o even though we ran as guests on the Orlando Society of Model Railroad’s layout earlier that day, and even though we have Club ops next Wednesday, sure, let’s run a Saturday Night Special! We lucked out – Matthew was there to take West Side DS (and Zack backed him on East), Bob Xmas ran the full yard on his own, and Steve V-ball came out of nowhere to “coach” Calypso. We even tossed HO Tom into the furnace job (he ran stack 1) and pushed newbie Horacio onto SB2 (a great passenger run since (A) it’s early and (B) it is part of the sinister West–Side dispatcher plans. Since Shannon was laying drunk under a bush somewhere, I took over Mingo, a job I don’t think I’ve run for a long time. Otherwise, everyone grabbed jobs they wanted and off we went.

223 rolls west, catching the last of the moonlight before the coming dawn (Arty photo: John DV)

Since it was Saturday – the night for the true-toots to come out, we ran with lights down for the first six hours. Looks cool but I’ll tell you, I really regretted not bringing a flashlight in. First job for me was 921 working Patterson Quarry, and a midtrain flat (with wood for Hendler) did not like the quarry cutoff at all. Every time I went over it, it derailed. And I had to do it a lot (two cars coming in, one out, and none of them were in any useful order). Nothing like rerailing a low-side bulkhead in the dark without a light. But I worked my way over to Mingo and decided to work the feed lot first (to get it out of the way. A little nervous because I could hear on the phone that 244 was running (I suspect) early – it was still dark. Did the feed swap and hustled back to the siding, looking back to see headlights coming out of the GM tunnel. Tossed fusees out of the cab windows and told Mark he had flares between the rails (he stopped and looked all around, trying to spot the trap while I tucked out of his way into Mingo siding).

Jeff idles 247 in Harris Glen, meeting another freight – a move that chills me to the bone (Photo: Jeff C)

Like God giving Adam and Eve the boot out of Eden, Bob forces another crew out of Martin Yard. (Photo: John DV)

But Mingo was fun and I sorted it out, one industry at a time. Rolled home to find that nobody had picked up 902 (Shelfton) but the yard had run the cars down to clear its track. Okay. So I rolled through the yard and cut away my train, calling 922 in and asking for 902 out on the same breath.

And here’s where it got tough – I have a method for working Shelfton, a way that’s so clean even Zach agrees to it. But with inbound cars spotted on the printer spur (and me too lightweight to push them back into the arrival spot on the slope), AND Redwing’s placements sticking out onto the runaround track, I was kinda screwed. So I grabbed what I could from the outbounds I could hit and played the “Pez Dispenser” trick under the passenger terminal. And that’s when IT happened. Never heard of anyone facing this.

Sure, I had a lot of outbounds. And to get the two reefers off the cold storage tracks, I had to clear Redwing into the Pez. I was just pushing back, half-an-engine short when suddenly … CLUNK!. Yeah, I’d pushed something like six feet of train back in there and had hit the stop. So now suddenly that tried and true method was messed up. I worked it out on the fly and finally found room down there to get the outbound reefers clear and most of Redwing back, so then I could use Pez the way God intended it to be used.

The blogger provides hand brakes on the ore string while Luke rerails his engines like a pro. Mark and Horacio keep careful watch (Photo: Pete F)

Once I got back up the hill (in sections), just in time to help Luke (not his fault) to keep the ore train from deep-sixing off Stone Bridge, I got into the yard with the inbounds (how Bob glared at me), while I airlifted my engines out of there.

To finish up, I decided to get a start on Furnace 2. However, the inbound ore was sitting on the mill east runaround so I knew I wouldn’t be able to work the materials industries, Further, the unit I wanted to use had chip problems (thanks to Zach for clearing that up). So here’s the deal – there are full points available this Wednesday’s session. All you need to do is get the MTs out of the unloading track, then get the ore and limestone in. That’s two points there, and Furnace two just needs ingot cars moved over, bottles back, and ingots back and Bob’s yer uncle. You can work the mill, clear two points and be home by 9 PM (real time!). Those seniority points are just laying there for someone to snatch up.

Anyway, it was really a great sessions (I gotta stress that all early crews need flashlights in their back pockets). I don’t think anyone left for home early and I can see multiple signups on the job sheets. Special thanks for Matthew and Luke for helping card the layout (and we’re out Monday to do it again). But the layout really hummed and for a lighter turnout than the usual Wednesday, we ran six freights, two passengers, every local but the Tipton and nearly two furnaces. And Matthew’s agreed to run west-side again (I think I’ll be wingman for him – good enough since I’m localled-out).

Had to laugh – when the sun “rose” at 6am, everyone cheered. We need more flashlights.

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928 rolls in with Zanesville loads. Having met them, Jeff hits the high iron with 247, ignoring Chris who is showing how he can stuff a full pack of oreos into his mouth. (Photo: Luke L)

High and Low. How long is that wooden span going to last? (Photo: Luke L)

Train 247 rounds Pittsburgh, inbound for Martin Yard (Photo: Jeff C)

223 crosses the viaduct, shaking the slumbering town in the valley below (Photo: John DV)