Starting this post as a reminder of the upcoming Ops session, the first of 2016, May 21 & 22… This year, it is also in conjunction with the Gateway Garden Railroad Club Open Yard Tours, which are to be held the same days… Thought that having an Ops session running during the open yard tour, would give folks a different prospective of garden railroads… The ops session starts at 10 am to 5 pm…
So, instead of guests watching locomotives chasing their cabooses through the tulips, you want to show them a working railroad in miniature. Shiney.
Exactly, Steve… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
I’m a maybe.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif) I’ve been helping my folks move. They bought a house in Tennesse. So, between working non stop, and helping them move…not much free time.
I should be there. 10 AM, huh?
First day was a fantastic success. Lots of people, because this was also the Gateway Garden Railroad Clubs Open House Weekend. I know lots of pictures were taken and I’m sure will be posted withing the next couple of days. Okawville is open and ready for business, so the Evansville Western trackage is complete and a great challenge to operate like the prototype. The switching puzzles at Overlook and the Industrial park are always a challenge. Andy and Jane have built a great railroad.
Ric Golding said:
Andy and Jane have built a great railroad.
Andy didn’t build squat! He just sat on the tractor and complained.
I think I’ll wait for the “REAL ONE” in October. If it wasn’t so far away, I’d probably go to all of them.
Looking forward to the pictures.
How can only one be “real”. The others aren’t just practice. I can tell you, my body feels like it was real, this morning. Very interesting and a perfect weather weekend. The “Garden Railroad Operating Season” has begun across the North American Continent.
Ric Golding said:
How can only one be “real”. The others aren’t just practice. I can tell you, my body feels like it was real, this morning. Very interesting and a perfect weather weekend. The “Garden Railroad Operating Season” has begun across the North American Continent.
I wish we had the good weather - just lots of rain this month. The only sessions that are “real” are the ones we attend. Wish I was close enough to do them all.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
Ric Golding said:
How can only one be “real”. The others aren’t just practice. I can tell you, my body feels like it was real, this morning. Very interesting and a perfect weather weekend. The “Garden Railroad Operating Season” has begun across the North American Continent.
Pics, or it didn’t happen. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
This Ops weekend was also a Gateway Garden Railroad Club open yard tour weekend…
On Saturday, we had 39 folks in the yard, and we ran 26 trains…
On Sunday, we had 20 folks, and ran 17 trains…
Am still working on the pictures, will post them when they are ready…
Steve,
I think Rooster posted a picture of Andy for you. 
Can you imagine that picture above the fireplace at their house? He looks so natural.
As Andy said, more to follow. There was an official photo and videographer (sp?) this session and year. Takes a while to learn and edit all of this. If Andy and Jane are as worn as I am, it may take a few days to get things posted. Boy this “having fun” stuff is hard work.
These pictures are up in the Bluefield Town area…
Below is a couple of shots of a crew working the Industrial Park…
The Industrial park is my expanded version of John Allen’s ““Timesaver””… It has an arrival mainline and siding, with the industrial park itself designed into an H pattern, with a double - portion of the H to provide a run-around… The run-around was designed to accommodate a set of Geep’s, and 3 50 ft cars… There is no designated way for any crew to work the Park, however, the only limitation is that, they can not foul the Bluestone Southern mainline at either end of the Industrial mainline… There are 4 industries that need to be switched, each one on the leg of the H…
Below is a set of pictures looking back towards the town area of Bluefield… Industrial park is on the right, with the Industrial park mainline and siding track in the middle of the picture… The tracks to the left are Bluestone Southern’s Mainline and siding.
The next 4 pictures are basically shots of the town of Overlook… Overlook was created as another puzzle for switch crews to work… Basically, it has 4 industries in the town that need to be worked… The industries are located with 2 on each side of an X crossover… on the north side is a factory and a team track… On the south end is a Tank farm for various commodities and a coke cola bottling plant… In the picture below, the coke cola bottling plant is in the lower right…
In the trench, where Al is walking, in the orange shirt are the Evansville Western tracks with the mainline and the Addieville siding… Addieville is to the left, and to the right is Okawville, which is the end of the EVWR branchline.
The blow view shows the Coke Cola bottling plant, and the tank farm, with the town buildings in the lower front of the picture
The picture below gives you a view of Overlook at the top, where Ric is switching… The 2 tracks in the bottom front of the picture are Evansville Western tracks…
The below picture is another shot of Overlook on the left… The tracks in the middle of the picture are the Evansville Western tracks… Between Overlook and the Evansville Western tracks is the Bluestone Southern’s Hilltop Divison tracks…
This set of pictures is basically, showing the areas on the Evansville western Branchline.
Below, Mark G and Mark H are working Woodlawn with a Bluestone Southern Freight working the interchange tracks… The EVWR tracks are the tracks that go left and right at the crossing… The curved tracks in the lower left with the 5 boxcars that can be seen on, is the North interchange track at Woodlawn…
After Woodlawn, the next town of the line is Nashville, where they work the Nashville Elevator… As you can see, there is a train crew working the elevator and a railfan watching the action…
Below are 2 pictures of a different crew working the Nashville elevator…
After Nashville is the town of Addieville, where there is another elevator to be worked.
At the end of the Line, is the Okawville elevator…
Also, along this line, between Bluefield and Woodlawn, is a town called Sparta, which has one industry that needs to be worked…
The Evansville Western has 2 local freights that work this line…
MCL-1’s schedule is to depart Evansville, and run to nashville, work the elevator, then on to Addieville and work that elevator, then return to Evansville, working Woodlawn interchange on the return trip…
MCL-2’s schedule is to depart Evansville, and work Sparta, then on to Okawville and work the Okawville elevator, then return to Evansville…
Also along this line, will be a Passenger run, consisting of an RDC-3 and an RDC-1…
Below is a picture of my Yardmaster at work in the Bluefield freight yards…
AMtrak is departing the yard area, preparing to arrive at the Bluefield Passenger station, then continuing on the Memphis.
Below is the industrial park local, heading out over the Hilltop Subdivision bridge so it can back into the Industrial park.
Below is a shot of Evansville and the yard area, being worked.
Below is an overall shot… in the foreground is Okawville, then the Hilltop Subdivision tracks, then nashville and EVWR tracks, then across the waterway, is Evansville…
Below is a shot of Pete Smith, as he is running a climax on a tourist train, running across the Hilltop subdivison.
Steve Featherkile said:
Moved to here so I don’t hijack the thread.
Since when did that ever bother ya…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Andy and Jane,
I can’t tell you guys enough how much fun I had once again running on the Bluestone Southern. It was my 5th time and I seem to be getting better at it every time. Mark G and I actually figured which is the South and North Interchange Tracks at Woodlawn!!!:)
Cudos to you guys for another great OPS Session!!!
Mark H.
Alias TM