This week was my first hosting session this season. Ten of us got together to see what the summer had wrought. Having had a mini-session on one of the alternate Fridays in October, most of the summer's bugs had been found, so the evening went fairly smoothly. Here you see first-time visitor Ron being guided by Stanley at the Victoria Lumber yard (names of the logging companies change from time to time as I try to decide whether to use real or fictional names) just north of Ladysmith.
Just a couple of miles away at the Ladysmith transfer wharf, Chris was pulling cars from the car barge, getting them ready for the first freight of the night. With a cast on my left foot, putting all the construction tools away before the session was just not something that happened.
You can just see the developing Comox logging extension at the mid level cutting across the wall above the wharf.
This view shows more of the extension as well as part of the new sky painted by my daughter Lynne. With tree-covered mountains added in plaster or paint, it will provide some great late-afternoon colour to the scene.
Meanwhile, Fred and Mike were having an active discussion with Joel and John. Perhaps Mike was debating just how much help he was going to have to give me on the fine points of preparing this week's blog entry. Not to worry, Mike; I just go back to your previous posts and follow your example, though not with nearly the panache.
Across the crew lounge, Joel and John listen intently to the words of the master.
Bob points out the developing Arbutus canyon he helped Jim to start framing. The steel trestle bridge seen often in Robert Turner's Vancouver Island books will one day appear right behind where Bob is standing. 210 feet of structural steel have been stacked nearby and are awaiting the arrival of a construction crew. Unfortunately the contract has not been let yet, so the existing plywood structure will have to suffice for another year.
Here we see a view of the Victoria/Nanaimo yard with the newly-levelled extension in place. Only four of the extension's track have been laid and already there's a suggestion for a design modification to build an escape track into it for the passenger engine. Bill and Mike work together on one train while Stanley and Ron handle another.
The latest interim turntable bridge, version two, was installed the day before on the layout. Based on the excellent article by Patrick Lawson on the turntable at the Russell roundhouse in Victoria, the bridge is approximately 70 feet long and still in use. You will be able to see more about it on my own blog in the near future. A pit has been dug just past the turntable for a curved ash pit - another item awaiting contract. To its left is a new water tower erected by Pierre Groulx, who travelled all the way from Lachine to install it.
Climax #2 pushes log cars out onto the Chemainus log dump ahead of an idler car, keeping most of the weight off the trestle. In the background and at water's edge, the developing rock faces can be seen. More experimentation with colouring the plaster is required before any shrubs can be allowed to grow. Trees will be planted once the nursery delivers them to the log dump.