Fellow blogger Chris Mears posted his impressions about my books on VIA Rail, going waaay back to Trackside with VIA - The First 35 Years. It was December, 2011 when Chris first sent me an email about some of the discoveries he made, "Good evening Eric. I was leafing through Trackside With VIA when I discovered some really great GO consists. The first ones I saw were toward the back of the book and I'll admit that quoting the cliché of "Christmas morning excitement" is akin to what I felt as I headed to the section on the '76-'81 consists."
I share that excitement, Chris! It, and responses like this one from good folks like you, are what make this journey so interesting, so rewarding and so enjoyable.
TRACKSIDE WITH…
I remember reading my copy of Eric Gagnon’s first book on
VIA Rail in a hotel room in the early morning hours of the day in the company
of a friendly mug of hotel coffee, quietly as the sun rose and privately while
the city considered how it might start its day. The book had arrived just in
time to tag along on a road trip and I remember vividly how exciting it was to
leaf through page-after-page of train consist data. I love exploring data. Any
data. On the surface “the data” can sound like such a dry and uninteresting
commodity yet it comes alive once you spend some time getting to know it.
The
more patiently you listen, the more passionate that once emotionless voice
becomes as it rises to tell its story like the breathe that effortlessly
becomes a opera. I remember how exciting it was to pick a particular car number
and then search through the book to see how often it would appear on that
particular train or if it ever appeared on another service. With each reading
and then re-reading, I’d discover some new treasure like the many special consists
Eric included – who knew that tucked neatly into the pages of a book dedicated to VIA Rail trains I’d find consists belonging to
commuter train consists from Montreal or Toronto?!
In the years since that first book was released Eric has
continued to tell this story. Where the first book was dedicated entirely to
sharing Eric’s listings of train consists the follow-up books have so
beautifully built on each preceding volume’s work and each time, contributing
once more voice telling the story of VIA Rail’s operations through the eyes of
the railfan. And it’s not just Eric, it’s amazing how the books have become a
party attended by all the cool kids from the VIA Rail(fan) community.
This spring and purely by chance I found myself in a
familiar place. The room changed but the hotel and the city? All old friends
together again. With another mug of Cambridge Suites’ finest hotel room coffee
in hand I was ready to attend the first pages of Eric’s most recent book. These
books work so very well together and many times I find myself pausing so I can
excitedly cross-reference an observation from one against a line from the other
book. Just as Eric’s inclusion of the commuter train consists felt like a
personal treat, this latest book’s chapter on VIA Rail yard operations feels
especially special – thank you.
The books represent a truly rich collection of information
published on the railway and I consider owning copies, a fortunate privilege.
Just as the joy of travel by train is often described as one experienced as
much in the destination as in the experience of the travel itself, these books
are not simply something to own and have read but to read, to study, and to
indulge in.
Thank you for investing in these, Eric, and making them
available for us to enjoy. Like watching a trip unfold through the windows of a
train car, I’m looking ahead hoping to catch a glimpse of what’s to come.
---Chris
Here is
Chris' original post. I'm grateful to Chris for the top photo of VIA 6905 at Montreal with the Renaissance demo cars, which appeared in my second book.
Highball, Chris!
Eric
