I review books and videos and provide my honest opinion of them. This is where they are collected.
Eric Gagnon’s latest book, “Smoke on the Waterfront”, is a deep dive into the history of Kingston’s waterfront, and its not terribly successful relationship with Lake Ontario. Readers looking for VIA Rail or detailed train content are advised to look to Eric’s other books like “Trains and Grains” or his “Trackside With VIA” series. This … Read more
Steam Echoes of Hamilton is a nostalgic look at mid-1950s railway action in and around Hamilton, Ontario. I have been aware of author Ian Wilson’s “Steam” series of books for some time. People have spoken very highly of his books, known as the Canadian Branchline series, but until now I haven’t read a single one. … Read more
I picked up “In The Shadow of Giants” by Norman Helm as part of a lot of train books I bought. I’d heard of the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway, of course, but I didn’t know a lot about it other than it served those three cities and was eventually absorbed into the Canadian Pacific … Read more
I’ve been spending way too much time playing Train Station 2: Rail Strategy on my phone. It’s a lot of fun. I wanted to share a bit about it here. I’m not being compensated in any way for writing about it. I just like the game. I recorded a walkthrough video for it if you’d … Read more
The cover of “The Old Railway Station Book” really caught my eye. This is the stone station at Kensington, PEI, a station I have visited several times. I was hooked. This book by Michael Golay follows the train station from its humble beginnings at the dawn of railroading, through the heyday of train stations at … Read more
The book “Streetcars of St. John’s” is the third “before and after” book from author Kenneth G. Pieroway. Following on his excellent Rails Across the Rock and Rails Around the Rock books, this book features the streetcars that once ran in Newfoundland’s capital city, St. John’s. The Amazon links are affiliate links, meaning that I … Read more
The book “The Ontario Northland Railway” by Patrick C. Dorin is an excellent snapshot of the ONR in the mid 1980s. Written by the prolific Dr. Dorin, this book is an affectionate look at the railway that runs from Toronto to Moosonee. The book is divided into four major sections: History of the ONR and … Read more
I was a little hesitant to try another railfan e-book. I bought one a few years ago from a different author that was… poor. However, this one was great! Author Byron Babbish has 44 books on Amazon at the moment, mostly train books but a few on car ferries and even one or two on … Read more
For a few years, I’ve been using my “old” Canon T1i as my go-to video camera when I’m in the field. The quality is good, but the T1i doesn’t do 4K video and its on/off switch is balky. I wanted something better. Enter the Akaso EK7000. This tiny camera is a powerhouse, with 4K video … Read more
I’ll be honest – I didn’t know who Jim McClellan was. Now I feel like I know who he was, and I’m sorry that he’s gone. I saw a recommendation somewhere (TRAINS magazine? Amazon? not sure) for this autobiography, My Life With Trains, so I asked for it for my birthday. I really enjoyed reading … Read more
