OK, I'm back. Here's what I've been up to: I just finished watching the Olympics. In the post-event interviews, the athletes talk about how it went, their place in the standings and other technical stuff. Then the CBC interviewer asks them who they're thinking about back home. And they get emotional. Anniversaries are sometimes emotional, because they celebrate those things that are near and dear to our hearts.
I read the obituaries every morning in the local newspaper. They talk about the person's genealogy and list family members and boring dates. Then they get to what the person enjoyed in later life. (I also think obituaries should include what killed the person, but they rarely do. We can only hope.) But those later life interests seem to fulfill them more than any career can. Anniversaries are a reason to look forward, but they also beg us to look back and see what we've done.
I continue to enjoy seeing new and continuing ventures that my blog partners are sharing. These are my go-to blogs - they seem to closely fit interests that are shared here on Trackside Treasure: a mix of prorotype and model, old and new, overwhelmingly Canadian. Check out the sidebar to get the very latest posts from these fine railway blogs:
- My brother Dave preserves and propagates document knowledge-base interpretation.
- Chris Mears has enjoyed building a highly-detailed section of track and producing N-scale vans. He's also co-blogged with James Hilton in the UK.
- Matthieu Lachance is also experimenting with the "Capricious Process' of 3D printing.
- Steve Boyko has expanded his Winnipeg railfan blogging to drone flying.
- Don, Peter and George are perpetually prolific on their White River Division blog.
- Marc Simpson is busy weathering and building new prototypes for his car fleet.
- Bernard Kempinski encounters and solves technical challenges in his modelling.
- Edd Fuller is back and blogging on The Trackside Photographer.
- So is Michael Hammond on The Beachburg Sub.
I was fortunate to take pandemic time to publish two books on Kingston's waterfront history. Once grimy coalsheds, now glittering condos! Orders are rolling in like waves on Lake Ontario!
I'm continuing to enjoy retirement. A former colleague has just retired, having won a million dollars. We're able to visit with our grandchildren again - it's just like winning the lottery. As my daughter-in-law sagely said, the days are long but the years are short.
Now let's get to the real reason we're all here - Trackside Treasure's annual anniversary contest. This is a yearly 'thank you' to readers for staying engaged and putting up with my blogiosyncracies! I want to make this really easy, fun and to exclude no-one. That would be bad luck! There are three ways to win, and if you win, you'll receive the Trackside Treasure Thirteenth Anniversary Prize Pack!
- Tell me your favourite piece of railway equipment and why. Be quite specific.
- If you don't have one, tell me your middle name.
- If you don't have one, tell me your favourite colour.
Simply reply to the above via email to mile179kingston@yahoo.ca or comment on this post. Deadline for entries was Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 1313 hours and the contest is now closed. The winner will be randomly chosen from all entries received and announced in the next post. Thanks for playing!
To keep the lawyers happy, here's the legal disclaimer:
Not valid in Nevada, Nebraska or Nunavut. May cause tingling of the extremities, dizziness, and the condition known as hot-dog fingers. If this happens at knight, "It's merely a flesh wound." Do not even think about operating heavy equipment. Ever. Unless you're a heavy equipment operator, then go for it. If interest in Trackside Treasure lasts longer than four hours, it's time to take a break. Get up and walk around a bit. Not to be taken with grapefruit. Or, very seriously.
5 comments:
For my contest entry Eric, 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.
Eric,
For The Contest I Have Three favorite Pieces of Railway Equiment Two Are Steam Locomotives and One Is A Diesel Locomotive The Steam Loco's are CNR 6060 because ive seen it in person and have a model of it in my collection the other Steam Loco is 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 i get to see it every time i volunteer at the museum, The Diesel is CPR 7020 as i have been part of the team that restored it to its as deleiverd paint scheme, As for Middle Name its Robert and fave color is Any shade of Blue Big fan of the Page Jason P.
First off, happy blogiversary, Eric! 13 years of writing - anything - is quite an accomplishment, and you've supplemented your periodic prognostication here with an ever-growing suite of books. Impressive!
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.
My middle name is(n't) Ignatius, my favourite colour is(n't) fuchsia, my mother's maiden name is (not) Parkowitz, and my first car was(n't) a Tesla Model S.
If your blog has hit 13, that means it's just coming into its own, like a teenager, minus to snarly attitude and not-so-clever retorts. Congratulations on all your literary efforts and thank you for everything you have done for a fellow blogger. Many more years trackside to come, let's hope!
Thanks to all for your entries.
Michael, I do endeavour to have a bit of a friendly snarl onboard, and most of my retorts are bordering on the not-so-clever. Yet I continue, undaunted and largely unaware!
Seriously, thanks for your good wishes and keep blogging!
Eric
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