My first introduction to Ron Hollander was his landmark 1981 book, All Aboard, the history of Joshua L. Cowen and his Lionel train company. Even a casual reading of this book revealed his personal passion and love of Lionel trains, starting, as with many of us, at a young age. His unique personal prose style drew me into the narrative in a way that other train historians previously did not. Along with the astute research, he blended in his own fascination with his subject that made the material more heartfelt and personal that the reader could easily relate to. The second edition hardback sits in a prominent place in my personal reference library. More recently, Ron has been contributing a series of delightful articles to the TCA Quarterly that follow in the same vein as his excellent All Aboard. Ron's passion for our hobby and Lionel trains always comes through in his prose, and his articles are always entertaining. Ron is truly an inspired writer who clearly presents his subject and imbues it with his own genuine enthusiasm. So, I would like to give an overdue shoutout to one of the great train hobby authors of our time, Mr. Ron Hollander!
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