Postscript: Trackside Treasure Fifth Anniversary

Thanks to all those who participated in the Fifth Anniversary contest. Was the challenge too difficult? I thought it might be, but there are some good railway book collections and some good Googlers out there.

An honourable mention to Ben A. who guessed ALL the titles and authors correctly, though after grand prize winner Bryan Fulsom worked his magic to also guess the titles and authors correctly. Bryan explains:

"The first two were easy! The Patrick Dorin books were toughest. I didn't have much strategy - it was a lot of Google and Amazon searching with whatever scraps of text I could find. It sure gave me a big list of books I want to check out, especially by McDonnell and Dorin. The whole search probably took an hour."

Less than five hours after this anniversary post was posted, Bryan's entry arrived. He wins the Trackside Treasure Bookshelf-in-a-Box. It's great to have such dedicated, interested and indeed intense readers aboard! Thanks again for all your good wishes for the continued health of this Canadian Cyberspace Compendium.

Though family members were prohibited by provincial law from entering the contest, my sister was a good sport and sent a photo of an NS train southbound from Roanoke VA, taken this past Monday. The Thoroughbred, in a rare display of Americana! Looking forward to five more years of fun, aboard VIA No 1 near Carmichael, SK behind 6513-6628 in May 1986 (below).

Here's the list Bryan submitted, for the record:

1. Trackside with VIA: Cross-Canada Compendium, Eric Gagnon
2. Trackside with VIA: Cross-Canada Compendium Consist Companion, Eric 
Gagnon
3. VIA Rail (Railroad Color History), Christopher C.N. Greenlaw
4. Via Rail Canada : The first five years, Tom Nelligan
5. Turbotrain: A Journey, Jason Shron
6. The National Dream / The Last Spike, Pierre Burton / Michael Reichmann
7. Signatures in Steel, Greg McDonnell
8. Passing Trains: The Changing Face of Canadian Railroading, Greg 
McDonnell
9. Canadian Railway Scenes (Book 1), Adolf Hungry Wolf
10. A National Passenger Chronicle - Series Premiere, Dale Wilson
11. The Canadian National Railways' Story, Patrick C. Dorin
12. Coach Trains and Travel, Patrick C. Dorin