George Clooney. Turbo.

This past weekend it was show time at Kingston's 24th annual Rail O Rama.  I was staffing the Trackside with VIA table.  (No sir, I do not work for VIA).  Sales of my VIA Rail books were very successful, both to dealers and interested individuals. I was able to answer questions about my books, provide some information about VIA and Kingston's rail scene, and generally talk trains all day for two days in a row!  What this humble scribe would describe as a pretty good gig!  Some interesting folks and customers stopped by:

Jakob Mueller - the reason these books happened.  Jakob was keen to learn about my early-VIA era observations for analysis.  It was great to finally meet Jakob and talk about VIA's past and future.  The word 'contributor' does not do Jakob justice.  He is an uberVIAphile.

Kevin Ingraham - Binghamton NY resident, former fireman and Ranger, and knowledgeable student and modeller of the Canadian rail scene. We agreed that Tim Hortons rules!

Tom Greenlaw - father of fellow VIA book author Christopher Greenlaw. We talked about that day in Portage la Prairie when father and under-the-weather sons photographed VIA's borrowed Amtrak Superliners.

Lesley Bernard - owner of ex-VIA E-series sleeper Equity located on Highway 7 in Actinolite. Only person I've ever met who owns a personal sleeping car, and has a cool dad named Julian.

Hughes Bonin - RMC professor and long-time Kingston rail enthusiast.  Turbo photo in Chris Greenlaw's book.

Liz Reid - Tim Reid's mom, bravely celebrating Tim's photographic and VIA-riding interests, sharing his photography with others.  Tim also had a photo featured in Chris' book.

Paul Hunter - Kingston rail enthusiast and CN modeller. Table full of beautifully-detailed and operating locomotives.

Dave Cool - from Canadian Express Line in Brighton.  Stocking and selling my VIA books and a ton of modelling products.

George Clooney and Stacy Keebler popped in looking fabulous as usual. Frankly, I just added that one to see if you were paying attention.

Many other rail enthusiasts and former railroaders in attendance, from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and points in between. Various levels of knowledge and interest, but all welcome at the show and great to talk to. While I have no plans at present to attend other shows, the last two years at the Rail O Rama have been most enjoyable. Thanks to all for your purchases and our shared interests!

Highball,

Eric

Show Time!

I'll be at the Kingston Rail O Rama next weekend, Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th.  If you're in Kingston, would like to pick up your copies of my Trackside with VIA series, or just stop by and say 'hi' and talk trains for awhile, please feel free!  I'll also have a few items of memorabilia and books for sale.

The Ambassador Hotel hosts the show and provides an ideal venue - large, carpeted ballroom, onsite restaurant, lodging and ample parking, and location, location, location...just a short distance from Kingston's VIA station.  Just to the left of the train shown above back in 1991! See you at the show!

Highball,
Eric

Rock. Paper. VIA.

Actually, scissors.  That's what I used to 'cut and paste' this article published in last Thursday's Kingston This Week. Katrina Geenevasen's writing added human interest, while Rob Mooy's photo puts me in one of my favourite places - trackside at Kingston's VIA station.  The paper has been doing a series on local authors and their books, and it was nice to be included in some great, and very creative company.

The article concludes with a nice tie-in to the Kingston Rail-O-Rama at the Ambassador Convention Centre and Resort on Princess Street on March 16 & 17, just a stone's mega-throw away from the station.  I'll be hosting a table there, with all three of my books available, my pen fired up for inscribing, and some other goodies for sale.

Hope to see you there,

Highball,

Eric

VIA + Bus = Book

I had a visitor from the east yesterday.  'X-CN Ken' Wadden,  former CN, VIA and AMT employee who wanted copies of my two recent VIA books. Ken is shown above on his second-last run in 2009.  We emailed back and forth, and from the discussion, I gathered that he rode VIA...a lot. I offered to deliver his copies to his train at Kingston's VIA station.  He said it was okay, he'd drop by my house.    He was looking forward to an adventure, having checked out Kingston Transit's online schedules.  Ken, you are The Intrepid Traveler!

Ken arrived on Saturday morning, we had a short chat and he picked up his books.  Gotta go - bus to catch! (While Kingston Transit is no longer operating GMC fishbowls, 7975 is shown at the PUC car barns on Counter Street, with Permanent Concrete in the background).  Both return-trip bus drivers were well-versed on the railway scene, and were also avid VIA riders.

Ken's suggestion, and I think it's a despicably daunting though tempting one, is based on his perusal of my books on the trip back to La Belle Province aboard VIA Nos 54/56.  Running 25 minutes late, that gave Ken some extra reading time, and he's suggesting a VIA Learning Centre in my basement, in an ex-Reading Crusader lounge car mockup no less.

Having clearly enjoyed his trip, this was yet another unusual and interesting method of delivery to a customer.  It's just another thing that makes the creation of these books so much fun. Merci bien et amusez-vous bien avec vos livres sur les trains, Ken!

Highball!

Eric

How to Write YOUR Book

All along, an important part of creating these books on VIA Rail has been to encourage you to write YOUR book.  Though most people I tell this to will immediately roll their eyes or shuffle their feet, it's completely within the realm of possibility.  If I can do it, YOU can do it too.  I'm writing this post as a suggested course of action, as inspiration, not as a how-to.  Having read several books on the topic of writing a book, I distilled some of their contents useful to my projects. (Top photo - VIA hogger Terry Brennan receives his VIA Rail book at Kingston's VIA station)

Headings are followed by bulleted points - these are things to consider.
Numbered points are steps I took in creating my books on VIA Rail.

PLANNING

• Reflect on what your book will be.
• Do an environmental scan.  Has this been done before?
• If so, take a different approach
• Are you actually going to finish this?
• If so, decide on an approximate timeline
• Who is your target audience?
• Write for them, remembering you want readers to be able to read and understand your book
• Don't be self-indulgent, but write for yourself, too.
• Three C's: Commitment, continuity, confidence!

Define your scope:

1. What will you include, what will you not include?

2. What timeframe will you cover?

3. What is a comfortable balance of text and photos?

4. How many pages, what format will your book be?

Define your approach:

1. Lone-wolf or team approach?

2. If team approach, make contact with contributors

3. Always keep contributors informed of progress

4. Remember - you need them more than they need you

5. So, treat contributors responsibly and with care.
6. Don't be surprised if you need to modify your approach as the project evolves.

WRITING

• Do a little bit every day.  I repeat, every day!  If you do this, you will ensure completion
• Write what you know, then expand on it as you learn more.
• Constantly envision the finished product.

What worked for me:
1. Create feedstock file keeping your scope in mind: newsletters, magazines, online material

2. Use Post-it's or flags to mark pages.

3. Transcribe information in chronological information into notebooks

4. Include original source and that transcription is correct before moving on.

5. Organize information to find headings

6. Shake it out, filter it through

7. Broad headings: programs, locomotives, cars, disposition, operations

8. Organize information again - photocopy notebooks, cut and tape under headings

9. Write text under headings - sleep on it then reread/revise.

10. Print off drafts, keep in binder as mockup of book.

PHOTOS

• Select to support text
• Match to headings for readability, unity, logical order
• Avoid duplication, include as much variety as possible

(Photo above - Amtrak Superliner consist at Portage la Prairie, by contributor Brian Schuff)

PROJECT IS EVOLVING - FINAL STAGES

• Start a to-do list, what is still missing, what needs to be done?
• Develop need-to-do's on Post-it notes
• Feedstock file should be shrinking rapidly

1. Fact-check and triangulate facts as many times as possible.

2. Consult experts for specific critical information

3. Proofread and proofread again!
4. Send critical information to peer reviewers for typos, correctness of content, readability.

5. Submit to printer for proof copy.

6. Check proof copy. This may be the moment of greatest excitement you've envisioned.

7. Go to print.

At that point, it's time for the Highball! (Above photo - first printing of my Cross-Canada Compendium are delivered by Bryan Babcock...right to my door)
Eric

85 Uses in 85 Days

Remember Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed?  Well, if you're too young to, or you don't like sappy (yet meaningful) Christmas movies...the movie centres on George Bailey and his Christmastime misadventures.  He wonders, what if I'd never existed?  Is there a silver lining to this life?  Deeply philosophical to be sure, I'm relating this story to my second and third VIA books.  What if these books had never been published?  Of course there is still a body of work out there in print and online about VIA Rail Canada.  But it's a Miss America swimsuit competition-thin body, not at all what I'd call VIAluptuous!

Since I published my two recent VIA books, it's been cool to see how the books are being used.  As I've mentioned before, I don't expect people to read their copies cover-to-cover, though apparently some have, and that's great!  I do anticipate the books being used as a comparative reference source, or as I term it, a way to settle friendly arguments.  Here are just a few examples dug out of my Inbox as related to me by book customers of ways they've found the books useful since their release, about 85 days ago:

• a reminder of a first transcontinental trip on VIA Rail behind F-units in 1986
• a pleasant reminder of railfanning trips with my son
• several copies given as Christmas presents (fortuitous timing of the release, eh?)
• sharp-eyed reader noticing a captioning error, to be corrected in next printing
• modelling southwestern Ontario in the 1970's-1980's
• Park car backup lights, white and red
• finding 1970's Super Continental consists
• ex-CP 2700-series baggage cars taken on VIA's roster and their use
• modelling VIA CC&F dinette cars
• 1980's disposition of Canadian Flyer cars
• further suggestions for future book projects!
• researching VIA's unique E-unit operations and timeline
• RDC, E- and F-unit paint scheme research
• recollections of forgotten mish-mash VIA consists from the 1980's
• shortcomings of the ex-CN Tempo equipment
• VIA's three rebuilt ex-CP F9B's (watch for an upcoming Trackside Treasure blog post)
• ex-CN FPA4's and other MLW/Bombardier locomotives
• VIA/CN paint scheme, applied to what equipment and when
• use of ex-CN diners and ex-CP diners on the Canadian in the late 1980's
• the Canadian in 1984...and Rapido Trains' VIA Canadian set
• mixing of GMD and MLW units in the Corridor in the 1970's
• should we spell it Via or VIA?

OK, so that's only 22 uses, but I'm sure there are at least 63 others I haven't heard about, but you get the idea!  Thanks to each and every customer - may these books help you in the above, and other heretofore-unencountered ways in the days and weeks ahead.

Highball,

Eric

Top photo: Wrecked 6124 at Winnipeg, bottom photo the Canadian wends its way round Lake Superior, 1985.

[And every time an F-unit bell rings, does an angel get its wings, Zuzu? (trivia-style movie quotation reference)]

One Little Photo...

In August  2011, CN Winnipeg engineer Mark Perry sent me the above photo by email. Being aware of my main blog Trackside Treasure and my interest in Manitoba railroading, Mark probably knew I'd like the photo.  It shows ex-CP 1413-1898 leading the Canadian - 11 ex-CN and ex-CP cars through Elie, Manitoba in November, 1980.  Taken by Lawrence Stuckey, Brian Schuff also of Winnipeg had added this print to his photo collection.  But Mark probably could not have predicted where the photo would lead. The following email exchange ensued:

Subject: Interesting #1 at Elie MB in the late 70's/early 80's

From the Brian Schuff collection, check out the units, an F and a E running elephant style!

MAP

That is one awesome photo, Mark.  Thanks for sharing.  Do you have an email contact for Brian, by any chance?

Eric

Brian is a dinosaur and does not have a computer, he either phones or snail mails it.....

MAP

Sounds like Brian's purchase of my VIA book, plus a conversation between you two ended up with Brian calling me tonight.  We had a great chat, and it sounds as if we were both photographing the same stuff 'back in the day'.  It also sounds as if Brian has a goal to get on the internet, and I joined you and the others who are encouraging him to try Yahoo, email, or whatever helps him connect with people like us who share his interests.  

Eric

[who's just been talking to someone who knows exactly what the significance of '8558' is]

Brian became one of my valued contributors, sharing many of his photos and those from his collection with me for my book project.  In fact, today I just finished scanning a few remaining prints for my collection, and will be dropping them in tomorrow's mail.  Another recent development involves Brian (described by his contemporary Mark as a dinosaur because he wasn't online at the time) joining us keyboard-enslaved hordes by getting online...soon.

You'll hear about it on Trackside Treasure when it happens, but be prepared to see lots of VIA material previously largely unseen.

But this initial photo launched a shipload of VIA-era photographs that added much to my second and third books.  Never underestimate the influence you can have on someone else, even through one seemingly insignificant email.

Highball!
Eric