o I’m sitting at my favorite table in my favorite coffee spot, watching the vehicular frustration at 17-92 and Lake Highland. Odd start for a blog.

As most of you know from my long conversations around the clubhouse, my home has some termite infestations. With the bug men coming on Tuesday, I needed to clear the last of the heavy furniture from the baseboards. For that, I’d need my brother. But of course, he couldn’t come out any other time than Sunday noonish sometime sorta. Which is, as you all know, WAZU-time.

When I contacted Doc and told him my plight, that I couldn’t make it but best of luck, he did something no layout owner has ever done to get me in attendance. Dire threats? A guilt trip? Blackmail? No, he told me he’d be out on his free (but pre-session) Saturday to help shift my shit. He even brought Alahandra along. In that, I felt guilty – I mean, it was only a couple of shelves and desks, not so much heavy as bulky. All done in about ten minutes. But that’s Doc for you. He makes things happen.

A heavy freight takes the Attalia siding while the Lumberjack run loads up (Photo: Leonard J)

So the session – Zach had already done the cleansing rituals for dispatching, the incense, the chants. No shifting him from the DS seat. And even though I’d be dispatching twice more this week (the LM&O and the FEC), I accepted his desires and allowed myself to be thrown into the briar patch of running through trains. Just a man, a throttle knob, and destiny.

Great running. I realized as I lined up my turnouts and got ready to roll with my pre-clearance how much I really missed this (why you guys are so eager to bug out of sessions is beyond me – I’ve loved running trains for six decades). Made the highball call as I cleared the yard (I know DispatchoZach appreciates that – I do. And you guys could learn a thing about communications by how we do it). I jotted down my authority limits as they came in, making all my stops. The only delay came from shifting a tank train out (to help out another crew – that’s a hallmark of DocOps). That was really my only delayed train (and only delayed because we’d been a little short-staffed to roll it on the advertised). But all around me, crews helped each other, aligned turnouts and calling clearance points. In retrospect, it’s part of Doc Andy’s genius, to place turnout controls in some of the most confined, impractical places, forcing us to work together.

Dan plays a quick hand of Switching Solitaire – hint, the yellow boxcar goes over the silver tank car (Photo: Dan L)

We finished at 11:55pm, wrapping the session up with Dan sweating into the crotch of his denims as he shoveled coal on a midnight steam excursion train – just like Uncle Hooper! And that’s weird – remember when we used to finish up at 6am the next day? Looks like we’ve got Andy’s session really figured out now.

Anyway, that’s another session down. All that remains (for me, at the time of this writing) is getting my two Bobcats (well, more of a Bobcat and Bettycat) into their cages and shift them to Doc’s clinic to kennel until the bug boys are gone. The last act? Doc needs to come out Tuesday evening and help me shift all the furniture back. But that’s the Faustian deal we made. Right, Doc?

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Where all the lumber in the world comes from. With a name like “Troutdale”, you’d think they’d ship more fish. (Photo: Kyle S)