What does the coming year hold? Like the head end of a train, what follows behind is not known until it comes to pass. the same is true of 2016. Here are three things I can tell you about my life as a VIAphile in 2016:
The January-February 2016 issue of Bytown Railway Society's Branchline newsmagazine will feature an article on Operation Axle, the little-known four-month period in 1992 when the LRC car fleet was pulled from service due to axle problems. My main Canadian railway blog Trackside Treasure will host a three-part series on Op Axle including photos, consists and mock-ups.
I continue to amass consists, locomotive and rolling stock data, and operational details from throughout VIA's various eras. What this will become is as yet unknown. A potential future project? For the time being, I've contented myself with some night photography at VIA's Kingston station, included in this post. I was positively channelling photographer Jim Shaughnessy as I converted these in-camera images to black & white. VIA No 55 on January 1 (top 2 photos) and VIA No 66 on January 2 with bonus baggage car (these two photos).
My thinning and subsequent organization of my VIA Rail collection went very well, with other VIAphiles adding to their VIA paper collections while I downsized mine, in what I called VIA Paper by the Pound! A few surplus items remain - email me if interested. Of course, I'm keeping these vintage VIA transcon hat-checks!
Hoping 2016 will be great for all of us, as always...
Highball!
Eric
Looking forward to reading your article! You were indeed channeling Jim's work, especially the over-the-engineer's shoulder view.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Steve. Of course Shaughnessy figured more figures into his photos, some semi-posed I'm sure, to minimize motion which would have blurred my ISO 800 views.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll learn much about Op Axle in my article series, but I'm sure there's also much more for me to learn, too!
Enjoy!
Eric