Out of Season and Out of the Region

This past Friday a strange looking visitor travelled across the rails of the L'Orignal Lines in Eastern Ontario. Indeed, a most unusual looking site befell railfans trackside in Hawksbury. "What the heck is that thing doing here?" a local railfan was heard to gasp. Indeed, a snowplow on the rails before the snow has even begun to fly. But what of the origin of this beast? Boston and Maine rails. "He's a long way from home," Superintendent Meek was heard to say. "but he sure looks nice on my home rails!"

This lovely model is the work of fellow Friday Nighter, Peter Cunningham. It is a wooden kit with several added details incorporated.

A total of eleven men descended Bill's basement for the opportunity to once again recreate reality on his OLOR railroad. Chris and I arrived early enough to be selected from the top of the order board and our first job was as crew aboard the OLOR diesel which had overnighted in Hawksbury.

With no work in Hawksbury East and no drops to the west, our industrial lifts were completed with ease and in no time we had the IVACO exchange completed.

Mr. Hamer was excited to spot a B&M freightcar in the railroad's later blue colours sitting on a siding beside the large IVACO facility. He and engineer Lyon wondered how the dickens it got this far north as they usually see CN or CP boxcars on plant property.

I guess if you see a B&M snowplow in Hawksbury then a boxcar of similar origin shouldn't stand out of place! The freightcar along with a CP box certainly appear dwarfed by the immensity of the plant's main building.

With the exchange complete at the plant, it was back to the siding in Hawksbury where the crew checked all lists to ensure they wouldn't leave freightcars behind.

The engineman waved to motorists at the road crossing and in short order, the remainder of the train was assembled. After a short break for lunch at Tim Horton's it was back in the cab and "ready to rumble". (Yes, on the real railroad, the crew has been known to frequent the local Timmy's)

With all gear checked, it was time to head downgrade to Glen Robertson for the exchange with the mainline crew...a daily occurrence on the line.

Passing the farmstead near Dalkeith, the crew is always in awe of the farm animals who ignore the drone of their diesel engine as if they were a small flock of birds!

Hmmm, farmer Brown has neglected to erect the proper fencing near the track. Fortunately, the animals seem to know better!

We reach the old timber road bridge. There are always railfans present here and today is no different. "Whatever turns your crank" the crew figures. Our exchange will be a tough one on this day as we have a lengthy train, much longer than our siding in the Glen can accomodate. Some creative manouvering will be in order.

Local railfans ask us when the new engines will arrive on the property painted in the OLOR scheme (the blue scheme) but we are sworn to secrecy and we cannot divulge this information.

Synapses are exploding in the heads of both crews as they attempt to "get around" the challenges of the exchange. With thanks to the mental abilities of crewman Lyon, the exchange is conducted without flaw and shortly both crews are on their way.

We immediately head north through Vankleek Hill and Dalkeith. As we head across the main, we notice that the mainline crew must've headed for lunch as their train is still parked in the Glen.

Oh yes, about that pitstop at Tim Horton's. We've learned that a new coffee processing plant has been constructed in Hawksbury servicing a large number of freightcars a week. The storage silo for the coffee beans is now complete resembling a large "double-double"!

And...what's that we see? Are we seeing double? Two Friday Nighters high on caffeine! Yikes! These boys are the Siamese twins of model railroading the KazaLyons! Yes, Rob Kazakoff and Chris Lyon certainly bring a lot of expertise and excitement to our Friday Night sessions.

Thanks to Bill for hosting a memorable evening!

Howard's New Train Room

It was a pleasure visiting the Ontabec Central in its new surroundings. No, the layout has not been moved to a new location. Rather, things have been shuffled around inside the railroad room itself.

We all know that Howard likes to keep all aspects of his model railroad hobby within the confines of his spare room in the apartment he shares with his lovely wife, Gerry. Along with the model railroad, this includes his workbench and his huge spraybooth to boot!

With the assistance of our good friend, Rob Kazakoff, Howard has had a special "island" designed and built and placed in the centre of his room where he can work on models from both sides. The spraybooth rests here as well and Howard simply attaches a special hose to his vent to the outside when required. He still has his pegboard attached to the inner wall of the room where countless supply parts are housed.

The first image shows the overall layout room while the second shows Howie leaning on his work area with the staging tracks along the far wall. Perhaps the greatest benefit to these changes is the free and easy access afforded operators to the staging area.

Train ops commenced with the crew of Mike and Don working the staging yard designing the traffic flow for the next set of events. This included making up the train that would eventually enter the city of Overbrook.

A second crew, Fred and John, worked the city tracks taking on the challenges of switching out the far side of town along Ontario Street followed by working the near side of town at Scoddy Industries and Phideas Furniture. When Mike and Don had their train readied, it was "off to Overbrook" as witnessed in this scene of the Alco RS1 piercing the buildings as its train enters the yard.

This dramatic view shot from a fire escape near Scoddy's shows the Ontabec Central train entering yard limits as it pierces a number of buildings on its way into town.

This train has come from the staging tracks situated to the left of the image along the other wall. The crew will drop its cut of cars on the mainline in town and pick up a cut of outgoing traffic from the siding. The local crew will then haul the drag and begin its chores in town...and the cycle will continue between the two crews of two!

This shot shows the great effort Howard has put into creating a wonderful urban flow to the layout. You are definately not "out in the country" when you operate the Ontabec Central.

Some buildings are but a few inches in depth as they act as relief along the back two walls of the layout room.

Phideas Furniture is located below us and you can see the elevated track to the back left of the photograph. The boxcar to the right is sitting in front of an industry along Ontario Street.

While the layout is not a big one, Howard has planned just the "right amount" of track. The layout proves challenging to operate, yet not cumbersome.

Here we see some of the trackage leading into the Scoddy Facility. That's Ontario Street to the back with a number of cars spotted along its length at a half dozen or so industries.

Yes, Howard is a "neat freak" and he wants all to see how he keeps all wiring and electrical connections in an orderly fashion. After all, Howard mentions, it sure helps whenever troubleshooting is required! Although we know that never happens at Howie's place! Howard is happy to mention that he truly enjoys that Lenz system.


And just who are these people who help Howard bring his layout to life. Well let's see..the boy in red supporting the troops is none other than our good buddy Fred Adams. John Mitchell of NYC fame is his partner on the evening.

They had a ball taking on the challenges Howie's layout puts forth and they took on two or three assignments on the evening!

Now, here is a "posed shot" if I ever did see one! You see, Don was the engineer on my crew, not the brakeman on this night.

Don and I switched out the town in record time and were able to head back to the crew's quarters in no time at all. Fred and John were heard to whisper between themselves..."My God...they're done already!"


For our final shot...here's the Holy Trinity...the Father, Son and the Holy Train Ghost! Or, as he is known, the Pope, the Cardinal and the Bishop. They sure look like a strange bunch...but if you ever get the opportunity to meet 'em...you'll be changed forever!

Thanks to Howie for a great evening of train ops! The Ontabec Central was "Resurrected Once More"!

Steam Arrives New England!

A couple of sessions back the boys visited my place. I was so busy that I hadn't gotten around to posting about the train operations, so I felt it time to do so now. This session was rather interesting in the fact that I was afforded the opportunity to host a steam excursion run following the actual session. My good friend, Andrew Batchelor, brought his CN steam locomotive equipped with sound over and boy did we have fun!

In the photograph to the left you can see her hauling a short local past the Lowell Jct. interlocking tower. This area of the layout is viewed from outside the train room in the crew lounge.

Another little surprise Andrew brought along for the evening was this interesting looking machine...a Mack rail car. It was posed at the same location on the tracks above the duckunder.

While Andrew is yet to build his home layout, he enjoys collecting railroad equipment and running it on the HOTrak modules of the local group here in the nation's capital.

The steamer drew out many railfans who were surprised to see the local railroad historical club import such a magnificent locomotive from across the border just for their annual fall "railfan's weekend".

To say the least, this timely visit has got me thinking. I recall the days when Trevor lived nearby and brought along his brass B&M 2-6-0 to some of my sessions. Man, if ever one of the companies comes out with a close enough version of a B&M Mogul in plastic...then I'm in!

The session began with a number of trains running throughout the evening including this lengthy passenger train with a lot of milk cars on the head-end.

Just thought I'd post this image as I've never posted a shot from this angle before. I am standing in one of the angled corner access areas with my camera looking down the tracks in staging. The area where the tower is found is located right above the duckunder entrance to the room. That portal opening to the right of the tower is where the Maine Central gains access to the scenicked portion of the layout.

Here's a similar shot taken from a slightly different angle. The doorway opening to the crew lounge is visible on the left wall.

The two short tracks to your immediate left are stub-end staging tracks. I used to "stage" two short locals on these tracks. Now, I use the tracks as an active yard where crews make up trains to head onto the layout.

I covered the masonite backdrop separating the scenicked portion of the layout from the staging areas with a polyfibre material that I coated with ground foam to add texture. By planting a few trees here and there, it makes the scene come alive!

Here we see the B&M passenger train from staging arriving the station platform in North Dover after piercing the tunnel under town and entering the visible section of the layout. Some milk traffic will be exchanged here with the aid of the North Dover yard crew and the train will be on its way to Portland, Maine.

That Sealtest truck is one of the latest Mini-Metals offerings. Man, has that company ever done a great service to the modellers of the 50's with their wonderful 1/87 scale vehicles!

In this image, we see the local crew giving the mainline train an "assist" with its traffic.

Getting milk to market was one of the important jobs held by the railroads of New England in the early to middle part of the last century and, I must say, it's fun recreating those events on the layout.

There have been some beautiful offerings from a number of manufacturers recently for we milk car enthusiasts.

As always, it's the fellows who come over for an evening of train ops who make it all worthwhile. There's always tons of great discussions and plenty of books and magazines to look through.

Here we see Stan doing some reading on the bench beside Peter who is in conversation with Bill. Nice to see Stanley wearing the red in support of the troops! Hey Stan and Peter, that bench you're sittin' on is my "workout with the weights" bench.

And this is Andrew showing Johnny boy some new kit he has recently purchased. Yes, the crew lounge is always a hive of activity!

Andrew and I sat down throughout the evening at my workbench and planned out a sequence of train orders for his small shelf layout he is starting in an area of his basement. I was able to get over to Andrew's place a few days later and we operated the lists and the whole thing ran beautifully!

These two lads are eagerly awaiting their turn in the layout room.

That's Fred to the left, always with a chuckle in his heart and a good joke in his head!

Rob is off to the right with train orders in hand...one of my many reliable train operators. And...who's that in the background working the outskirts of North Dover deep in the train room. Why, it's none other than Bob Hobbs!

Rob's now headed into the layout room and is beginning to work the North Dover assignment. Rob was kept busy with this job inside the train room, but I have to wonder what that look on his face indicates?

Oh, yes...I think I have the answer...he's looking back to the doorway entrance of the room where someone is standing...and that someone is none other than our fellow Friday Nighter, Chris!

And...by the looks of things, Chris is a busy man at the throttle. It appears to me that there is a "meet" between the two railroads at the interlocking. Yes, the Maine Central is holding the interlocking as a manifest B&M freight crosses by on the main!

So much more went on in the session with tons more trains run and jokes told, but I would be here all day writing about it...so...until next week...happy model railroading!

PS: Since this session, I was able to get over to Andrew's place and "run" the switchlists and train orders we made up on paper while the boys ran my B&M layout.

Here's a picture from that session. We're bringing a short five car local into the town. There is a runaround track and industries on either side of the main with multiple companies sharing the same siding, not unlike many rural Ontario locations.

Andrew and I had a blast bringing those sheets of paper to life...and once you got moving, you didn't mind that there was little scenery. I congratulate Andrew for setting this shelf layout up in time for my visit!

Scenery Beginning to Develop on Jim's Layout

The first noticeable difference when we entered Jim's train room were the new developments in the scenery department. Jim has been testing his hands with a few molds he had been given by some of the boys. The effects of two particular castings were present on the rock face behind Chemainus Yard. One mold created natural looking rocks while the other presented stone laid in a specific pattern. The fruits of his labour create a vertical backdrop which some of these images will show.

Jim has yet to decide which "look" he prefers. He may even combine the two. We'll have to look to the future to see how this rockface develops.

These two close-ups show the mainline in Chemainus. To the lright, the main curves and enters a tunnel on the layout before passing in behind the mountain...the same elevation the logging track will climb.


Now, here's a hoot of picture if you ever saw one! Jim, what did you put in those cookies as Bob certainly has a look that I've never seen on his face!

I know that he was working the logdump down in Chemainus...but I've never known it to be "that exciting" of a job!

Now I know why Chris snapped this shot with my camera. It's because this is the first tree Jim has "planted" on the layout.

The track below is the elevated line beginning its climb up to the mine and the logging camp which you can make out way off in the distance behind the two lads.

I'm running Train Extra 8008 from Nanaimo to Esquimalt and I've got traffic to exchange with the crew in Ladysmith. Thats's John and I cavorting for the camera.

John was quite busy working the wharf at Ladysmith, but in no time at all did he have our traffic ready for our train. He even assisted us with the block of traffic to be removed from our train. Now, that's what I call teamwork!

Jim's layout can handle up to ten visitors comfortably with six or seven working at any given time and the rest hanging out in the crew lounge sharing stories and looking at mags. Of those working the layout, one is assigned the Ladysmith Job, another at Chemainus while two crews of two work the mainline trains. Throw in the coal and lumber job up in the developing mountains and the room becomes a hive of activity.

A layout does not require a lot of scenery or even the entire fleet of diesels painted for an operating session to be fully enjoyed. Last evening the boys were kept very busy and suitable entertained. This shot is indicative of two crews working together. John is operating the Ladysmith switcher which is the painted diesel to the left. A crew has arrived Ladysmith from the south and must exchange traffic. It's those little things like the "sharing of responsibilities" that we see occurring here that make for a rewarding session.

I had to post this picture of Bob to show what he really looks like. Now that's his "typical" smile! We spot Andrew off in the distance and to the left you can see the rock wall Jim is "playing with" behind the yard in Chemainus. The tracks climbing in behind and above that wall represent the line climbing to the mine which is seen and further up to the logging area which is still pretty much further development for Jim.

Jim tells us that his shirt is multi-purpose. The beaver is there to represent the environmentalists. The basketball below represents those sports-minded. The red is worn in honour of our troops every Friday and the final group represented by his shirt are the geologists. "The geologist?" I query Bob. "Sure!" he replies, "There's the Canadian Shield!" Yes, the Friday Night Boys certainly have a sense of humour.

After the session, there's always plenty of discussion. Jim is interested to learn how the train orders went. "Fine, Jim!" we tell him.

In this pic we see John and Stan discussing the various scenery supplies Jim has purchsed. That's Jim with Mike M. in the background discussing other events that took place throughout the evening as well as the overall design of the track and how it has worked throughout the session.

Thanks to Jim for hosting! And, on this Remembrance Day of 2006, may our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have served in the past and who are presently in service as well as their families.

The "Past" is Bowled Over By the "Present" in New England

This past Friday evening the boys of the Friday Night Group descended upon Mr. Mueller's residence for a dose of good old model railroad fun and laughter and a healthy prescription of train running! It was also one of our last chances to enjoy the company of Wally, our "adopted cousin" from south of the border. You see, Wally will be moving back to the United States in a few short months and all Ottawa area train enthusiasts will miss his presence in the region.

Mike M. met Wally early on in Wally's stay in Ottawa. Wally came out to the Streetcar Restoration Group and was very interested to see the work the boys were doing on the 696 Ottawa streetcar. He and Mike struck up a close friendship, and through MIke, the rest of us were able to meet and get to know this knowledgeable railroad employee. Wally has spent his career working for the railroads, and he has worked as a diesel locomotive engineer in Colorado. Thanks Mike for sharing yours and Wally's friendship with the rest of the boys on Friday nights!

Let's talk about our session! I'm sure that Marty and Trevor will find this posting to be very interesting...as the activity on this evening was not going to be your typical New England fare!

Here we see Bill (with Jim outta da picture) working the mainline in town and their job on this evening was fraught with numerous challenges. You see, Mike had arranged the train orders to include a meet of a B&M train with the local crew in town. Easy enough, one would think...yet this was hardly the case on this evening! Bill's train size was the absolute maximum allowable for the siding. Well, suffice it to say, that after the blue air cleared in the room, Bill and Jim were ready to head home...except for a little surprise that awaited us all!

I had just turned to Mr. Mueller to say that we should beat an early and hasty exit as he and Rick were to awake at "the crack of dawn" the next morning to drive to Syracuse for the train show...but the Mueller Man had other plans in store! "Not yet, Mikey!" he said to me with a big grin. "I've got one last train and I want you to run it!" Mike handed me the train orders and they read... "Extra...Railfan Tour" "Mike Hamer, Commander" "Staging Track 2" "Station Stop Claremont Jct." "Station Stop Abbott Village" "Stop Claremont and park train on the Main".

So I took the throttle wondering what unusual surprise would be lurking in staging. I soon found my answer when I pulled the train out of staging track number 2 and its' snout exited the tunnel located close to the entrance to the room.

Whoa! Everyone drew a huge breath when this modern marvel of technology reared its face at the tunnel entrance! Typically we would expect a B&M train in care of an RS3 or a GP7...not something that came off the drawing board within the past couple of years! But, when you run trains at Mike Mueller's place...the "out of the ordinary" soon becomes the expected!

"What the H-E-"double hockey sticks" is that monstrosity!" someone was overheard whispering.

"Why, it looks like a bloody Road Runner!" another operator gasped.

"That thing looks like it should ply the rails in "New" Mexico, not "New" England, Hamer was heard to say.

"Precisely!" responded the Mueller Man with that great big grin of his. "It's not my train...it's Sandi's! She saw it while we were down in the southwest and she just had to buy it! I promised that I'd run it on the layout to shock...I mean...impress the boys! After all...after running 44 and 70-tonners around this joint all the time, I thought this'd add a bit of excitement on a Friday night!"

"Go ahead, Mike!" Mike said to me. "Take the train for a spin around Claremont and Concord.

"Only if I don't have to do any street running!" I laughed under my breath!

"Put her through her paces, Mikey!" I heard someone call out. So, I cranked up the throttle and she was through town in no time at all. By the time railfans had their cameras at the ready, there was no train to be seen...only the cars parked on the siding and the tracks in the street in the lower section of town.

The name "Rail Runner" was a very appropriate term for this "runaway creature". In no time at all I was past the junction and piercing the beautiful covered bridge. Now you can well imagine the looks on the faces of the locals who were used to seeing nothing but 44 or 70-tonners exit the narrow opening of the bridge!

The farmer whose land is bisected by the railroad tracks went running back into the farmhouse shouting to his wife something about the biggest "chicken" he had ever seen invading their property!

The train rounded the bend in the tracks out near the junction with the narrow gauge railroad and began to slow for its station stop at Abbot Village. In farm country, word spreads faster than you can spit yer tabacco and many came to the station at Abbot to see this monster of a farm hen.

"I see the narrow gauge boys are scrappin' a bunch of cars out in the field," farmer Rick was heard to say.

"Yeah...and what about them big diesels out there?" replied farmer Stan. "Looks like they'll be cut up for scrap. Hey, maybe the Claremont and Concord wants to make one of them there new fandangled fancy lookin' machines and paint it in their own colours!"

Moments before this modern gizmo of a train slowed for its approach into Abbot, a "barn-burner" of a pilot screamed down low over the platform scattering all the on-lookers like cockroaches to light!

Not a person was to be seen as they all ducked for cover! We've heard that all the toothpicks in the toothpick factory, the long white building in behind the station, were scattered by the millions all over the factory floor.

Yes, it is true...the residents of Claremont and Abbot have never experienced a day like this before. Indeed, it was a day to be remembered!

This story is dedicated to our good buddy, Wally Weart, who we will miss a great deal. Continued success in all your endeavours, Wally. Hey, when you are relocated in the Virginia area outside DC...let us know. Maybe you could host a Friday Night Session at your new place...and don't you worry, we'll be there! Much thanks to Mike M. for hosting and allowing the camera in.