Postscript: Fifteenth Anniversary Contest

This has been a great week in Trackside Treasure history! Having emblazoned this blog with a disco-style header (below) commemorating and celebrating this blog's crystal anniversary, I was pleased and honoured to receive multiple congratulatory emails, messages and good wishes as Trackside Treasure historically (and hysterically?) highballs onward into the cyberfuture metaverse. I stand before you as a humble blogger, just as I did as a humble teenage railfan apparently ready to cassette-record the sounds of a Santa Fe 40-foot boxcar at the Cataraqui Spur team track, extremely early in my emerging railfan career (top photo).

Annibursary honoree Michael Hammond responded in part, "I’ll always be fascinated by railways. It’s honestly something I find very calming. [The Beachburg Sub] blog has carried me through some tough times." Michael also published this amazing post on his own blog The Beachburg Sub, as the inaugural Trackside Treasure Annibursary honoree! Fellow blogger Steve Boyko posted this awesome post to help me celebrate. Stephen Gardiner chronicled the chronicler in his post. Chris Mears took a trip back in time. It's great to have blog partners like these!

CONTEST ENTRIES

Entries began appearing in the first hour after the crystal anniversary post was published. The final entry received was a mere hour before the contest deadline of noon today! It was fun to read through the entries and to appreciate their variety! I've included a variety of entries for each of the one, two and/or three ways the contest could be entered. Entertaining and eclectic, and no two types of pie duplicated!

1. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR FAVOURITE RESTORED EQUIPMENT FOR YOUR LAWN?

• VIA F-unit to bring back memories of seeing VIA trains in my childhood.
• Skyview sleeper-lounge.
• Maroon CPR heavyweight passenger car with three-axle bogies, turned into a living/entertainment space while retaining the original elements.
• A Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) "Big Woodie) caboose. 
• A 5700 series CP Rail SD-40-2 in action red with the multi mark and 5" stripes.
• A Park car.
• If I couldn't get CN 6060 as an option I would go for either an FP9Au or something with a number that related to a band or pop culture in some way. 
• A New York Central bay window caboose, painted Century Green, with cigar band logo and the  'Road to the Future' slogan proudly displayed. 
• Ontario Southland Railway MLW RS18u 183.
• 'Dominion of Canada' ex-LNER A4 Pacific.
• CN's Royalty Junction, PEI station.

2. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PIE?

• Blueberry
• Chocolate cream pie 
• Apple pie heavy on the cinnamon 
• Blueberry 
• Raspberry
• Elderberry
• Apple 
• Pecan, straight up no ice cream 
• Pumpkin 
• Lemon meringue

3. WHAT  KEEPS YOU COMING BACK TO TRACKSIDE TREASURE?

• Grain elevator posts and older grain-carrying rolling stock posts.
• Interesting and relaxing reading, especially archive photos and descriptions of the past in the Kingston area and generally topics detached from anything I need to worry about. Way better than other social media.
• I keep coming back to Trackside Treasure due to the excellent, variety of content that appears each week. Viewing included pictures is enjoyable as they reinforce the written content - and vice versa. The humour mixed in puts a smile on my face if not producing a solid laugh each week. TT is one of the most professionally produced, accurate, and entertaining blogs in the railfan universe. 
• The interesting mix of topics and history with a good dose of humour. I'm still laughing at your Bombardier HR616 joke. The links to your blog partners are also appreciated.
• Trackside Treasure combines really interesting Canada-centric train info,  compiled and provided by someone who seems deeply committed to telling the story.  There is also a strong sense of fun and bemusement.  And I like the fact that these traits carry over onto the model train side too.  There are people out there who are a lot more serious, but seem to have less fun.   I am deeply impressed by your archive of 110 snapshots .  About the time you were taking yours, I was taking mine a couple of hundred miles west (London), but I don’t have nearly as many. 
• The variety of topics covered - as a farmer I enjoy the information on elevators and grain rail cars. 
• Information. I have found so many answers to questions on Eric’s blog when I go searching things. 

If I was legally allowed to enter, my choices would have been: a CN Pointe St Charles caboose, cherry, and "Hey, it's what I do!" It was great to hear American railroads represented, as it's easy to think this blog is by, for and about Canadians. But no, model railroading and even railfanning know no boundaries, don't you know. I equally appreciated these other thoughtful, crystal-clear comments received:

A great milestone Eric! Its nice that you don't subscribe to the rumour mill but you meticulously post accurate information instead. Congratulations! - Pierre Ozorak

I can't believe it's been nine years I've been reading your blog when I came across it somehow - Mike Kulesza.

At times when the community spanning railfanning to model railroading might not feel as accessible or familiar, the way you write and the comfort you have with expressing your interest in your voice remains an inspiration. It remains among those few [blogs] I’ve dedicated time to reading back to the start like we’d read a book. I can’t imagine being able to describe the ways Eric has influenced our hobby and I know it’s a better place because of his passion. - Chris Mears

AND THE WINNER IS...

A rolodex of past Trackside Treasure anniversary contest winners includes cards labelled Boyko, Coe, Fulsom, Hall, Hammond, Hayman, Lisakowski, Martyniuk, May, Moore, Mueller and Staiger. This year's crystal-anniversary contest winner of the Trackside Treasure publication of their choice is....

Brian Palmer of Ontario's beautiful Bruce Peninsula

Congratulations! Along with his entry, Brian said, "What an amazing 15 years.  I’ve so enjoyed your humour, knowledge and desire to share in all things Canadian Rail.  I feel like we as a railfan community are better for it, but also the Canadian public thanks to your getting information from VIA Rail on the actual status of their Heritage (Stainless Steel Fleet). What a great house [a Park car] would be with a solarium, lounges, kitchen (small) and bedrooms.  Alas, not for a little while longer. Keep it up! Even if I don’t win, take all these compliments with my best wishes", and upon being notified of his winning entry, "In an era where tweets and tik Tok lasts just a few minutes, I’m glad that we have the history that you’ve collected and shared." Brian's complimentary copy of Trackside with VIA: Cross-Canada Compendium (the second last copy I have) will be on its way today.

THANK YOU ...

...to all the ladies and gentlemen, boys and grills, Kens and Barbies who revelled in and relished this special summertime event. Holy smokes, I'm glad you mustered the energy and are as fired up as I am. To be frank, whether you were the wiener or not (bun intended), I've enjoyed being able to meat and catchup with so many of you as we furter marinade in the special sauce of railway immortalization grilliantly. Weather it be the wurst chili day of winter or the hot, dog days of summer. I will continue being on the cookout for posts that are well-done, minimizing any flare-ups or Traegering topics, and keeping the half-baked bad puns, at least in this social medium, rare. All smoking aside, even though I've got a big steak in this, I can still take some ribbing! As we enter Trackside Treasure's sixteenth year together, I'm looking forward to the future and I wouldn't brisk-et for the world!

--Eric