From the Dome Car: Train 12 Track 2 (Jan.-Feb. 2003)

 

Another rant about postal rates! This became a recurring theme for Morgan—in print and in person. And I could see his point; it was tough to run a small business on tight margins and still make a living. And make no mistake; although the magazine and hobby were his passion, it also was a business with bills to pay and invoices to collect. 

There’s an old adage that you should never make your hobby your business; you may end up hating the hobby, the thing you once loved. Morgan never did lose his love for model railroading, although he had to dismantle his home layout (The Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway, Manitoba Division) to make room for boxes of magazines, train cards and other magazine-related materials. 

Speaking of model railroading, he did mention it in this Dome Car! He promoted the upcoming Maple Leaf NMRA convention in Toronto, slated for summer that year in Toronto. Little did anyone know it would become known as the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) convention, following the pandemic that hit Toronto in March—a month after this issue was published. 

And we all thought that the price of a cup of coffee or a litre of gasoline was high! Last month Canada Post notified us that the cost of mailing a small package was about to rise. Well, okay, prices have to rise to cover costs; I can accept that. But when I took three small 'test' packages to my post office to check the new rates, I was stunned to find that they hadn't just risen—they have gone through the roof! 

Now, we're not talking about large, heavy pack ages here. Or about destinations that are out in the middle of nowhere. It now costs $7.68 to send a single package of train cards (they only weigh 170 grams shipped in a Kraft envelope), or a box of Christmas Cards (286 grams), or one of our 10th Anniversary containers (at just 53 grams) to destinations like Salmon Arm, Vernon or Courtenay in British Columbia or Amherst, Glace Bay or Truro in Nova Scotia—PLUS the GST. 

Yes, that's right: $7.68! That's outrageous! And to top that off, to send the SAME item to a destination in the United States only costs $2.80 Canadian! And NO GST! There's definitely something wrong here. 

It certainly appears that Canada Post is not on our side when it comes to you and I, or anybody else, doing any mail order business together. We are being taken to the cleaners. So be prepared; the postal rates to send a small package in Canada have skyrocketed and it will affect everything that is sent by mail. And I'm afraid that this is only the beginning. A $10 item will soon cost $10.00 to mail! 

We also had to deal with some printing problems in the fall when our regular printer suddenly closed down. We had to quickly find a new printer, with the result that delivery of the last issue was delayed. But the change appears to have been a benefit in disguise; the magazine has a crisper look to the colour and black and white images. I need to thank everyone for their patience at this juncture as we continue to do our best to produce a quality magazine for our many readers. 

In this issue, we begin featuring some of the many layouts that you can visit during the Maple Leaf 2003 NMRA Convention being held in Toronto this July. If you have never been to a major model railroad convention such as this, I highly recommend that you attend this one—you will not be disappointed. There are so many things to see, learn and do, your head will still be spinning, even after it's over! It's a rare opportunity to go the 'the national' in Canada; we only get it once every twenty years or so. 

Let me end this issue's rambling by wishing all our readers and business associates a very happy and prosperous New Year. The hobby of model railroading still continues to be the World's Greatest Hobby!