Six Forty-Eight at Twenty One Twenty-Five

Last night I had the pleasure of delivering a copy of my book to a VIA train. Engineer Chris Diddy was operating VIA train 648, on this night not J'ed to VIA train 668, but running about ten minutes later arriving at 2125. (Spoiler alert: the photo above is NOT last night's train. It was a dark and stormy night; not good for my usual delivery photograph, so 6505 at Kingston on VIA train 169 in 1988 will have to do.)

Chris and I had been trying to arrange this delivery since June 5, just after the release of my book. Operating on the other side of Toronto, combined with our schedules not meshing led to this 5+ month delay, but tenacity and timetable aligned on a drizzly Sunday night in November.

After Chris alighted from the cab of P42 912, we were able to have a short conversation about the working for VIA and railfans' altered view of Canadian railways in the 21st century. Chris, enjoy the book - safe trip and hope to meet you Trackside again.

Highball!

Eric

But It's a TRAIN...VIa RAiL Video

As a bit of a departure, I decided to produce a short VIA Rail-themed rap music video. Note that the letters of the word 'viral' are in block caps within 'VIA Rail' in this post title. No, no, the video has not gone viral yet, nor do I expect it to. However, it is being received favourably in the railfan community.

The video was born out of the anniversary of massive VIA cuts thirty years ago this month. Usually referred to as the 1981 Pepin cuts, one resulting major loss was the Super Continental. Recently, while doing some enjoyable VIA 'fanning at Kingston, it struck me that there's still lots to see trackside, even with all the changes, cuts and improvements to VIA throughout its history. My son shared the 'Songify' app on his iphone with me, and the rest is history. Here are the full original lyrics, used in the But It's a TRAIN video which appears on my main blog, Trackside Treasure.

I was standin' on the platform
Feelin' down, feelin' forlorn
The classic trains all gone
Yo, yo, what's goin' on?

Not the Super Continental
It can still be transcendental
Canadian's got a Park car
I'm a railfan sittin' in my car

But it's a TRAIN
Yeah it's a TRAIN
'Cause it's a TRAIN
Yeah it's a TRAIN

It's not the Scotian or the Ocean
Ain't got no Sceneramic magic potion
On the Kingston Sub like a yoyo
I still like to watch them go go.

'Scuse my Cavalier attitude
Don't wanna sound too rude
It ain't blue & yellow
But I'm chill, yo I'm so mellow.

But it's a TRAIN
Yeah it's a TRAIN
'Cause it's a TRAIN
Yeah it's a TRAIN

Now and then I like the Ren
LRC sweet as can be
P42 whatcha gonna do?
Ain't got no steamy SGU.

F40PH what the H?
HEP yeah it's gotta be.
Skeena Turbo Rapido GONE
Atlantic Limited with E8 GONE

But it's a TRAIN
Yeah it's a TRAIN
'Cause it's a TRAIN
Yeah it's a TRAIN

Comin' down the mainline
It's HEP ain't got no steamline
Not carryin' emotional baggage...CAR
You can join my club...CAR

Print your ticket get on board
Down the track you won't be bored
Doesn't matter which train you're on
Ride it like you're Jason Shron

But it's a TRAIN
Yeah it's a TRAIN
'Cause it's a TRAIN
Yeah it's a TRAIN

Book Donation

Lyon Valley Northern blogger Chris Lyon recently posted a request for donations for a great cause. Eastern Ontario's largest model railroad show, the Ottawa Train Expo is coming up in May. A Draw Table is part of the event, where tickets are sold on items donated by participating vendors or in this case, VIA book creators. Proceeds from the Draw Table will go to Roger's House, an eight-bed pediatric hospice located on the grounds of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa.

Upon reading Chris' request, I was happy to donate a signed copy of Trackside with VIA - The First 35 Years. Here's hoping it will add to funds raised during the event. To find out more, simply click on http://www.ottawatrainexpo.com/

Book Review Number 4

Canadian Railway Modeller's August-September edition (T18T2) includes a review of my book. VIA Train 4 is refuelled at Jasper, Alberta on the morning of May 30, 1986 (above):

Trackside with VIA will appeal to those who have an interest in knowing exactly what VIA passenger trains consisted of between the years 1976-2011. The professionally-printed, soft-cover, 114-page book will be most valued by modellers who wish to match and operate accurate consists of VIA locomotives and passenger cars to a specific-era train. It is an excellent reference guide and detailed history of this specific aspect of Canadian passenger train history.

Eric Gagnon's book follows the real meat-and-potatoes, 35-year history of VIA passenger trains after the 1976 'merger'. He admits it is not a coffee table book nor a corporate history. The book serves its purpose with lists of train consists as recorded by the author over the 35-year period. It is broken down into 6 specific eras, listing train consists within that time frame and shows how VIA progressed to where it is today. The book covers are in colour and there is a limited selection of black and white locomotive and passenger car photographs throughout the book, along with a brief explanation of the era following. Also included is a complete roster of locomotive and passenger cars used by VIA from its beginning, along with corridor schedules, paint transition data that will be of interest to modellers, and a recommended reading section. The foreword is written by Jason Shron, president of Rapido Trains, a VIA enthusiast himself.

Thanks to Canadian Railway Modeller's editor Morgan Turney and reviewer Russell Morgan. CRM is in their 19th year providing interesting information to Canadian modellers, and has been instrumental in growing the Canadian market, now well-served by Canadian and American model railway manufacturers.

Six More Things I've Learned

Here are six more things I've learned about creating a self-published book:

1. Give value for money. By doing so, people will be pleasantly surprised by what they're receiving for what they've paid.

2. Be responsive and nimble. Respond to emails, phone calls, and any other questions - promptly and politely. Be prepared to answer questions on every facet of your book, everything you did and why. Make deliveries if practicable, even to passing trains (this is the fun part).

3. Include more information and photos than you think you should. See also 1. It's very unlikely anyone will tell you there's toooo much good stuff in your book.

4. Think about the logisitics involved: shipping methods, marketing and pricing ahead of time. Never increase costs or prices once set or quoted.

5. Remember the "10% writing, 90% marketing" mantra. This kicks in right around the time your book is released. The writing is very important, but marketing becomes very, very important if you want anyone to know about this book you've just spent time creating.

6. Customers and readers really want you to succeed. If they're happy, they'll tell someone.

(I suppose if they're not happy, they'll tell ten people. Better to keep them happy.)

Highball!

Eric

Six Things I've Learned

Here are six things I've learned about creating a self-published book:

1. Write where you are: More frequently this is expressed as 'write what you know'. My version means that it's OK to publish a book and not know absolutely everything on that topic. Sometimes, what you have to share with others is more valuable than knowing everything on a topic. If everyone who creates a book had to know everything about the book's subject, most books would never make it to print. There's always more to learn. Find a micro-niche and expand on it.

2. Don't release your book in June. Statistically, June is the worst month in which to release a new book. (February is the worst month in which to release a Christmas book.)

3. Unexpected Canada Post lockout won't help 2. above. (My timing may have been a little bit off, but I was so happy to see my book in print and be able to share it with others, that I went ahead anyway!)

4. Customers always want more information than you've provided. This is OK. At least you'll have provided a starting point, and the requested information can often be researched and added later.

5. Find a good designer and printer. This is very important, as this is how readers "see" your book. I was happy to deal with Bryan Babcock Design and Allan Graphics, both local enterprises here in Kingston. Did I mention delivery of boxes of finished books to my door?

6. I don't have a 6. This is invariably something I haven't recognized or learned yet, or people have been too kind to bring it to my attention. I'll keep 6. open and I'm sure I'll learn it soon.

Highball!

Eric

1976 VIA consist analysis

Chris Mears, creator of the Prince Street Terminal blog, is another reader who's using the data in my new book. Chris is really taking it to the next level by entering the equipment on trains I observed into a brand-new database. From there, Chris is beginning to analyze individual locomotives, cars and RDC's, and their direction of travel and frequency.

This is a great application of the data the book contains. Read for yourself Chris' first post: VIA Rail consist summaries, second post: VIA consists and early observations, and the inevitable nexus of my book and Rapido Trains' fine products in N scale.

Sounds like Chris is onto something here, and while he kindly credits my book as the inspiration, he in turn deserves credit for synthesizing new secondary information from my primary data. Chris is definitely getting a...(wait for it)...

Highball!

Eric