Lucky Larry takes a shot at some equipment of hisI

 

 

Lucky is a good name for Larry as he spent 20 plus years in the U.S. Army blowing stuff up. Now he is

shooting stuff up with his camera at the Evergreen club. He brags that he still has all his fingers...and arms.

 

I got introduced to his MOW equipment that ran on its own but they may become flat car loads as they run

too slow for the mainline.

 

Another favorite of Larry is this Weyerhauser 3 truck Shay that many roamed the backwoods in the

Northwest and many other places where work had to be done to move stuff.

 

This model had a piston that pushed a mechanism that ran a crankshaft that moves the wheels.

Lots of monkey motion to make it work.

 

This one could be considered a V-2 job that worked a shaft that moves the wheels as well.'These are

the days before gas or diesel power. It was heating up water to make steam to make pressure.

 

Finally this little beauty I had since the Great Northern was an active company and these souvenir

was not just a cute cardboard model but a useful product that most people had a need for.

 

Matches! So I put it on Ebay a few nights ago starting at $10.00 and it went quickly for Buy It Now for

$50.00. Who knew?

Evergreen Faceoff on the SP&S!

 

The SP&S had only one E unit numbered #750, so how do we have 2 SP&S E-7s numbered the same

in the same photo? That's the conflict Steve Weso brings the the Evergreen club with his two paint versions

depending on the time line. Oh the tangled web we weave!

 

Amtrak makes a stop at the major station of Cobbleton located at the back of the Evergreen empire.

 

This early articulated Great Northern steam engine is in need of a good bath of grimy black but perhaps

the owner of the loco likes the bright color of green. Its working a string of iron ore hoppers in the wilds of

Wisconsin or Minnesota.

 

That SP&S #750 is now on the road and meets up with a younger brother E-8 in Union Pacific yellow.

The real ones would have been on opposite sides of the Columbia in the 1960s and sometimes in the

confines of downtown Spokane at Union Station and GN station that were 100 yards apart.

 

One of those interloper eastern railroads called Baltimore and Ohio showed up in the form of 3 F units

(baby brothers to the E units mentioned) They must have trackage rights on the Evergreen?

 

Later in the evening Scotty Smith brought in  3 unit UP passenger train to round out the cab units

for the day's activities.

What on earth is Will W. up to now???

With space goggles on Will Windom is intent on seeing what he is doing at Bakersville.

 

New automatic switch machines were installed and they needed to be painted so Will volunteered

be to the go too guy. It is also a reminder that nothing gets done on the layout unless someone

steps up to the plate to make it happen. Its been said that we have 30,000 dollars invested in this layout

but also is true is we have about 30,000 hours of effort by the members as well.

 

Jim Bowden brought in his new addition to his collection 4 brand new GP-9s and are they beauties!

It's nice to see GN show up as NP and SP&S guys seem to be in the majority.

 

That's Jim's GN caboose following along behind a fairly long freight train with trolley customers looking on.

 

He followed up with running a 4 unit set of NP FTs, the original steam engine killers on the real

railroad. No more coal or frequent water stops and a whole lot cleaner and quieter for the crews.

 

Greg Mercier kept up some eastern representation with Maine Central freight units pulling a typical

1950s era freight train with eastern cars in tow.

 

The peaceful co-existence was shattered with the arrival of Steve Weso's modern BN train with 2

lease units in attendance. I guess Gonzaga wasn't playing basketball on Tuesday afternoon?

 

 

The SP&S shows its colors!

           Just when you thought it was safe from the SP&S making a fuss, young Steve Weso showed up Tuesday

           afternoon with a bunch of SP&S locos. Steve is aligning his equipment for a 7 loco showdown with any

           of those easterners who want to show up on this layout.

There they go on the backside of the layout passing Cobbleton and the Red Main yard.

 

Steve took his train through the Red Main turnaround and here he approaches his caboose on the same

train as the power approaches it. That's Steve hand throwing the switch so it wont derail.

I think he said there were 87 cars on his train to make this happen.

 

Speaking of a easterner, here is Doug's contribution to diversity on the Evergreen called the Altoona

and Fort Mudge RR., a throwback to a cartoon strip.

 

Trouble on the Evergreen!  We don't need no stinkin' CDL license..I gots me a Green card! It turns out

our man from the border town of Cinco d'Mayo forgot to apply the brakes and lost the log load.

Maybe Marvin can show him how to stop a log truck the right way?

 

Back on the main line where licenses are not needed is this GN passenger train with a green boilered

steam engine in the lead. Larry Sorenson is the President of this railroad.

 

 

Say hello to Rodney Pennebaker!

 

Member 38 has joined the ranks of the Evergreen club and that makes us 7 members that

is/was/were BNSF employees. It also gives us 2 guys named Rod and 2 guys that have Baker

in their name. The record 6 member Mikes is still the un-challenged leader.

 

This photo from the Doug Nighswonger photo collection might be of some interest to Mr. Alaska,

Jim Bowden as they are brand new F units on the Milwaukee Road line in Othello, Washington

heading for the great white north on the deck of some barge heading for Anchorage. My buddy

Wade Stevenson took the photo.

 

Mr. Oregon, Will Windom showed an interest in this locomotive as it worked near his hometown

in Oregon. Rumor has it that he may want to model it? What model would he use as a start?

 

This is an amazing shot of an SP&S RS-2 Alco with 6 cars and a caboose heading north on the Crooked

River Bridge in middle central Oregon near Madras. Most photos are taken from the highway bridge side

but this one was shot with a lot of effort to take the hike to get here. Attaboy railfan!

 

Finally, a photo I wanted to show you guys for a long time but didn't know what to say. Now I do!

I DIDN'T DO IT!!!!!!!!! AND YOU CAN'T PROVE IT!

 

 

Communication is a wonderful thing!

 

Three of our seven BNSF employees got together tonight to discuss the world news, railroad policies,

space travels, candy wrapper inconsistencies, stopping earthquakes and Evergreen club activities!

From left to right is John Schwarze, Rodney Pennebaker and Keith Wiles. It's not known if anything was

resolved. Stay tuned.

 

Colin Fitzgerald loaned his steam engine to our youngest friend at the club tonight to run this cute GN

engine with a string of freight cars behind it.

 

Maybe the world's smallest diesel in HO scale is this tiny engine pulling for all its worth 3 cars and a caboose.

It's Doug's train and its ready to be lettered in his favorite railroad.

 

Keith's FA's missed the big SP&S show on Tuesday so they showed up tonight with an Alco signature

smoke signal working uphill.

 

Mr. Western Pacific John Schwarze had his WP engine working the mains with a UP helper so it

must be merger time on the Feather River in the Cascades.( at least in the vicinity )

 

Finally we have some of the gang looking at something that was special or interesting with Marvin,

John and Rodney in the background as our newest non member is in the foreground checking on something.

Leeam is too young to be a member but with his grandmother as one he gets to run trains under her

responsibility. He is a great kid and is a pleasure to have at our club.

This railroad is a hometown favorite....the SP&S!

 

Thursday was a slow day at Evergreen as the snow was coming down in droves so many of the guys

decided to leave earlier than usual so photography was easy to do with less traffic running. I asked Keith

to put his train into the Red turnaround so I could get the photo in a rarely shot location.

 

We then wandered back to the Red line where the Green branch crosses over the Red main.

 

Just up the road from the bridge shot is this concrete bridge where the famous fisherman never stops fishing for the big one he knows is there even if a fast freight passes within scale inches of his butt.

 

Earlier Steve Weso has his SP&S locos running but he didn't stay long as Gonzaga was playing basketball that evening and he had to be home to watch the game.

 

It's the fist time I photographed the port district from this side of the building and I am in the shot!

I have one of those selfie sticks to take photos of things with my iphone.

 

Now the two sets of power wind up together just like they did at Spokane, Wishram or Vancouver, Washington. That's what we do here when the snowing is blowing around outside! Bring a snow shouvel!

New and improved Tee shirt designed by Quinn...fashioned by Sorenson.

Sure its I beautiful shirt that Larry had on this week and

everyone would be proud to wear one now and then but

how could it improved?

 

I though if we only personalized it to something really important

for my lifestyle then we could have most of us photographers

wearing them every day and even nights?  Now where did I

put my ordering book?  Larry could have one say "bomb expert"?

 

Did the Great Northern have steam boilered SD9s for passenger service? On Colin Fitzgerald's railroad

they did and it looked marvelous!

 

New member Kenzy Schroer jumped into the hobby with both feet with this purchase of a BNSF

Warbonnet SD70 from the heritage Santa Fe design. He is going modern with a container train

for starters.

 

Another new member of a few months is Doug and he added a Lehigh New England steamer to his

New York Central diesel. Smoke should have been added but its late at night.

 

Here's railroad you probably never heard of is the Santiam Railroad named after a river no one

ever heard of either....except Will Windom the creator of the hypothetical railroad from Oregon.

Looking at life from 3 different angles.

It's the first time I saw Marvin running his NP locos on the Green Branch and it made me think of the

time long ago where NP engines ran on such bridges when they shared responsibities with the UP on

the Camas Prairie Railroad in Idaho. Marvin told me when I enlarge the photos they are too big for his screen.

Does anyone else have that problem? These are normal size.

Marvin stopped his train so I was able to catch it again looking down the track.

 

In the earlier shot we catch the power coming out of a rock tunnel which the Camas Prairie had many

of them as well. The bridge by Roy Wyatt and the rock work, well me!

 

Will Windom had his GP-39-2 Portland & Western cleaning track and testing a newly laid section of rail''

near Bakersville. It's a short line somewhere in Oregon.

 

John Schwarze has his Western Pacific steam in action on the Green Branch as well pulling a

side door caboose past the Champion Mine looking for some business. Smoke would be nice?