At the NMRA convention this year I decided to go on the Operations SIG tours.  The first of 2 sessions I signed up for was Brian Ellerby's Sn3 Copper River & Yukon operation session on Tuesday evening July 6th. We met in the SIG Roundhouse at the convention hotel at 5:15 PM to sign-in. After sign-in we formed carpools and left for the layout in Kirkland, WA. I was with Mike O'Brien, Ken Catlin, and Scott Calvert our driver. We got into traffic on I-205 and cruised along to Kirkland, stopping at a fast food joint for a quick dinner. We arrived on time for the layout operating session. We had time to take a few pictures before we got our orientation. The layout is point to point, Lenz DCC controlled and operated with switchlists and TT&TO. There were twelve operators, two guides and Brian as Dispatcher. We drew names out of a hat to sign up for our jobs. My name was last, but since no one knew about any of the jobs we just took them in the order they were on the board. 

My first train was a helper from Caribou to Thompson Pass. The engine I was assigned was in use on another train until just before I needed it. I turned the loco on the wye, stopped for water, then coal and proceeded to the rear of the train I was to help upgrade to Thompson Pass. The freight pulled ahead up the main and I eased in behind him and backed to the caboose, then pulled forward to couple to the rear of the train. After a quick air brake test we whistled off upgrade. We had a few minutes along side of the lake before the mountains swallowed our train. Our speed  adjustments were perfect and soon our train was again in view. At the pass I cut off the train and pulled into the wye track. the caboose was reconnected to the freight and after he had reset the retainers for his trip downhill to Orca Bay I backed out onto the main pulled forward and backed into the passing track. I was to await an up-hill freight before heading down to Orca Bay and tying up my loco on the ready track.

My second train was a freight from Nighthawk to Port Valdez, a run of the entire railroad. I picked up my engine and did some local switching before heading to Sourdough to do some more switching. To run thru the tunnel to Caribou you need the STAFF. The tunnel is ten feet of inaccessible trackage and there will be no derailments or head on crashes there. On arrival at Caribou I filled my water tank and topped off the coal pile in the tender. Another crew had done my pickups and my helper had grabbed them so I dropped my caboose and pulled ahead. The helper with my new cut of cars in front of his engine backed onto the caboose and pulled ahead to couple to the rest of my train. Our orders had us meeting another train at Moose Lake. We were in the inferior direction so we took the siding. We did not quite fit so we set out a flagman to protect our train. After the other train arrived (he could not leave until his retainers were reset and his brakes allowed to cool for thirty minutes) we pulled out and onto the hill. This time I was in the front pulling the train towards Thompson Pass. At Thompson pass we stopped and I pulled ahead of the wye switch so the helper could duck out of the way. I pushed back to the caboose coupled, checked the air and then we set retainers for the decent to Orca Bay. There is not runaround in Port Valdez so in Orca Bay I did some maneuvering so I could push the oil tanks I had onto the dock. I then returned for the rest of my train, shoved the caboose onto the caboose track set out my other cars in the yard and tied up the loco. It had been a great run over a fabulous layout.

	The town of Nighthawk, end of the line for the Copper River and Yukon RR. Lots of local activity here with freight and passenger service.		The Engine facility at Nighthawk
	From the Engine terminal looking back towards the end of track. A very large mill is located here. Sorry the picture I took of the mill is blurry so I left it out.		Building mockups are made of styrene at Caribou. The tail of the wye to the left is STAFF territory. The large mill has a upper track for inbound loads of ore and a lower track for outbound concentrate.
	Coaling shed and upper an lower yard at Caribou. Photomural backdrop is of the Colorado mountains. Trestle work is over a canyon on the way to Thompson Pass.		Moose Lake siding is to the middle left of the picture, the tunnel starts the grade to Thompson Pass in the right background. Downhill track to Orca Bay is in the right foreground.
	Port Valdez dock and ferry slip under construction. Orca Bay is around the back to the left.