Train time at Lowbanks...

[doctorwayne]

...on a quiet July morning.




Grand Valley Mogul 34 steams quietly on the station main, the throb of her air pump occasionally punctuating the already humid morning air. On her drawbar, a boxcar with express shipments for the Dunnville station, and combine Willowglade, the usual passenger accommodation for this daily-except-Sundays 9:35 train.



Nearby, on long-term lease from the CNR, is 0-6-0 7434, a 1919 product of the Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston, Ontario. She's been here since carloadings at GERN increased dramatically in the mid-'20s.



With two short blasts of her whistle, the 34 begins to ease away from the station. In the distance, another train appears on the passing track:



As the 34 finds her footing, the newcomer slows for a stop:









The first order of business is water, and the head-end brakeman is on the ground quickly to pull the pin:



The 630 pulls ahead to the water tank, and the fireman has the spout down almost as soon as the tender stops:



While the Mike is getting its drink, the 0-6-0 scurries out onto the main and momentarily blocks the crossing while the switches are re-aligned to give access the the passing track:



The diminutive switcher eases up to the parked train - the first five cars are for Lowbanks' destinations:



The joint made, the engineer waits while the brakeman heads back to make the cut. Meanwhile, the 630 backs towards the coaling tower:



...and no wonder, too, as the coal remaining in her bunker is almost right down to the stoker screw:



Amid all this action, another train appears, this one on the station main recently vacated by the little Mogul and her train:



As the newcomer slows as it passes the station, the switcher is accelerating backwards with her cut of cars:



On the pilot is a CPR boxcar with a load of shingles for V.A. Wagner Lumber:



...followed by a carload of supplies for the Lowbanks shop:



...and a load of kerosene for the Northshore's oil house:



...50 tons of Anthracite for Hoffentoth Coal & Ice:



...and two loads of stoker coal for the coaling tower:





Bringing up the rear is EG&E 2305, an empty ice service reefer to be spotted at Hoffentoth's Ice House for re-loading. In this weather, there are ice service cars, loaded or empty in most trains, as many businesses and dwellings still rely on ice for refrigeration:



While only five cars, the switcher's crew is a bit cheesed-off knowing that the switching crew at the Port Maitland interchange with the TH&B didn't bother to block the cars properly, as the kerosene and one load of stoker coal are destined for the oil house track, with the other carload of stoker coal going straight to the tower's receiving track. The load of Anthracite in between, along with the shingle car, are switchback moves, while all others are push-and-drop.

However, spotting those cars will have to wait, as both mains are currently tied-up, with a westbound waiting at Elfrida (the next town east of here) for clearance. The switcher pushes her cut back into the track where she had been waiting previously, and the crew settles back to wait some more...time perhaps for a smoke or something from the lunchpail.



Now the newcomer slips forward...



...with four loads of bulk Flux from GERN....



...followed by two carloads of bagged Flux products and a carload of Anhydrous Flux...



...and finally, three cars for the CNR at Mount Forest, two empties and another load from GERN Industries:



Here's an aerial view (all aerial views courtesy of Secord Air Services) of the train as she reverses onto the passing main. As you can see, the loco is well out onto the Maitland River bridge:



...and a closer look, with the switcher and her charges, still waiting in the hole. V.A.Wagner is the green buildings in the background, with Hoffentoth Bros.' coal elevator the red structure beyond that:



With the joint made and the brake hoses connected, the head-end brakeman walks forward...



...while the 630 trundles back towards the main after replenishing her fuel supply:



She then backs to the waiting train...



...and after a brake test and an exchange of whistle signals, the pair blast out of town, hoping to gain momentum for the grade which begins just beyond the Maitland River bridge;



They'll run non-stop to South Cayuga, where the train will be split, with part heading south to Dunnville, while the remainder (and the locos, once they've been turned) will run north to Mount Forest.

Anyone interested in another operations-oriented thread on the Grand Valley lines can check out this older one, Extra 727 East.

Wayne