"Off The Shelf"

 CRO Book/DVD Reviews By: Michael Berry

This Month's Feature:

When time allows as CRO Production Assistant, I am a voracious collector of railway books.  My "Off The Shelf" column will review books and DVDs that I feel would be to the appeal of our CRO readers. 

I invite you to contact me directly with questions, and with any new publications or DVD’s that would be of interest to our CRO readers for “Off the Shelf”. 

George Pitarys' book "Seasons Of Trains"

George Pitarys’ “Seasons Of Trains” is a must have for those interested in trains in Northern New England, Quebec & New Brunswick. It consists entirely of color photographs and the photos are arranged thematically by season (hence the title). New England and environs is an area that was made for raifanning in winter, and the winter chapter is probably the strongest of the chapters, with some stunning snowplow photos. The author was a railroad employee for 32 years (including a stint with CP in Maine) and the book demonstrates that he was willing to go to any length to get a great shot. The period covered in this book is from the 1970s into the 2000’s, with a focus on the 1970s-1980s. There is a strong Canadian content to the book, with railways such as CP, CN, Quebec Central, St. Lawrence & Atlantic, Charlevoix Railway, Cartier Railway and many others getting a good deal of coverage. American railways covered include Maine Central, Boston & Maine, Delaware & Hudson, Bangor & Aroostook and others with a heavy focus on Maine Central (which he also worked for). If there is any small criticism of this book, it might be that I would have liked to see more coverage of Maine Central’s famous Mountain Subdivision (Portland to St. Johnsbury), which is only represented by a single photo of an eastbound at Crawford Notch. If you are a fan of MLW’s, F-units and first generation geeps in very scenic settings, this book is for you.

 For future review suggestions or comments … Email me at:

COMING NEXT MONTH: Michael will review Herb MacDonald’s “Cape Breton Railways - An Illustrated History”

CRO PHOTO CONTEST

Craig McDowell of MCM Rail Videos will Judge all photo contest entries and is sponsoring our CRO PHOTO CONTEST page.  He alone will choose the winning entry, who will be awarded the DVD of their choice.  The second and third place winners receive CLUB CRO V.I.P. access for 6 months.       

Please send submissions to Craig at:  iloverailroads@me.com

Our three winners for the October 1st 2012 “Tunnels” contest are:

First Place: Mount Shaughnessy Tunnel - CP Mountain Sub-Sept. 7th, 2012.  Photo by: Jim Dorst  

Second Place: CP 817 exiting tunnel in Rogers Pass - Oct. 6th, 1995.  Photo by: Patrick De Larue

Third Place: Spiral Tunnel - CP Mainline - Yoho, B.C.  Photo by: Frank Crowe

Our 1^st Place Winner  may choose from these DVD PRIZES:  http://mcmrailvideos.com/videos.html

November's 2012 Photo

Contest Subject:

"TRESTLES & BRIDGES"

Please send submissions to Graig at:  iloverailroads@me.com

DISCLAIMER: Please note that CRO (Canadian Railway Observations) does not condone, or advise anyone to trespass on Railway/Private property to obtain a photo in relation to our subject.  CRO can not be held liable for anyone trespassing or being injured because of their actions.  Any pictures that appear to have been taken, and trespassing is suspected, will automatically be rejected. 

Rules:

Photo submissions must have been taken by the contestant and taken no earlier that January 1^st, 2012. Include full caption information including the railway, subject, location, date, and pertinent details of interest, like your camera model and setting.  A Maximum of 3 entries per contestant. 

 Deadline for Entries:

The 27^th of each Month

 Send Your Entries to:

 We invite you to send us your “Trestles and Bridges” photos with a full caption, (date, location etc) and your name, email, and mailing address.

Please send submissions to:  iloverailroads@me.com  The winner will be announced November 1^st, 2012.

Prizes:  LINK TO DVD PRIZES TO CHOOSE FROM - http://mcmrailvideos.com/videos.html