Happy New Year from the LVN!

The Friday Night operations kicked off with a "bang" as the boys descended the basement into the bright 'daylight' of Chris's "Lyon Valley Northern" empire. We hadn't been to Chris's place since May and you wouldn't recognize the layout as it has undergone so much growth. Scenery adorns a 27 foot length along one wall where four scenes meld into each other in a realistic and dramatic fashion. To the left is the open pit coal mine nicknamed the 'Port Coalmine". Rounding a bend, traffic flows into the station scene housing the Alder Models CNoR Third Class Depot I constructed and painted for Chris. The tracks cross a country road where the 'Starboard Coal Facility' is located. Finally, the rails swoop around a sweeping curve past the 13th hole of a golf course!

The first two scenes provide examples of Chris's talents in the scenery department. In the upper shot we see how Chris has masterfully married the backdrop with the foreground scene using the magic of colour and texture to create a look that can go on for miles yet at the same time draw your attention to the modelling in the foreground. I enjoyed making the road crossings for Chris. That VIA sign looks pretty cool as well!

The second photograph demonstrates how building flats can be incorporated into the bigger industry to give the illusion that the facility continues on. I like the different combination of trees Chris utilizes on his layout...both coniferous and deciduous.

Let's examine the movement of trains along the Lyon Valley Northern. We begin in Richmond Yard which Chris designed as a "time saver" but also as an essential area on the layout in relation to train ops. There is a large engine servicing facility here as well as a number of industries which mainline traffic must accomodate. The operator here controls the car movements in and out of the yard and Chris has designed a lengthy yard lead that does not impede the overall flow of traffic along the two mainlines.

Industries in and around the Richmond Yard include a lumber mill, bakery, a fuel storage facility and, of course, the CN servicing area. Bob was the only 'lone' crewmate on the evening and was kept reasonably busy controlling the yard and all its comings and goings.

Four other train crews ran simultaneously all evening long with Bob being the fifth. Stan took Joel under wing where they handled BNSF Coal Train #701, a northbound coal drag. They first acquired their locomotives in the BNSF engine facility and found their cars in the main classification yard. Chris has cleverly 'enlarged' his layout by asking crews to traverse the mainline three times before conducting the real work. While not prototypical, it lengthens the crew's time with the train and allows for interesting meets and passes along the route! The crew then classified their coal trains into orange and green groupings (the colours on the end of the coal cars) in the major classification yard. hey then proceeded to the CN locomotive facility in Richmond for servicing. They swapped locomotives and fired up two BCRail units for the southbound train #702 after which the worked both coal mines on the layout...a very enjoyable job, for sure!

Bill and Rob handled the intermodel container traffic on this night...train #101. The two seemed to really enjoy themselves as there seemed to be a lot of laughter and smiles on their faces throughout the evening! This is one of the easier jobs on the layout as you work in a smaller area usually unimpeded by other traffic. Again, by design, Chris has these trains traverse the layout a minimum of three times before returning and dropping and lifting more containers at the terminal before swapping diesels at the local engine facility before embarking on more work. While not shown in this photograph, their second set of power was of the leased variety and I know the boys enjoyed playing with the working ditchlights!

A skinny image of train #301, a unit grain train. The image shows a portion of that 27 foot wall section.

John and Jim handled train #310 known simply as "The Grain Train". Their power was a mix of CN and BCRail equipment which they boarded at Richmond Yard. From Richmond Yard they proceeded along the inside main and took the switch at BX Tower gaining them entrance to the grain terminal tracks. Traversing the layout they headed north along the inside main eventually reaching the flour mill and grain elevators. After switching these two facilities, it was off on another run around the layout after which further work was required at the grain mill and flour mill elevators. Their's was a busy job seeing as traffic, at times, converges around the location of these mills. You've gotta like the motive power assigned to these trains...real lookers I'd say!

A real fun job on Chris's layout is the mixed freight, train #501. You begin your work in the modelled staging yard where you pick up your van and begin to circumnavigate the layout following your orders to stop and handle traffic along the root. Fred and I began lifting four covered hoppers from the cement plant. From there we switched out the Furniture Factory siding and the lumber yard. The lumber yard is tricky as it is a facing switch off the the trailing switch which forms the furniture siding...so a runaround is necessary. Running around the train implies placing your consist on one of the tracks in the huge classification yard and running your locomotive way over to the other side of the layout room before you are able to run around your train! Clever design, Chris! With further stops at Richmond Yard, we jockeyed duties with Bob in the yard and he gave us a nice assist with our work. Thank you there Bob! After a couple of laps of the layout, it was off to the Railway Express Agency to conduct work as well as lifts from Bob at Richmond required spotting at the cement plant and furniture factory again. A real fun job, for sure. Just remember, Mikey, to throw those switches back to the main! (Don't be the first of the evening to conduct this oversite...as every successive oversite in the evening will be blamed on you! This is the law of the Friday Nighters!)

The reason I asked everybody to bring their golf shoes and clubs was that there is actually a golf course on the layout. If you don't believe me, then check out this photograph taken earlier in the week with my B&M Bluebirds rounding the curve in the tracks nearby the 13th hole! I spent from 9:30 AM until midnight at Chris's place on Tuesday to help out with the scenery, some structures and road crossings. I even had time to complete three resin kits that Chris had given me on Tuesday. He was surprised to see them assembled and painted by Friday's session. Hey, what are holidays and friends for anyway!

Have a great week everyone and we'll see the group next Friday! Cheers, Mike