See you at Copetown!

For the twelfth straight year, we'll have a table this Sunday at the Copetown Train Show. You will be able to pick up a flyer for the upcoming Hamilton book, and purchase any of the other seven titles at a significant discount. Looking forward to re-connecting with loyal readers! For anyone attending the informal gathering at the hall tonight, I will be doing a talk entitled
"Humourous tales of CNR railway operations in Ontario during the 1940s and 1950s". See you there!

Hats off to Andy

In these cold, snowy days of early February, I am getting back to a little S scale modeling. My thoughts have rambled back to a Sunday morning five years ago (Feb. 2/03 to be exact), when I picked up the telephone to chat with my friend Andy Malette.

On that Sunday morning, with the family out and some modeling time on my hands, I pondered the recent experience of building a couple of PRR GLa hopper cars in HO scale (from Westerfield kits). They were too doggone small, and I was looking for an alternative. I decided to devote a couple of hours to investigating the possibility of working in a larger size--either 1:64 or 1:48. After some quick research on the 'Net, I picked up the telephone to chat with Andy, as he would be able to fill me in on the state of what was available in S scale, what was coming soon, etc.

Half an hour later, the decision to model in S scale had been made, and I put it down to the conversation with Andy. I didn't, and haven't, foresaken modeling in other scales, including HO, but that morning I gave the green light to become an S scale modeler. I give the credit to a friend who was generous with his time and thoughts, and one who has been working hard to benefit other Canadian modelers in 1/64 scale. Check out his offerings at M.L.W. Services.

Web page re-design

I've spent the past few days re-designing our company web page (see a screen shot of a portion here). It incorporates actual CNR steam era colours and herald designs. I'd be pleased to hear any comments about the "new look" (click on "comments" icon below).

About that Wabash line...

From the snail mail bag, a missive from Peter Mitchell of Sidney, BC requests that St. Thomas, Ont. be featured in an upcoming publication. Indeed, St. Thomas is technically on a CNR line (keep in mind when I say "is", my mind is in 1954). Operationally, however, it is Wabash territory. There is a CNR element in the form of the local trains (Fort Erie-St. Thomas mixed train and way freight, St. Thomas-Windsor way freight).

Mr. Mitchell also requests a treatment of the Aylmer, Port Rowan and associated territory. Well, the Hamilton book will cover the section of Wabash line between Jarvis and Simcoe Junction, inasmuch as the mixed train from Hamilton traversed that portion of the line. Further, there will be heavy treatment of the towns of Simcoe, Port Rowan and Port Dover. Of course, Steam Through London covered Wabash traffic between Windsor and Glencoe, and Steam to the Niagara Frontier dealt with the same traffic between Welland Junction, Fort Erie and Niagara Falls. So we're dealing with the line in a piecemeal fashion.

As for a separate treatment on the Wabash, I'll make this standing offer: you Wabash guys put the photographic resources into my hands and I'll produce the book. I'm okay for time tables and track maps. I need photos, and lots of them. To produce any book in the series, I need to start with a minimum of 500 photos, all from the 1940s and 1950s. I'm not just talking about leads for pictures... I mean put them in my hands, either hard copy or digital.

Steam Echoes of Hamilton

Here is the cover for our eighth publication. This book is well underway, and will be released in November 2008. If you are on our mailing list, we will be sending you a copy of this flyer later this month. You may also pre-order this volume online or with our mail order form. As with previous publications, we'll mail out the books in the same order as the orders are received.

Newspaper article on book series

Dave Dawson, who visited three weeks ago for a three-hour interview, has put together a neat biographical account of my ten-year career as an author and publisher here. This version has been printed in the Orillia newspaper; separate versions will appear in the Barrie, Collingwood and Midland papers shortly.

Book availability and status update

Business has been brisk since release of Steam Scenes of Allandale on August 21, 2007. We appreciate all the patronage from readers new and old. While stock of the most recent book, along with Steam at Allandale, Steam in Northern Ontario and Steam to the Niagara Frontier is solid, the inventory of three of our titles has been steadily evaporating. We have somewhere between 160 and 170 each of Steam Over Palmerston and Steam Through London, while To Stratford Under Steam is rapidly becoming scarce with about 80 copies remaining.

I am currently working on the next volume, entitled Steam Echoes of Hamilton, which is planned for release in November 2008. We will likely table the familiar pre-publication offer for this title around April 2008.

Down the road, after the Hamilton volume, I foresee covering the Lindsay, Belleville-Brockville and Mimico-Bayview territory each in separate books. There will also be a steady stream of companion volumes in the "Steam Scenes" series, with Stratford, Palmerston and the London-Hamilton-Niagara areas each warranting a book.

Status of Steam Scenes of Allandale

As of Aug. 17, printing is finished and the book is at the bindery. We will take delivery of the finished volumes on either Tues. Aug. 21 or Wed. Aug. 22, and distribution will commence on the following day. It will take us two weeks to process the orders which will be on hand at that time. This will be done on a first-in, first-out basis for individual and dealer orders.

Steam Scenes of Allandale

Flyers are going on the mail as we speak. Here is the scoop:

Companion volume to Steam at Allandale, the additional 375 images and 52 maps comprising the new Steam Scenes of Allandale complete the record of a network of CNR lines in the postwar steam era. This is not a pre-publication offer; the new book will be ready to ship about August 15! Keep your collection up to date by acting quickly to obtain a copy of this limited-edition title.

Washago layout in S scale

At long last, after almost a year away from the hobby, I have resumed the joyful activity of model construction. To that end, I have designed an S scale modular layout based upon the CNR at Washago, Ontario (see Steam at Allandale and Steam in Northern Ontario). Working from the railway property plan, I have shortened sidings and reduced turnout numbers to decrease the scope of the track. All buildings and bridges (three, no less!) maintain their full size and proper orientation with respect to the tracks. I have begun construction with section 4, employing Fast Tracks handlaid track fixtures and jigs, and Homabed for the roadbed. Hopefully sometime in the next few months you will be able to see this depiction of Washago in S scale at one of the setups for our S Scale Workshop group. Click on the image above for a larger version.

And if you're wondering...

I'm intending to get back to that coaling plant construction series. It has been an exceptionally trying fall and winter due to personal challenges and the reprint of the Allandale book. Thanks to everyone for their patience.

HO scale equipment sell-off 2007 part II

Thanks to all who participated in the recent auction of HO scale rolling stock. I've just listed a whole pile of 1940s and 1950s vehicles on eBay. Most of these are new in the box, and are now discontinued by the manufacturers. All are good quality diecast, the majority by Classic Metal Works. They can be found here.