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| Photos of September 18, 2007 Ops Session |
| We skipped operating in August. It was a crazy month for the However, we were back in September. I believe the railroad, for the most part, ran well and I think a good time was had by all. Here is a very brief recap of the session and a couple of |
| We had a first time C&M operator in the Grand Rapids yardmaster position and the Mackinac City yardmaster was operating that yard for the first time. Our dispatcher was a seasoned veteran with one previous C&M dispatching experience under his belt. The other operators have operated on the C&M before, so for the most part we had an experienced crew running the railroad. |
| Statistics: The total number of cars moved was 249 in a total of 28 different trains: 6 passenger trains 8 through frieght 4 PRR interchangers (out and back) 2 boat interchangers (estimated - out and back) Our on-line customers were served well, as we delivered and picked up a total of 51 cars at industrial sidings (not including the Walton Junction and Kalkaska Branch loads in our passenger operations (BIG Bucks for the C&M)! Not Bad! |
We had 8 operators and a Superintendent. The dispatcher was Jeff Osborn who did a great job. He orchestrated a pretty saw-by meet in Cadillac (see photos below). Seth Neumann volunteered for the Mackinac City yardmaster job and Cliff Linton (first time C&M operator) volunteered for the Grand The other operators functioned as the train crews and included John Blunden, Les Dahlstedt, Chris Hochschild, Andy Schnur and Greg Osborn. Jeff O also helped with the radios, as usual, as well as being the dispatcher. Seems like the first couple of minutes of an operating session is getting the radios to function properly. In the future, I will try to test & resolve the radio issues before the session begins. |
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Jeff volunteered to be the DS by default, since no-one else volunteered
for the position. He did a great job and trains seemed to run fluidly all
evening. Jeff set up the move of the day as photographed below.
Good Job Jeff.
for the position. He did a great job and trains seemed to run fluidly all
evening. Jeff set up the move of the day as photographed below.
Good Job Jeff.
| 1. Here is extra 314 South coming into Cadillac on the Main (long nose forward). |
| 2. Here comes extra 328 North on the station track (short nose forward). Unfortunately, the siding is occupied by the Cadillac Turn working the industries in the town so it was not available for a meet at this time. |
| 3. Looking south, Extra 314 is as far as it can go while the rear end of Extra 328 North is not quite clear of the station track switch. |
| 4. Looking north from the station, Extra 328 is as far as it can go on the station track (far right track) with rear end still fouling the main - see photo #3 above. The center track is the main and the track on the left is the siding (as mentioned, occupied by the Cadillac Turn). The Cadillac Turn saved the day pulling off the rear end of X-328 and stuffing it into the siding to allow X-314 to continue south to clear up the town. Lots of fun with this move. |
| The Meet of the day |
| dispatcher not knowing the exact car capacity of the Station Track in Cadillac. Unfortunately for the DS, the Station Track was one car and a caboose too Osborn pulled off the double saw-by with help from the Cadillac Turn. |
Here is Greg running the
Here is Greg running the
just north of Traverse
Extra 328 Southbound
City. Little did he know
that in a couple of
minutes he would be
involved with "the meet"!
Greg looks a little tired.
Here is Greg running the
just north of Traverse
Extra 328 Southbound
City. Little did he know
that in a couple of
minutes he would be
involved with "the meet"!
Greg looks a little tired.
| Andy was working the Traverse City Turn while a through train (maybe Extra 328 South) (in the foreground) rolled through town. |
Here is Seth who volunteered
yardmaster position. First
time in MC for Seth and, as
time in MC for Seth and, as
expected, he did a great job,
keeping up with all of the
traffic.
yardmaster position. First
time in MC for Seth and, as
time in MC for Seth and, as
expected, he did a great job,
keeping up with all of the
traffic.
much fun as he apparently is
waiting for a train. Chris is
working the Cadillac Turn (on the
right of the pic) and Cliff is the
Grand Rapids yardmaster (with
his back to the camera). Things
are a bit crowded in the corridor.
waiting for a train. Chris is
working the Cadillac Turn (on the
right of the pic) and Cliff is the
Grand Rapids yardmaster (with
his back to the camera). Things
are a bit crowded in the corridor.
| Here's Les up in Petoskey working the like he is working the switching. Do like he is you think he doing some got it right? Of Course he did. |
| Les is in the background departing southbound from the Mackinac southbound from the Mackinac Grand Rapids yard.City Arrival/Departure yard with the |
| John & Andy are seen here admiring the beautiful Jade Green color of the NYC 50' boxcar on the Boat Track above Traverse City. I heard John say that he felt that Jade Green was his favorite boxcar color of all times!! |
| Wayne staging (below Cadillac). A Super's job is never done. |
| Looks like Seth, Bob and Andy are waiting for a train up in Mackinac City. Hope they Hope they catch it. |
| Well, that's it for now. We will do it all again next month. Thanks everyone. |