Until this morning, the working title of my second book on VIA has been 'V2'. Now, I'm pleased to report that after much rumination, while sitting on my front porch, I am proud to announce that there is now a real title: Trackside with VIA : Cross-Canada Compendium.
I thought of giving up the 'Trackside with VIA' prefix, because now it sounds like the Lord of the Rings movie series, and they just keep adding suffixes. However, this is very much a 'Trackside' book. It's what an enthusiast or VIAphile would see passing by while trackside, and then be able to look up later.
'Cross-Canada' reflects the sea-to-sea information I've included. From Prince Rupert and Vancouver, across the Prairies, through the wilds of northern Ontario and Quebec, to the mighty Atlantic. If there's one thing I've heard loud and clear, it's that potential readers want all parts of Canada represented. Check! (The other thing I've heard loud and clear, is more pictures! Check, too!)
'Compendium' describes the information to be contained herein, better than collection, collage, compilation, or any other alliterative 'C' words that I could have used. This is a gathering-together, a concise compilation, a presentation of a body of knowledge from the delimited field of Canadian passenger train history. The Bible is a compendium, and it's done pretty well over the years. Will this become the bible of VIA Rail? It certainly has the potential.
So now you know...the rest of the story (Paul Harvey reference) and the title.
Highball!
Eric
VIA No 4 on CN's Ashcroft Sub, September 1985 (above)
No comments:
Post a Comment