I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of Terry Gainer’s third book, “The Soo Line’s Famous Trains to Canada“. The Soo Line is now a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Kansas City. The original Soo Line was the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie RR (“Sault” is pronounced “Soo”). It eventually became part … Read more
“The Empire Builder“ is a new four-part documentary on James J. Hill, the founder of the Great Northern Railway and a huge figure in the history of railroads in the northwestern USA (and parts of Canada). I was recently offered a chance to view the documentary. So far I’ve watched two of the four parts … Read more
I love books. I love train books in particular (and science fiction). I have a fairly large collection of train books and other train documentation and I’m always looking for more books, especially Canadian train books.
I had high expectations for Trains of Newfoundland, the fourth book by Kenneth G. Pieroway on railways in Newfoundland. I’m happy to say that my expectations were met and exceeded. This beautiful 122 page book features a foreword by Robert J. Sandusky, a preface, a map and a condensed timeline, but the vast majority of … Read more
It would be easy to dismiss the book “M Train” by Patti Smith as the ramblings of a sad older woman. It’s true that this memoir rambles – oh, how it rambles – and I believe it’s true that she was sad.
The Prairie Dog Central Railway has been a Manitoba success story. Over the past 52 years, they have preserved and operated steam engine #3, the oldest operating coal fired steam engine in North America. This book is their story. The Prairie Dog Central Railway operates steam and diesel hauled excursion trains between Inkster Junction and … Read more
Terry Gainer has done it again with another great story of trains in British Columbia. This time he focused on southeastern BC and the fight between CP and the Great Northern Railway for control of the area. British Columbia always felt isolated at the west end of the continent as a colony of the Empire. … Read more
I really enjoy reading the Railroad Heritage magazine from the Center for Railroad Photography & Art. This quarterly magazine is top quality and features many thought-provoking articles and lots of good information. The spring 2022 edition featured a tribute to photographer David Plowden, along with an interview with him. I admit that I had no … Read more
I stumbled across the Great Canadian Railway Stories series of soft cover books at my local hobby store, Ware House Hobbies. They had quite a collection of used train books on consignment and I opened my wallet! I’d never heard of this series before, but $10 for 4 books was a steal. I took them … Read more
The book “The Victoria and Sidney Railway” is an affectionate look at a small, almost unknown railway that struggled for survival for 27 years on Vancouver Island.