From the Dome Car: Train 11 Track 5 (May-June, 2002)













In this Dome Car, Morgan has to let subscribers know the cost of CRM is going up: It will now cost $6.55 per issue, or about $39 per year. As with other price increases, he really had no choice—the cost of postage, paper and polybags kept rising. It would be a message he would repeat again over the years. To lessen the pain of that announcement, Morgan spoke about the articles people could look forward to. That included one by Marc Simpson about railway operations in northern Manitoba. Seeing his name reminded me that Marc passed away recently—something Morgan would surely have noted in a Dome Car if he himself were alive, and if CRM still was being published.

If there is one thing that we as Canadians are really good at, it's complaining about our weather! As I write this from Winnipeg in early May, Calgary is getting 40 centimeters of snow; it's raining cats and dogs in Halifax and there's a forest fire alert in northern Ontario because of dryness. 

Will spring ever come? I hope its arrived by the time you are reading this - I know we're really tired of the cold and unseasonable weather. I was sure that Wiarton Willie hadn't seen his shadow on Groundhog Day! 

As we surge ahead and approach our 12th year of publishing Canadian Railway Modeller, there is a need to make some price adjustments, thus guaranteeing the health of the magazine. The cover price will advance to $6.55 (a 30-cent increase) which means that, over a one-year period, buying it at your hobby shop will mean an extra $1.30 over that period. 

Subscription prices will advance at the same rate of slightly less than 5 percent. These changes will come into effect with Train 12 Track 1. 

Naturally, nobody likes price increases. But some of the changes we've seen in recent months to the cost of postage, transportation and most of all, to paper (perhaps political fallout from the softwood lumber dispute), have forced us to make this increase. Even the cost of the poly bags we use to package the magazine for subscribers has risen over 25 percent! It seems to never end. 

On a brighter note, we do have some great articles coming in future issues. I have a two-part piece on the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting operations at Flin Flon, Manitoba as written by Marc Simpson and Tim Schwartz, with photos by Gerald Harper; a CPR sand house article from Mike Barone and Patrick Lawson; and a couple of great modelling articles from our good friend, Pierre Dion. And John Morris is kitbashing an IHC Pacific into a presentable TH&B model for our fallen flag' friends. 

And this doesn't even take into consideration the many other fine articles that are 'in the can', either. So, stayed tuned as we bring you, our loyal readers, more good Canadian modelling. 

One more thing: We at CRM are seriously considering partnering on a railfan trip to Churchill, Manitoba on VIA Rail's The Hudson Bay to see the polar bears. The event would be scheduled for fall, 2003 (likely in mid-October). We are working with Rail Travel Tours, a new travel company that's just established a business in Winnipeg. If you are interested in such a tour, let us know and your name will be added to our list. 

The tour will accommodate up to 30 people. The cost has yet to be established but, when we have all the details, we will announce it officially in the magazine. The president of Rail Travel Tours, Daryl Adair, has successfully run tours to other parts of Canada in the past for railfans and travelers alike and promises us a terrific time, both on and off the train. Interested? Let's hear from you! 

And so, with that, we'll say: Catch you in the next issue of CRM!



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