APRIL FOOLERY

My regular First Saturday operating session fell on the First of April this year.  Undeterred, I pressed forward with the session anyway!  Who knows what April Foolery might take place?

I hosted twenty-one operators for this session—nominally a full crew, but we still could have used another couple of operators.  We had three operators new to the railroad (paired with more experienced operators) and another couple still learning the system.  That “system” includes the Direct Traffic Control (DTC) employed for dispatching.  DTC uses track blocks for mainline occupancy authority issued by the Dispatcher.

Assistant Chief Dispatcher Rick K. (L) confers with Trick Dispatcher Dave H. (R).

Eugene Yard was fully manned, with a Yardmaster, Switchers at both ends, and the City Switcher.  YM Rick A. (red shirt), West Switcher Scott B. and East Switcher Chuck C. (near-right) work the Classification Yard.

Scott B. (near) works the Eugene West Switcher.  Pete J. (middle) works a mainline train RR-West out of Eugene.  Eugene City Switcher Rick K. (rear) has gone into a hole while the road freight passes.

Meanwhile, back in the Eugene Arrival/Departure Yard, Santa Clara Tower Operator John B. works with Chuck C. hostling a locomotive out toward the Classification Yard for use on a local freight.

Uh-oh!  The first bit of April Foolery has shown up in Eugene.  The “back of the bus gang” from a railfan trip many years ago created Oregon Pacific WM-1 for service with my “private railroad” of years gone but it took three decades for John B. to find a suitable occasion to inaugurate service of OP WM-1.  This April 1, 2017, operating session certainly qualified.  “Thanks” guys.

Here is a closer look at OP WM-1, passing through West Springfield.

Meanwhile, the rest of the railroad was very active.

The Oakridge Turn is working in Oakridge on the main level.  Engineer Tom D. (middle) and Conductor Craig P. (near) are organizing their train, having already pulled the cars from the Pope and Talbot mill at the RR-West end of Oakridge.  This allows them to use the P&T spur as a switch lead.  Helper engineer Steve C. (near right) is conferring with his through train crew, just out of the picture on the right.  A meet is underway up above at Cascade Summit.  Dick K.(blue shirt) and Mike L. (green shirt, back) are awaiting the RR-West train piloted by Dave C. (hands interacting with the train) and Dick E. (right-upper).  Just visible on the Beattie Spur on the aisle side of Cascade Summit is a pair of locomotives with the flanger, now ready to return downhill to Oakridge.  The flanger was called out for some early spring snow and ice removal.

Craig L. (L) and Rodger C. (R) guide their RR-East train downhill through Cruzatte.

Their RR-East train is meeting a RR-West train crewed by Dick K. (center) and Gary N. (right).

Dick E. (L) and Dave C. (R) work the second Springfield local.  This job works the aisle side of the mainline at Springfield.

Rodger C. (L) and Craig L. (R) have worked their way down to the Natron DTC Block with the OAEUY (Oakland to Eugene Manifest).  This train is recognizable by the block of PFE reefers at the head of the train, bringing fresh produce up from the Watsonville and Salinas, CA, area.

Mid-session, we broke for lunch.

A special treat was prepared, but it looks like our dog Phreddie might have used it for other purposes! <wink>

Phreddie says: “Who, me?  Where’s the food?”

AN EXTRA OPERATING SESSION—MARCH 2017

After schedule and weather disappointments earlier this winter, I have been making up for it in the past month.  In the wake of Winterail here in Oregon and the schedule-conflicting BayRails operating event in the San Francisco Bay Area, four “Boomers” who participated in BayRails came through Western Oregon on their way home.  I was able to put together a scratch crew from among my local operators, so I could host our eastern visitors for a Wednesday evening operating session.  We had just enough operators between the four Boomers and twelve locals, though we did need to do a little operator drafting, as will be seen below in a picture.

A “Boomer” is a railroader who moves from place to place, working on different railroads.  This aptly describes my four visitors.  They travel around the country attending various model railroad operating events.  I was glad to be able to host this group of visitors under less hectic circumstances than the NMRA National Convention held two years ago in Portland.

We had a full crew at Eugene.  Yardmaster Rick A. is observing and directing his yard crews off to the left (see next photo below).  Rick K. is working the Eugene City Switcher.  Phil M. (new to the layout, but a local operator) is working the First Springfield local.

Dave H. (L) and Ken R. (R), served as the two switch crews for Eugene.  Dave is working out of the Arrival-Departure Yard as Ken looks on.

Santa Clara Tower Operator Vic N. (L) directs action in the Eugene Arrival-Departure Yard.  He coached John D. (R) so John can take on this role in subsequent sessions.  I have been trying to get crew members cross-trained this year.  A cut of cars is being pulled from an arrival track out to the Classification Yard.

Local crew member Joe B. (L) works with Boomer John R. (R) as they move the X-SP9316W through Springfield and around the Marcola area.  SP9316W is an EURVY—a Eugene to Roseville Manifest with Pacific Northwest Loads headed to the large classification yard at Roseville, CA.  That traffic can go most anywhere from Roseville.  Ken R. is in the background, working at the RR-East end of the Eugene Classification Yard.  Overhead is a WCEUE—a lumber empty train returning to Eugene from the Los Angeles area (West Colton).  Major blocks of cars for forest products is a hallmark of these trains.

Brigg F. is running that WCEUE into Cascade Summit.

John R. has gotten his train up to Westfir (below, left).  Boomer Henry F. (right rear) and Bill M. are working their train RR-West up through Wicopee.  Craig P. (left rear) serves as the helper engineer.

Boomers Jim D. (L) and Ted P (R) worked the Oakridge Turn.  This was a big train that required most of the evening to do its work.  Here they are organizing the train for more efficient switching, as it arrived at Oakridge in jumbled order—typical of local trains departing the Eugene Yard.

I got drafted into service bringing AMTRAK Number 14 down from Crescent Lake.  I am passing through Cruzatte at this point.  It is a rare event for a layout owner, particularly of a developing large railroad, to be able to operate a train during a regular session.  Although I had a couple of minor glitches earlier that I had to attend to, the crew was humming along with their work and not needing any “help” from me, so I was able to run a train!