Postscript: Sixteenth Anniversary Contest

Thanks to all those who have celebrated yet another blogging anniversary with me and the entire workforce here at Trackside Treasure [okay, me!]. I was pleased and honoured to receive multiple congratulatory emails, messages and good wishes as Trackside Treasure historically highballs onward into our seventeenth year. Here are three select answers for each question I posed in Trackside Treasure's Sixteenth Anniversary Contest:

 WHAT WOULD BE AN ALTERNATE NAME FOR VIA'S VENTURE 'LUMI'?

• Alternate name for LUMI? Turbo 2.0!!
• If I was running VIA, the new trains would be named Adventure.
• The Banana Boat.

2. WHAT WOULD BE AN ALTERNATE PAINT  SCHEME FOR VIA'S VENTURE 'LUMI'?

• The old Turbo scheme would fit the Siemens sets nicely.Your favourite kind of soup!
• The paint would be yellow bodies with a blue window band and a blue VIA logo at the end of the stripe. I would keep the black front and cab windows and get rid of the Via Rail Canada lettering on the coaches. Can you tell that I miss the Turbo?
• Honestly, I don't know. I don't "hate" the Turbo Interpretive scheme. Personally as much as I love throwback schemes on locos, I think VIA is better charting their own path as the main Venture/Charger Scheme does.

3. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE KIND OF SOUP?

• Moxie's Broccoli Cheddar Soup - alas no longer a regular item (Quiznos is a close second). 
• Beer and Cheddar.
• My favorite soup is chili.
• Bonus answer [because I've never tried it] Favorite soup? Salsa.

Here are some additional comments generously engendered by my energetically engineered anniversary fete festival:

David Gagnon - You've developed and promoted a large network of fans and railroaders through all of your work over the years. You've also done a great persistent job of investigating and publicizing some of VIA's 'quiet' activities. And, of course, your historical posts using your lifetime of railway photography and documentation are a great resource for all of us to use and enjoy. Here's to another 16 (or more) years!

Stephen Gardiner -  "What would you have done differently if you ran VIA? " I would have had these configured with domes. Domes on the corridor would be the ultimate...doing it once was so fun, doing it every trip...and no, not panorama cars, proper domes, up high, looking over the train!! I got to do it once with Ride the Rapido, I want to do it every time I go up and down the Corridor on VIA. My Kingdom for whoever gets Siemens to design a dome and retrofit them mid set as a lounge/buffet.

Mark Hudson  from Georgetown, KY! - Congratulations on celebrating sixteen years of Trackside Treasure!  Yes, some of us south of the Canadian border enjoy seeing and reading your excellent coverage of railroading in the Great White North! My Sunday treat is to read seven blogs concerning various railroad topics.  Your blog is at the Top of the List!

Mark is also [drumroll..] the chosen winner of Trackside Treasure's Sixteenth Anniversary Contest Winner [cymbal crash!] and joins the plethoric pantheon of Trackside Treasure anniversary contest winners Boyko, Coe, Fulsom, Hall, Hammond, Hayman, Lisakowski, Martyniuk, May, Moore, Mueller, Palmer and Staiger. The potentially-coveted Trackside Treasure prize pack is on its way to Mark in Georgetown. Not Georgetown, Ontario mind you...this is Georgetown, Kentucky! 

Mark responds, "I am humbled at being the Trackside Treasure 16th anniversary winner!  I will celebrate with a 3-Way (chili, spaghetti, and cheese) at my favorite chili restaurant!  Thanks and keep the blogs coming!"

I'm proud to honour the international, potentially worldwide, reach that the internet gives Trackside Treasure to make connections that have become such a part of my blogging and books. And they keep happening!

UPDATE: Mark Sampson has received his Trackside Treasure annibursary. Just to show how aware he is when it comes to the history of VIA's Canadian, I was using up some earlier Canadian postage on the mailing. I affixed postage stamps showing Sir Isaac Brock and Sir William Osler. Mark noticed. Both men have ex-CP Manor cars named in their honour! 

Bravo, Mark!

Running extra...

Three finds in the fundraising section of the Isabel Turner Branch of the Kingston-Frontenac Public Library, all of which keep me in firmly in my armchair-traveller armchair! So far, I consumed all of Sticky Buns, and am still battling the Wind. Biking across a continent east-to-west may not be the best route, based on prevailing winds. I left the one on biking across South Africa on the shelf, however. Some other armchair-traveller was definitely on a roll!

UberVIAphile Tim Hayman has published a Tim's Train Travels blog post on the bulk of his trip west on the Canadian across Ontario and Western Canada. A must-read for anyone looking for a balanced report on VIA's flagship train.

Another unique voyage - American lake vessel Mark W Barker made its first trip into Lake Ontario carrying a load of salt from Cleveland to Ogdensburg. Jones Act and all that, protecting merchant marine jobs, from U.S. port to U.S. port. An unusual visitor!