Thanks for posting the photos… Looks like a great time all had and very nice layout to Run on.
Thanks for the pictures everyone. I’m hopeful that one day I’ll be able to make the trip again.
Good to see Geatan & Nicole made it. He has been noticeably missing from the forums for a long time. If anyone speaks to them tell them that Marilyn & Jon say hello!
Looking at all the pictures, that about describes it. If it looks like fun to you, it is. The most amazing part is that it goes so fast. Hard to imagine that many people can have that much fun. And you can’t script this, it just happens. Of all the things I’ve done in my life, my marriage to Jan, the birth of my kids, their weddings and our grandchildren are the only things that compare to the fun we have. If you can ever make plans to attend “the Invasion”, you won’t be disappointed.
Chris Lyon has provided this video of part of the invasion.
The OVGRS & American Invasion of Friends 2015 Video of David Welsh’s Evergreen Gardens Railroad.
After being at Barry’s we went to David’s Garden Railway for a BBQ at the end of day one. Here is a video I put together as a starting point for the others that will be produced for the 2015 American Invasion of Friends. Please share with the large scale crowd. Barry’s Ops sessions will be next.
Steve - thanks for producing a great video! and Dave, thanks for sharing it with us lesser mortals!
tac, ig and ken the GFT
Terry the video was actually done by Chris Lyon I just posted the link at his request. Great meeting you at Fred’s.
Here is a link to Moe Cote’s video of Dave Welsh’s Evergreen Gardens Railroad.
I would just like to say Thank You to all our Canadian friends for a great weekend. Their hospitality is much appreciated. Like Ric and Bruce said, it goes by much to quickly.
Ken Brunt said:
I would just like to say Thank You to all our Canadian friends for a great weekend. Their hospitality is much appreciated. Like Ric and Bruce said, it goes by much to quickly.
You should thank the border patrol for letting you through again as well.
David Russell said:
Ken Brunt said:
I would just like to say Thank You to all our Canadian friends for a great weekend. Their hospitality is much appreciated. Like Ric and Bruce said, it goes by much to quickly.
You should thank the border patrol for letting you through again as well.
Truly, getting back into the US is much more difficult than getting into Canada. I’m quite surprised that US Customs keeps letting him back in (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
Daktah John said:
David Russell said:
Ken Brunt said:
I would just like to say Thank You to all our Canadian friends for a great weekend. Their hospitality is much appreciated. Like Ric and Bruce said, it goes by much to quickly.
You should thank the border patrol for letting you through again as well.
Truly, getting back into the US is much more difficult than getting into Canada. I’m quite surprised that US Customs keeps letting him back in (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
So am I…(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Fred Mills, BSc, BS, SD (Hons) said:
I guess we should all try to do it again next year…Try to get Ken Brunt to tell us how many years we have been doing this…PLEASE…I’ve lost count. Maybe we should celebrate some sort of record, next year.
Thank you all…
Fred Mills
Since, at least, 2000, (if not 1999 or '98). 15 years. Thanks Fred, for putting up with us…(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Ken Brunt said:
Fred Mills, BSc, BS, SD (Hons) said:
I guess we should all try to do it again next year…Try to get Ken Brunt to tell us how many years we have been doing this…PLEASE…I’ve lost count. Maybe we should celebrate some sort of record, next year.
Thank you all…
Fred Mills
Since, at least, 2000, (if not 1999 or '98). 15 years. Thanks Fred, for putting up with us…(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
I was thinking it was 1998, from prior discussions. But I had more brain cells then.
Ric Golding said:
Ken Brunt said:
Fred Mills, BSc, BS, SD (Hons) said:
I guess we should all try to do it again next year…Try to get Ken Brunt to tell us how many years we have been doing this…PLEASE…I’ve lost count. Maybe we should celebrate some sort of record, next year.
Thank you all…
Fred Mills
Since, at least, 2000, (if not 1999 or '98). 15 years. Thanks Fred, for putting up with us…(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
I was thinking it was 1998, from prior discussions. But I had more brain cells then.
Coulda been, since I had more of them thar things too…(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
If it helps; I met Ric and Jan at the Chicago GR Convention in 1999, for the first time, in person. Ric and I talked deeply about OPERATIONS, and we came away, both of us, with a dedication towards that aspect of Outdoor Model Railroading, which seems to be growing faster than the Large Scale part of the hobby, itself…
We also discussed “Wireless” model railroading. This in itself is growing just as “Wireless Technology” is growing without bounds in the World today.
On both counts, it seems that we were both thinking much farther ahead of out times, without knowing it…!!!
Today it seems that our Wireless thoughts are still leading the way, in spite of the devotee’s to track power and their heal dragging. There is even a growing interest for Wireless, in the O and HO scale part of the hobby, in case you haven’t heard, or read about it.
But…There is room for all , in this little World of ours, and Having fun is still the only really important thing; which is what The INVASION OF FRIENDS is all about.
Fred Mills
Jean and I are the “latecomers”. We didn’t show up until September of 2004. I had read about this event from Ric’s posts in July and it sounded awesome. We visited with Doug and Barb that year…it was cool enough for jackets by then.
Things have changed a lot on the layout since then. I don’t have all the same perspectives,but thought it might be fun to show how things have changed.
I don’t know what Nelson Yard was called back then.
In 2004, looking toward Bell, with the yard in the foreground:
And in 2015…with Bell in the background. Ken is standing just in front of Glen Hammond.
In 2004, Doug and I were working Bell…
And this year, 2015…
In 2004, Firgrove was the end of the line, but not visited very often.
In 2015, it is still Firgrove, but now the home of Ralph Yard. And the RP&M has trackage to the right.
A closer view, with Ric, Jan, Gary and Ken…
In 2004, Ironwood was a weedy little town… with Spruce, just to the left of me…
By 2015, it had developed a lot.
One thing has remained constant: It’s a LOT of fun to attend.
New friends…old friends…absent companions…we really enjoy it.
We first ‘invaded’ in 2006. I still have wonderful memories of what ended up being a 10 day vacation across Canada and in the Thousand Islands of NY. Here my youngest son Matt and Bob’s son Will work the yard with Ric and John Spencer at the IPP&W. Both of these boys are now young men - Matt is a father and expecting his second…
Our post invasion excursion took us down a 5 mile dirt road to Brent in Algonquin Provincial Park where Fred showed us an abandon right-of-way and several RR artifacts including the the busting city of Brent…
After we got back to paved roads Fred wanted to stop at the old depot at Senroy. Here Fred chats it up with a CP engineer…
Meanwhile Ric was keeping a weather eye on an approaching tornado. "FRED - We’ve gotta go NOW" …
We got back in the cars before the storm hit and rode it out on the side of the road. Trees were falling all around us, but luckily we were all OK and vehicles undamaged. We continued on to North Bay Ont. where we had an off the grid adventure as the tornado had taken out power to the entire town. But Rod Johnston’s ride-on railway was battery powered, so we made do!
I have the best memories from that trip! We continued on to the Pine Tree Point Club in the Thousand Islands where we met up with my brother and father for a few relaxing days by the water before returning home. We returned to Ottawa for the Invasions of 2007, 8 and 9. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to get back that way since but it’s still high on my future plans list.
That last pic must have been taken after Ken wrecked the train and lost his lid…a very rare pic without his lid!
Steve Watson has posted this video of Ken’s K27 running at Finger Lakes.
That turned out pretty good. I think that was the first time I used that camera car. Thanks Steve!