’s Drop to switch cars to and from the West Bound Wayfreight.  As I mentioned before, there isn’t a lot of action in these two towns so he should be able to get the work done in short order.  The one thing that does slow things down here is the lack of passing sidings, and the fact that the stations are located on the only available passing sidings.  Each Wayfreight much drop it’s Combine at the station for passengers to disembark while freight cars are removed and added to the train.  When all the work is done the Combine is placed at the station for passengers to board.

Steve has been pressed into service helping Derwin and Barry sort cars for the return runs of the Transfer to Bayside and the CN Interchange to Wholinthall.  There are a lot of cars to be sorted and management is getting really tired of re-routing cars that were placed on the wrong trains.  Ha!

The Transfer is ready to leave Tidewater.  It’s longer than normal for some reason (likely due to the new US Interchange train out of Bayside).  It will probably need a helper to get over The Ridge.

So now they are finalizing the cars for the ruturn run to Wholinthall.  Steve will run that one, while Derwin and Barry will take the Transfer.

Derwin’s looking a little worried for some reason.  Holy Hannah!  He’s talked Greg, running the East Bound Wayfreight, into being a helper for his Wholinthall train!!!!  They are putting the passengers in the Combine at great risk!  I wouldn’t want to be them when Management sees this picture!

Tom should have stepped in and told them not to do it.  It is his job to take use the Kenville switcher as a helper for trains too long to climb The Ridge.  I guess having less seniority he didn’t want to chance it.

The good news is both trains made it to Derwin’s Drop without incident.  The passengers, although a little upset with the extra noise and worry, were unharmed.  Everyone was just glad to have it done with.

The evening was quite enjoyable and was a great learning experience for me to see how the layout can operate with a large crew.  I’m looking forward to more operating sessions like this in the future.

Later!

Scott

Since we had such a large crew I decided to try something a little different.  Rather than adding a milk train or passenger run I thought a local operator in Kenville & Derwin’s Drop might make things run smoother.  It seemed to, although other problems kept me too busy to really notice.

Brian wanted to try something different so he ran the local switcher in Stevenville, Ken took his usual position as local switcher in Chappellton, Greg took the new job switching Kenville and Derwin’s Drop, Ed ran the West/East Wayfreight, Chris ran the East/West Wayfreight (both rookies at the jobs but they did a great job!), Ewen ran the Interchange, Derwin had the largest trains of the evening with the Transfer runs, and I ran the Coal train.  Fortunately the coal train is never very large so it could sit on sidings while I was troubleshooting the throttle incidents we were having.

Everyone managed to work well in the relatively tight quarters of the BS&T.  The aisles are about 24″ minimum, where the is usually only one operator working an area.  Where people could be operating back to back the aisles are about 30″.  Here we see Derwin, Ewen, Ed (Watch Your Head Ed!), and Ken working the east side of the layout.  Derwin’s just arrived with the Transfer from Bayside.  He and Ewen now have to trade cars (Wholeinthall to Bayside cars for Bayside to Wholeinthall cars) and put away the cars destined for Tinewater.  Ed is on his return run with the 2nd half of the East Wayfreight and Ken is busy putting away cars in Chappellton.

I didn’t get a photo of Greg (he’s behind me in both pictures working Kenville and Derwin’s Drop).  The West side of the layout is definitely less crowded at this point.  Brian is busy putting away cars in Stevenville and Chris is building the 2nd half of the West Wayfreight.  If you look closely you can see that Brian’s throttle is plugged into a telephone cable hanging over the layout skirting.  This was a makeshift solution to some throttle problems we experienced on this side of the room.

It’s not often we have this many operators on the BS&T so it was inevitable that something would go wrong.  It was also the first time in a while that we’ve used more than one or two tethered throttles.  Things were going quite smoothly until Derwin’s phone battery died and he had to use a tethered throttle.  He was in the same general area as Brian (also using a tethered throttle).  The throttle displays would flash when they turned the speed dial and they had no control of their train.  So one would unplug their throttle for a few minutes while the other would do some work.  This slowed things down considerably!

The other problem we had was with a telephone/XPA throttle.  Every once in a while it would lose connection with the system.  It seemed to happen when the two tethered throttles would exhibit their problems.  Very strange.

At break time I ran a separate throttle cable from the command station to Stevenville where Brian was working and changed the system address of the problematic XPA.  These solutions appeared to work since the second half of the session went without a hitch.

I suspect that the tethered throttle problem was related to the lightweight telephone wire I used to run my throttle bus.  I think there was too much power loss close to the end of the run, where the two throttles were located.  So I purchased some heavy telephone wire and some RJ11 plugs and re-wired the throttle bus.  I tried two throttles in the same locations and could not replicate the problem, so maybe I have it resolved.  We’ll find out next week.

The XPA that caused problems was a new one I purchased used.  I have no idea what it’s system address was, but changing it to an address that I knew was not in use seemed to work.  Perhaps it had an address that was duplicated on my layout.  Hopefully that was the problem.

Anyway, throttle issues aside, I think we had a great time!  Folks seemed to enjoy themselves and didn’t mind the extra waits while the issues were addressed.

Progress on the layout this week… Re-wired the throttle bus and began adding a new business in Stevenville.  I won’t say too much about the new business for now, other than to say that it will continue the tradition of being named after people in the group.

Later!

Scott