Well, give or take a few.  The program I use counts the number of sessions printed and last evening was the 84th set.  There have been a few dud orders due to a messed up database so it’s probably somewhere between 75 and 84.  Still, it’s a pretty big number for a layout that’s been operating for only 4 years.  Yes, next weekend marks the 4th anniversary of the Bayside and Tidewater Railway!  We’ll be operating at Derwin’s so the residents of the towns served by the BS&T will have to celebrate without us.  HA!

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

We made our annual trip to Saint John, NB for a day of operating with friends.  This year a crew from Moncton joined us to round out the operating crew.  Only Derwin, Ken, and I were able to make it from the Island.  We met up with Jim, Milne, John, Murray, Doug, and Ben just outside Moncton.

The ICR Crew - Feb. 20, 2010

Our first stop was to Doug Devine’s Island Central Railway.  An operator with considerable seniority on the Island Central, Bob Kane, was on hand to help keep things under control.  I guess Doug expected to be a little too busy to look after everything on the layout.

After a brief introduction for the newbies, and refresher for the ones that hadn’t operated there in a while, we lined up to sign up for morning job assignment.

Derwin worked with John in McAdam Yard – a decision that apparently bought them a lot of free time.  At one point I took a moment from my very busy work schedule to grab a quick snack in the crew lounge.  There weren’t many cookies left, but plenty of evidence of the amount of work Derwin was doing!

Their first (and possibly only) task was to get my train, a fast freight heading to Saint John, assembled and ready to leave.  I could not believe how long this train was!  The four locos assigned as power for the train were barely able to handle it.  After a lot of work climbing the slight grade out of McAdam I was on the ICR main heading for Saint John.  This train was quite a sight as it snaked around the room.  I had to keep a close eye on it as it would gain considerable speed on downgrades and would require more power to climb.

When I finally pulled into Dever Road Yard in Saint John I was sure there would not be enough room for the train.  As it arced around the end of the yard and headed toward the passenger station I was doubtful it would fit.  But the end of train cleared the yard throat with the locomotives only inches from the end of the line.  Whew!  Then, with the guidance of the Yard Master, Bob, we split the train up into the proper classification tracks.  That’s when I became the Dever Road assistant – and any hope of free time to beat Derwin to the cookies vanished (not to mention ability to take some pictures)!

I lost track of what the other guys were doing.  Jim was in West Saint John pulling the local cars – and generally making an annoyance of himself.  Especially when he ran smack dab into a cut of cars we had pushed onto a siding from Dever Road.  He tried to blame us, of course, but when Bob reminded him that he should be watching where his train is going he got quiet again.  Jim’s always a little more tolerable when he is quiet!  HA!

Ben apparently worked in Mill Street since he arrived in Dever Road with a cut of cars at one point, that we swapped for a fresh cut heading for Mill Street.  I’m sure Milne was able to grab a passenger run.  Doug (C.), Murray, and Ken ran a mix of through freights and way freights.

At one point someone asked when we were supposed to arrive at Steve McMullin’s Carleton Railway.  I looked at my phone and was shocked to see it was 12:30!  Where had 2-1/2 hours gone!!??  The old saying that time flies when you are having fun is very true!  Anyway, we had to finish up so we could get to the train store (Valley Hobby) and get some lunch to be at Steve’s for 2:00.

We managed to arrive at the Carleton Railway shortly after 2:00.  We were greeted with a warm welcome from Rosalie since Steve was in the basement frantically making last minute preparations.  Again, after a brief intro we signed up for operating positions.

I wanted to redeem myself in South Newbridge after the last trip when Jean and I put everything leaving there onto the same train (thinking “Well these cars are supposed to go west, your train is going west, here you go”) making for the longest train in Carleton Railway history.  The Steve asked if I had read the operating instructions,  Ummmm…. No.

Derwin caught again!

Anyway, I was so intent on making sure I did things properly in South Newbridge I lost track of what the other guys were running.  I think Derwin was helping John in the yard at Avondale.  I’m sure he thought it would be another slack job like McAdam on the ICR.  He was lounging around later in the session.  Steve caught him and suggested his time would be better spent running a wayfreight (the Newbridge Turn).  Then he made a very big mistake and assigned Jim as his brakeman.  Steve, Steve, Steve….  tsk tsk!  You’ll know better for next time!

Milne and Doug (C.) ran a couple passenger trains.  Jim was having fun derailing, err… operating a wayfreight.  Ben took the Nortondale job.

I vowed that I would “follow the rules” this year and do the job properly, but apparently everyone else was about to make that very difficult for me.  Murray decided to leave early (4 hours!) with his train.  Now this really messed things up in South Newbridge!  I had one train in 4 hours early, Ben arrived with the Nortondale train, a First Class passenger train had to get through and there was another freight train waiting to arrive.  Things were very disorganized for a little while while I tried to clear mainlines for all this traffic.  Igrabbed cuts of cars that were destined for my yard, shoved out the cars that were supposed to go on the particular trains (trying to follow the proper instructions this time!) and tried to get trains moving again as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately there were some delays and a few cars got onto the wrong trains.  But at least I didn’t make any extremely long trains this time!

The last train on the line was the one Steve assigned Derwin and Jim – The Newbridge Turn.  Good thing I checked the cards for the cars they brought in.  There was a tank car with no card that was supposed to have been left at another industry along the way.  They had dropped it off there, but then proceeded to pick it up again.  Then there was a stock car with a card that said it was supposed to have stayed where it was.  So, back on their train with them to be put back where they belonged.

Jim gets caught!

The witnesses

The tank car was going to be tough since they were facing the turnout the wrong way.  Jim was going to use one of his favorite switching tricks to get the car spotted at the industry but he was caught.  You can see the mischievous look on his face!  But there were too many witnesses.  I got back to work putting cars away in South Newbridge so I’m not sure how the car made it to its spot.  When I looked up again they had placed the stock car back at the meat plant and were about to head on to Avondale.

The last train of the day.

While we were having fun in the basement Rosalie was busy preparing a wonderful meal for us.  When these two finally arrived in Avondale we headed upstairs to talk about the days activities and enjoy some great food!

We want to thank Doug, Steve and Rosalie for being great hosts and allowing us to operate their incredible model railroads.  I hope we’ll have an opportunity to operate on their railroads when we are in Saint John for the MFMR Convention in May.  Hopefully we will see you there!

Scott

I know I’m a week late, but… better late than never!

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