I just finished reading VIA RAIL, a 2007 entry in the growing "MBI Railroad Color History Series." This book lacks for neither color nor history and I really enjoyed it. Author Christopher C.N. Greenlaw narrates VIA's tenuous thirty-year history well; he consulted multiple sources to write the narrative and the scholarship shows. Several themes emerge in this book that keeps us from making VIA a mere analogy to Amtrak. In warts-and-all fashion, Greenlaw does not ignore the devastation wrought on the system in the wake of 1981 and 1990 budget cuts. (If you think Amtrak is the ultimate in politicization and wavering budgets, look north of the border.) Amtrak's equipment came from a score and more of prior privately-operated passenger trains; VIA's of course was mostly CN and CP.
The plusses: Greenlaw (quite correctly IMHO) singles out the VIA on-board staff for their courtesy, kindness and enthusiam. And even during its alleged decline, VIA mangement pulled a coup a few years ago when it bought a fleet of coaches and sleepers at distress prices that had been intended for a London-Paris overnight "Chunnel" train that didn't pan out. Re-christened the "Renaissance" series, these cars wound up on l-d trains to the Maritimes as well as on the Montreal-Toronto Corridor. (Of course, VIA's much smaller scale than Amtrak made it readier to render lemons into lemonade in this manner.)
The history flows chronologically, but unfortunately the photos do not always. RDC's, F-units, LRC's and F40 PH-2's mix and mingle. Their order is not truly mixed-up but at times can seem so. As do most if not all books in this series, VIA RAIL has a great many magnificent photos, some of them pretty, more of them illustrative of railroad operations, especially in the punishing Canadian winters. The very occasional black-and-white shots stand out for their composition and clarity. Schedule covers and similar paper railroadiana show up occasionally but I do wish the human element of onboard operations had been given some prominence. At $36.95 the cover price for this volume is high, but both Amazon and a raft of Alibris vendors have VIA RAIL new from the high $20's. 4-stars out of five.
If you're interested in a longer review of VIA RAIL, search Amazon profiles for "allen smalling" and you can read mine! - a.s.
I couldn't agree more. I saw this book at Chapters a little while ago, and, as an avid VIA Rail fan, knew immediately that I had to have it.
It is an excellent, and very enjoyable account of VIA Rail's history. Having already purchased and read the MBI Railroad Colour History book on the Canadian National (also an excellent book), I think quite highly of this series, and now take note of any volumes I see around.
al-in-chgo, you've nailed this one right on the head!
-Tim
I too agree with your comments on the VIA RAIL book and also have the book in my collection. I have found the majority of the Voyageur Press books are worth adding to my substantial collection.
These are among the least expensive quality books on todays market.
TTFN Al-in-Stockton
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