OCR Open House

The boys of the Friday Night Group ran trains at Mike Mueller's place last evening. Alas, no pictures from the session, but some of the lads reconverged at the Ottawa Central's Walkley Yard Open House the following morning. Here are some pics for your viewing. These next two shots I've posted for our Alco fans out there...one showing the port side of a diesel locomotive...
...and the other showing the starboard side of one of its brethren! Take note of the "stop" sign painted blue. Michel Boucher has created some of these in HO scale to hold trains on the grade. He used a railjoined and soldered some wire and a sign to create them. You simply "pinch" them to the rail and they work to hold a consist still.Here we see two RS18s in front of the shed. The red unit in behind is the 1840 shown in the previous photograph. Thanks Chris for this shot! Notice the trucks hanging around the area.

This van was involved in an accident this past week when the crew of the train failed to realize that a van was on a track they were working. The trucks took most of the force and were damaged.
While the big Alcos certainly impress, so do their smaller switcher brethren! Yes, with the early morning fog and mist which turned to rain, the day wasn't the best, but, hey, whenever you're near trains it's always sunny!
Yup, a railroad yard has many goodies to share and the railfan has the "pick of the crop"! Gotta love them there Alcos!
Who wouldn't want one of these puppies on their layout? With the little snow we experienced this winter, I guess this fellow stayed right where Chris and Joel and I spotted it.
Ah, yes! Ottawa's O-Train made a guest appearance as did a VIA train seen in the background. Both trains were open to the public for perusal with people on board to answer any questions the public would have. Who knows...maybe this youngster will someday drive a train now that he has been introduced to the controls inside the cab of the O-Train!

An open house offers interesting cars to be visited and studied as well as easy-to-spot work crews. How about modelling this example...anyone interested? For you fellas who model the modern era, the graffiti on this car could be modelled simply by using a white gel pen!
What would an open house be without the "Cab Ride" and the kids certainly had smiles splashed across their faces! Even with the damp weather, their spirits certainly weren't dampened!
Here's Friday Nighter, Chris, shaking hands with our good friend (and diesel custom painter) Charls Gendron. The 50-tonner was a workhorse for the Thurso Nation RR. This is one beautiful piece of rolling stock, the Bytown on the Thurso & Nation RR. All this restored equipment was brought over from the National Museum of Technology for the Open House. We certainly appreciate all the work the volunteers do in the restoration department.
Well, I normally wouldn't stand in this location with a diesel bearing down on me, but on this day...it was allowed! (big grin!)
You'll never know what kind of things you'll discover that ride on a railroad track! That Central Vermont crane showed off its capabilities throught the morning.

As the caboose always says..."b-d-b-d-b-d....that's all folks!" I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Ottawa Central Open House as much as I enjoyed snapping pictures of it!

Car Cards on the E&N

Jim has been keeping himself busy with Bob's assistance as he has recently developed a fine car card system for his train ops sessions with the boys of the Friday Night Round. Let's examine what Jim has on the go!

The photograph to the right shows a car card for CN 40' boxcar number 520176. It indicates that the CN car is currently residing in Chemainus yard and needs to be lifted for its destination point at Nanaimo. This is event 2 with event 1 sharing the bottom of the card in an upside-down fashion. Of course, events 3 and 4 are on the backside of the card.

Jim found the logo for the various railroads on the Internet and they certainly dress up the card nicely. The colour and length of each freightcar is indicated on the cards as well. The system worked admirably last evening and the boys caught on very quickly with many already experienced in the use of this carcard method.

We had a very interesting visitor amongst our midst for the session. Chris, on the right, was in town on business from his home in British Columbia. Like many model railroaders, he checked out the local hobby shops. Well, Chris lives in a remote location of BC so he depends upon mail order business for his hobby demands and he orders frequently from Jeff's Lark Spur Line. He met John Friday afternoon while visiting the store and John invited him along to Jim's. Chris is a pilot and he's been flying since 1974. He also worked as a train operator for the real railroads in BC and Alberta for ten years and spent another year on the train as crewman. Chris really enjoyed the session at Jim's and he visited my place this morning to run trains on the B&M.

This photo depicts a minor change to Jim's layout which has made a major impact as far as operations go. Jim has lengthened the peninsula which shares both terminal yards on the layout. By adding about 16 or so inches across seven classification tracks, there is room for between fifteen and twenty additional freight cars. This has added immensely to the switching at both terminuses of the railroad. At the time of the photo, the ballasting was still settling and Jim will line up the added shelf after all trackwork has settled.


We see Bob working the yard at Chemainus while Chris looks on. Notice the mountain formations beginning to develop. Ah, Jim...all that scenery should be done in time for the big convention! (Big smile) Chemainus, along with Ladysmith, are the two locations along the line where train meets can take place...and Bob, acting as crewmate to me and overall dispatcher craftily arranged train times to ensure these meets would occur. Good job Bobby!


Yes, Jim's layout is a work in progress, for sure...and we don't ask him to clean up for the session! We wouldn't want to stop his progress for too long, after all. That being said, the trackwork is clean and all Jim's track is handlaid...a beautiful sight to see. Take a look at the track curving out of the yard as it crosses over two parallel tracks. You can't find that in storebought track packages!

While the plaster may still be white and the styrofoam pink, that does not hinder the FNG from operating a layout! Here we see a close-up view of the yard in Chemainus...a rather busy location. Mike M. and Rick worked the log dump while mainline trains came and went dropping and lifting sundry traffic.


Now, this is what I call two happy campers...and why wouldn't they be? They're in a model railroad room with a bunch of great friends! That's Fred on the left and Chris with a big grin on his face to the right. Chris's smile is extra big on this night as he just found out that he is the proud grandpa to a tiny little granddaughter, Alison Lela Sandra! Indeed, the skies are always blue around these two lads...or is that the air that is blue! (smile)
Remember that classic movie, "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum!" Well, a funny thing happened on the way to our ops session. After picking up Stan, I convinced Bill that the quicker way at that time of night to get to Jim's would be to head south to Walkley and east to the 417. Lo and behold, we spot black belches of air beyond the trees to starboard. I snapped this shot quickly from the moving vehicle. Didn't get a chance to shoot the three Alcos that were stopped at a signal as they were too far away! Oh well, that one got away. I wonder if they had their car cards with them?

Livin' On the LVN

Indeed, life is worth livin' on the LVN, aka...the Lyon Valley Northern. Fifteen people were treated to an entertaining and busy session of train operations at Chris's place this past Friday. Here are some pics for your perusal!

I've chosen this photograph that Chris had taken to showcase the colourful railroad he has constructed in just over one year' s time.

Let's step back in time to the weekend before, Easter. Joel and I headed over to Chris's place to assist him in creating countless lumber loads so that his Richmond Yard scene (including the lumber mill) could be finished to some degree before the session. Using Henry Ford's "assembly line" method, we constructed tons of the loads, some of which are seen in the photo to the left.

As part of that same work session, Chris asked me if I could "resurrect" the trees from the Alder Model station diorama I created for him and place the stand of foliage up against his painted backdrop. With the careful use of a putty knife, the entire ridge was removed and placed in the back of Richmond Yard blending in perfectly with Chris's newly painted backdrop.

While all the other lads were running mainline trains on the evening, Chris asked me to take Don "under wing" and work Richmond Yard. Don was excited to bring along his newly painted and lettered road switcher and we used this puppy to switch the yard. Here it is spotted working the essential runaround track on the timesaver section of the layout. We had a blast working the yard and finished early enough to run the train we made up around the layout!

Chris and Don enjoy a smile after Chris, with the help of John reacquired Don's locomotive address. Took a while, but it worked out in the end.

The boys are standing in front of the caboose tracks at Richmond Yard. This yard area includes the large engine facility as well, so whoever works here has quite a lot of things to consider.
We spot Gerry working the coal train near the cement plant. Gerry, it was great having you out for the session as we miss you when you can't make it out!

No, that's not a "fast clock" on the wall. The time reads 10:10 PM and train ops went on until about 10:30 on this evening followed by refreshments.
Because of the larger number of attendees, Chris created triple crews, a very unusual move. I'd be curious to find out the views of the lads how the communication went with three to a team.

We spot Gerry, Bill and Jim drilling the coal mine located in the corner of the room. The double mainline is spotted curving into the big classification yard where we see some intermodal traffic ready to be spotted or lifted.

Chris uses up his space in a clever manner and the large cement plant is a case in point. It is situated on an angled corner of the layout with a single spur leading into the facility.

I've created two road crossings for Chris here, one that can be seen just beyond the plant entrance and the other located on plant property. Visitors can appreciate the weathering techniques Chris employs on his factories.
Another view of the cement plant shows the angled corner of the layout in this area and the roadwork. It is here where Chris has utilized the static grass method in various layers around the plant. Running your fingers across the grass feels just like a brushcut!
Every train ops session has its "oops" moment and last Friday evening was no different. No names will be mentioned, but I believe we have a trio of offenders here! (couldn't resist)

Seems like the engineer and crew were not in full communication with each other! Yikes!


No damage done, but the road inspector had his camera man on scene and we are certain there will be a full inquiry!

Hey Chris, aren't those bumpers there to serve a purpose? (just teasin)

Just a handful representation of who attended Chris's. We see Joel, Ron, me, Don, Chris with John kneeling in the centre.

Eenie-meenie-minie-moe...who's the handsomest of them all?

Thanks, Chris, for a very rewarding evening of train ops.

Your wide aisle width certainly allows for numerous operators!

Layout in a Senior's Home

In the posts that follow this one, you will see images and stories about the wonderful model railroad that now resides in a senior's home in Kanata, Ontario on the western fringe of Ottawa. Good friend and OVAR member, Ray Mathey had a dream that his layout would follow him into the home and provide him and many other seniors with the joy we know that model railroading brings. Well, the layout made it safe and sound under the caring and watchful eyes of Peter, Grant and friends and it now resides in a room all its own!

I remember the day Peter asked me to come out and give a clinic on tree making...I wondered how would this go down with a group of people well over eighty years of age? Well, any misgivings I had were quickly dispelled on those evenings when I visited the home with Peter. A group of seniors made well over one hundred trees, and I must admit that these were perhaps the most rewarding and entertaining evenings of railroading I have ever experienced!

Let's look at some pics of Ray's lovely layout as resurrected and refurbished by Peter Nesbitt, Grant Knowles and friends. The first image depicts CN steam engine 6060 exiting one of the many tunnels on the layout as it passes the station platform. In the second image we see a number of the structures on the layout. Just to our right, we spot two handsome young lads, Jim and Chris as they enjoy listening to the sawmill hard at work just below them and out of the picture.

Not only are there many tunnels on the layout, a couple of bridge draw the attention of railfans as well. This scene is just to the left of town on the lower level. I can't recall if there was a pour of water here as yet or if the basin was painted to create the illusion of depth. The changing elevations on the model railroad certainly add to the visual interest of the layout and of course no model railroad would be complete without at least one bridge scene!
The station platform reverberates to the rumble of the diesel as it roars through town on the lower part of the layout. The upper line runs through the tunnel as it enters the rugged mountainous terrain at the far end of the layout.

I hope that you've enjoyed this small tour of one fabulous model railroad that was the dream of one man that now brings joy and smiles to many!

Cheers, Mike

Tribute to Ray

This past Saturday, some of the boys of the Friday Night Group were honoured to visit Ray Mathey's layout in a senior citizen's residence out in Kanata. When Ray first went into the residence, he asked members from OVAR if anyone would be interested in assisting with the dismantling of his home layout and resurrecting it in a spare room at the senior's home. Peter and Grant led a number of volunteers in this venture and what we saw today was the result of these caring individuals.

The first image shows CN locomotive 6060 piercing a tunnel portal to find daylight. The layout was obviously designed for such dramatic shots as their are changes in elevation all around the model railroad offering the railfan some very choice locations. The second photograph depicts the train as it begins its roll through the lovely Canadian countryside. You can just make out the double tracks on the lower section to the left.

The crew has reached the rugged mountainous region as evidenced by the grey cliffs that provide a dramatic backdrop for our friendly railfan. Peter equipped this steamer and a CN diesel with decoders and the layout runs with a North Coast Engineering DCC system. Peter and Grant have also ensured that the seniors will enjoy trouble free operations of the layout as a number of model railroad enthusiasts continue to volunteer their time visiting the residence on a frequent basis.

This sawmill was a favourite structure of Ray's, one that he scratchbuilt on a ceiling tile some years before. He really wanted it to hold a place of honour on the layout and Peter and Grant certainly made sure that it does. In fact, it is the showcase scene as your enter the room! A speaker below the layout offers a myriad of sawmill noises and helps set a great ambiance at this end of the room.

We spot Grant conducting some switching moves with Bill looking on from the right. That's Peter continuing to put volunteer efforts into the layout in the distance wearing the red shirt with Stanley looking on. Visitors really gain a feeling of warmth when they enter the room with its blue skies and white fluffy clouds. Sadly, Ray has passed on, but we know his spirit is alive within this most amazing room! Thank you to Grant, Peter and all other volunteers who helped bring Ray's dream alive!