Postscript: Ninth Anniversary Contest

A galaxy of loyal Trackside Treasure readers have successfully eclipsed each year's anniversary contest by brightly blocking in the correct solutions each of the past several years: Hall, Fulsom, Mueller, Hayman, Hammond, Boyko and Coe. This year, we add another star to the Trackside Treasure fan firmanent: Martyniuk. But first, what did I do on my summer vacation? I was trackside with VIA, VIA and VIA (top photo) at Kingston station.

I staged a front patio Free-Mo meet by connecting three summers' worth of layouts together and operating a short executive train across them. Watch the absurdly brief video!Dignitaries arrived in a n HO-scale Winnipeg Transit bus, escorted by RCMP cruisers then travelled in three business cars led by Geep BNML2 as the hibiscus hovered, the dipladenia divided and the mourning doves dove downwards:

I spent an extremely enjoyable afternoon with fellow VIAphile and book author Chris Greenlaw and his insightfully acerbic dad, Tom. Same setting as above, talking trains of the model and prototype varieties! Read more on the visit in my VIA Rail book blog post!

Chris picked up his copy of Trackside with VIA: Research and Recollections as did Saskatchewan's Mark Fidelak, travelling from peaceful prairie to pastoral East Coast:

Copies of my latest book on VIA Rail have also winged their way to both coasts - Central Hobbies in Vancouver and Maritime Hobbies now have shipments in stock. Business Class boarded passengers at Kingston:

Silvery stainless steel subway slithered west under silver-clouded cerulean skies:

And I revelled in the royal roustabout from the west - CP Canada 150 train, videoing it voraciously.

But back to the contest. Bryan Martyniuk of Thunder Bay participated perfectly in the Trackside Treasure ninth anniversary contest: photo challenge - both trains had red noses, CN logos, and road numbers containing '150'. The multiple choice challenge correctly-chosen letters spelled CANADA, and the word scramble challenge successfully supplied Sir John Eh and One Fifty. Bryan will be adding Trackside Treasure - The First 35 Years to his railway library. Thanks to all the participants, with honourable mentions to canny Steve Boyko and Jakob Mueller, both are previous winners. Thanks also for those who sent good wishes for this auspicious anniversarial occasion! Now on to the tenth we go!