Click images to Enlarge:
Photos of January 27, 2008 SIG Meet Ops
The combined Op & LD SIG meeting was held on January 26th in Santa Clara.  This ops
session was part of that meeting.  We had nearly a full crew with 8 visiting operators.  Two
operators had operated on the C&M once before about a year ago and the other six operators
were first time ops on the C&M.  The session started at 10am with a briefing and ended
somewhere around 3 to 3:30pm with a break for lunch.  We operated an extra 6 fast clock
hours or so, so our numbers were up a little higher than normal.

We moved a lot of cars and I believe we all had a good time.  I know I did.
The Operators
We  had a total of 8 operators and the Superintendent.  The Dispatcher was Rod Smith,
the Grand Rapids Yardmaster was Alan Cooper and the Mackinaw City yardmaster was
Jim Radkey.

The road operators were Mike Maggiolo, Dave Grenier, Phil Gulley, Pete Cressman
and Ray Freeman.

Here are some pictures:
Statistics:
The total number of cars moved was 324 in a total of 32 different trains:
6 1st class passenger trains
2 2nd class Fast Freights
10 through freight
4 PRR interchanger's
2 boat interchanger's (estimated - out and back)

Online customer deliveries and pick ups totalled 56 cars at industrial sidings (not including
the Walton Junction and Kalkaska Branch setouts/pickups) and in addition, we even picked
up/setout a total of 13 express loads in our passenger operations.  
Click images
to Enlarge:
Here is the entire crew at beans.  Thanks everyone,
I had a great time.
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The move of the day:
Rod reluctantly volunteered for the
dispatched before and never ran on
did an excellent job!  Didn't anyone
ever tell Rod never to volunteer??

Trains moved very well and noone had
to spend the entire session in the
hole.  We moved a whole lot of trains
and cars and since we don't pay our
crews, I am sure the railroad must of
made money today!
There were several great moves during the ops session,
but this session's move of the day was a four train meet in
siding and a train took the siding.  A southbound through
sawed by through the station track.

Unfortunately there were no pictures of this notable event
because the superintendent/conductor was running train
102 and left his camera back in Grand Rapids.  The
superintendent needs to think ahead the next time!!
Alan volunteered for
the Grand Rapids
Yardmaster job.  He
looks pretty happy here
although I don't know
why.  Look at his yard,
it is totally plugged up!  
Pete is in the
background trying to
figure out why Alan is
so happy
What happened
to all of those
Alan must have
dumped them on
and let Jim worry
about all of those
cars!!
We moved a lot of freight in this session.  Below are a couple of pix of the action.  Through Freight going
through Cadillac (left), lots of action in Comstock Park Yard (center) and one of many meets in Cadillac (right).
Yardmaster Jim volunteered for the Mackinaw
City yardmaster job.  Right until the end, the
yard remained pretty clean.  Pete ended up
lending Jim a hand in the second shift.

Here is David working Petoskey (left), Ray working the Kalkaska branch (center) and Mike (right)
working the Grand Rapids Interchanger.  Looks like everyone is working!  David wins the "I came
from the farthest away" award, as he trekked in from Clovis.
Phil is shown here working the
Petoskey Express track with the
southbound Local Passenger
train #101.

Phil was the runner up for the "I
came from the farthest away"
award as he came in from Auburn.
Phil and Pete work with Jim in Mackinaw City.  Jim needed all the help
he could get!
Note -
Rule G
was in
effect!
Boardman Lake block in front of Alan.  That is the
"transition" track joining the lower level of the layout to
the upper level.  No helix on this railroad!