Once again, it is my great privilege to welcome you to this, the seventeenth issue of the On30 Annual. As I write this, we are about a month away from the halfway mark in 2022, and I hope this year has been more normal for you. But given the state of the world and the last few years, I’m not sure I know what “normal” is anymore. I do know this year was normal for me, which means I had a great many projects going on and I’ll take a moment to share a few.
I mentioned in last year’s column that I have become a triple Annual editor, adding the Garden Trains Annual to my workload. I’m pleased to report that the first issue was very well-received. The second issue was delivered about 30 days ago and early reports indicate that it is going to be even more popular than the first issue. I find that gratifying, as I have both a soft spot for large scale, and many of our brethren narrow gauge modelers work in large scale. The addition of the publication has adjusted our press scheduling. Long-time readers are used to the On30 Annual coming out in the March to April time frame. The Garden Trains Annual pushed the On30 Annual back and this issue will be delivered in late June, and many of you, depending on your location, won’t see it until July sometime. The HOn3 Annual has settled into a later fall delivery and it will show up in October of 2022.
Going forward, we will continue to adjust the delivery schedule to best serve our readers and hobby shop dealers. The fall delivery of the HOn3 Annual is pretty set, but for 2023, the Garden Trains Annual and On30 Annual will change a bit. GTA will move earlier in the year, coming out in late February , and the On30 Annual will move up a bit and come out in the late April/early May time frame. If the last few years has taught us anything, it was to write plans in pencil, subject to change, but as of today, that’s the plan.
Between Annuals, I continue to edit and produce White River books and we have some good ones coming up. End of 2021 saw the release of the magnum opus The Shay Locomotive: An Illustrated History. It quickly sold out, prompting a second printing, which is also moving quickly. While I spent months and months getting that project prepared for press, down to the last commas and periods, I recently pulled the book down and read it for pleasure. What a book, and what a pleasure it was! In addition to being a mammoth research volume, it is just fun to read and highly entertaining. If you don’t have one yet, don’t wait. When this run sells out, that is likely it, and you don’t want to miss out.
Speaking of sell outs, The K-36 Locomotives of the Rio Grande book has been out of print for going on 6 months now. Hope you got one. I’m happy to announce that author Jerry Day is close to completing the manuscript for the K-28 Locomotives of the Rio Grande. I have most of it now, and I have no idea how it is possible, but this book will be even more comprehensive than the exhaustive K-36 book. Look for announcements early in 2023.
Lastly, train shows. If you want to say “hi,” your best bet is to come to Denver. My first show after the pandemic layoff was the O Scale National here in 2021 and they just announced it will be coming back to Denver in 2023. The Sn3 Symposium is here in a couple weeks, followed by the Garden Railway Convention in late June. Then off to Tacoma for the National Narrow Gauge Convention, and then that comes back to Denver in 2023. So, see you in Denver!
—Chris Lane, Editor
