Now Available

Trackside with VIA: The First 35 Years. I'm pleased to announce that this book, seven months in the making, is now available. This was a very enjoyable project to work on, and I trust it will be of use to VIA enthusiasts everywhere. Please see ordering information in the right sidebar.

Above you'll see colour scans of the front and rear covers. Below are three low-resolution scans of sample pages to give you an idea of what the inside of the book is like. Each era of VIA that I profile leads off with a description of VIA operations, equipment and a description of some of the trains I observed, plus some representative photos I took during that era. Here is one such page, which is from the 1996-2000 era, during which HEP2 cars were in service, and Rens were on the horizon. Click to enlarge:

This page is from the first era in the book, which some have called the transition era. This page represents the first runs I observed of the Canadian on the Kingston Sub. Each era has corresponding tabs in the margin. These consists are all original, previously-unpublished material. Click to enlarge:

One more scanned page - this is from a description of some of the trips I was able to take on VIA, again with some representative photos. Also included in this section are consists of trains I rode and observed, iterations (routings) of the Canadian and Super Continental, followed by rosters and paint transition data. Lots of information here to round out the book! Click to enlarge:

I'm excited to be able to share these sample pages of the book with you. I hope that you like what you see. It's self-published, but professionally-printed, and it's unlike any other book you've ever seen. I'm always interested in any feedback or suggestions you might have. I'll add it to the sidebar at right. Please email me with any questions you may have about the book or ordering: mile179kingston@yahoo.ca