Postscript: Thirteenth Anniversary Contest

It was interesting to read the entries for Trackside Treasure's Thirteenth Anniversary Contest. As you may recall, in order to win the draw, each entry could include the reader's favourite piece of railway equipment, middle name or favourite colour. A surprising number of entries included all three. Of course, the railway equipment part was the most interesting. Some selected entries:

• My favorite piece of railway equipment is the former CN Dental Car.  I saw it many years ago in the middle of nowhere when I was traveling in northern Ontario.  I was fascinated by it.  I often thought that would be a great thing for many isolated places.  I often tell people about it and they think I am dreaming.  But I actually saw it.

• My favourite piece of railway equipment is a CPR Budd RDC-1 Dayliner circa 1960. As a child I lived in what was then Camp Petawawa and would regularly make the train trip to Ottawa with my mother. I can still remember the excitement of climbing aboard at the little station in the village. Wow, the gleaming, stainless steel exterior... the sharp, modern interior... the chilled water dispenser with paper cones! This was at a time when you'd still see steam locomotives hauling freight trains on the subdivision.

• CNR 6060 because I've seen it in person and have a model of it in my collection. Also, CNR 6213 as I had the pleasure of being part of the team that moved it from The CNE Grounds to the Toronto Railway Museum grounds and CPR 7020 as i have been part of the team that restored it to its as-delivered paint scheme 

My favorite is the 4550 cubic foot covered hopper car built by National Steel Car, Hawker Siddley, or Marine Industries. Within this car type, the cars referred to variously as Government Hoppers, Wheat Board Hoppers, Trudeau Hoppers, among other identifiers, are my particular favorites. The railway owned versions of these cars are part of the scene, but are not quite the same. To me, a long train of these hopper cars led by a pair of SD40-2s, or even better, a few of these cars spotted alongside a wood grain elevator is what railroading on the prairies is all about.

• For my favourite piece of railway equipment, you probably won't be surprised to hear that it is VIA 6765, the Montreal Locomotive Works product that is now on display at Exporail in Delson, Quebec. It's my favourite because I have one of its number boards.

• I had to think about it before I arrived on...an elegant heavyweight passenger car at the end of the CP Christmas Train. Aside from its aesthetics, I like this car because it would have been the type of rolling stock my grandfather had to repair in Chapleau, Ontario when he worked as a car mechanic there up until the 1960s, when he transferred to Windsor. I like to think he worked on such a cr at one point; that his handprints might be somewhere on this car still. It’s a purely sentimental reason.

Also anonymized, generously-supplied middle names. Neat list! 

Some highlights: Lee, Aynesley, Robert, Not Ignatius, David.

Also also anonymized, favourite colours. These cry out for a pie graph! 

Most common was Blue followed by Green, Not Fuchsia, Blue....no..Orange....no..Blue!

We ended up with two winners! The lucky co-winners are Bill Staiger and John Moore. Trackside Treasure prize packs will be winging their way to you both. Thanks to everyone for your good wishes, your entries and your participation in this annual shmoozefest. 

A list of past years' anniversary contest winners reads like a who's who of loyal Trackside Treasure readers, modellers, bloggers, railfans, VIAphiles or all of the above: Ian Lisakowski, Bryan Martyniuk, Steve Boyko, Walker Coe, Michael Hammond, Tim Hayman, Bryan Fulsom, Jakob Mueller and Elijah Warner Hall.

Now, back to some more hard-hitting, gonzo train blogging. This weekend's post will be...."Thomas the Tank Engine - Is He Really Out There Somewhere?"

"I'm done with shootin' down Stukas. I'm gonna go start my own blog."