The "The Minutemen of VP-92: The Story of New England's Naval Air Reserve Patrol Squadron" is now available. At the present time, you can only obtain this book by ordering it on-line from the printer. Go HERE to view this book or to order a copy (or more) using your credit card.
The "The Minutemen of VP-92: The Story of New England's Naval Air Reserve Patrol Squadron" has been submitted to the printer. I expect to get a proof copy in my hands within a week. Provided that everything looks OK, the book should become available by the middle of April at the latest.
The finished book has 203 pages, 216 black & white illustrations, and full-color covers. In softcover format it will cost $22 plus postage. At some point I may commission a limited number of hard cover books but if I do this they will be more expensive.
Unlike my previous efforts, the VP-92 book is self-published. It will only be sold through a web form on the Internet, at least at first. Depending upon the demand, I may purchase a conventional bookstore distribution service from the company that is producing the book for me, but I'm not sure about this. I published this thing on my own primarily to benefit my former Naval Air Reserve shipmates since the squadron is being disestablished (shut down) in November. I expect the VP-92 book to sell principally via word-of-mouth. I'll have to play it by ear regarding the prospects for a wider distribution.
January 4th 2007
The Penn Central book, "New Haven Railroad in Transition", is presently on hold. I'm putting all of my spare time into documenting the history of my Naval Air Reserve squadron Patrol Squadron 92, which is scheduled to be disestablished (i.e. closed down) during November 2007.
I intend to get a book into print about VP-92 by the late spring/early summer of 2007. This book is to be called "The Minutemen of VP-92: The Story of New England's Naval Air Reserve Patrol Squadron". Once this project has been accomplished, I'll get back into the Penn Central book.
March 10th 2006
Dining on the Shore Line Route was referenced in the April issue of Trains magazine in an article entitled "When I Think Of Great Railroad Food, I Think Of..." by Tom Murray. In this article, Murray states "I didn't realize it then, but when I began to enjoy the New Haven's dining service in 1966, it was a shadow of what it had been. Marc Frattasio's excellent book, Dining on the Shore Line Route, has made me appreciate what I missed.".
I'm presently working on my next book, a project that is tentatively entitled "New Haven Railroad in Transition". This book will present the story, using text and about 250 (all-color I hope) photos, of how the New Haven Railroad became the New Haven Region of the Penn Central Transportation Company. As currently envisioned, the book will cover the period between the Penn Central takeover on January 1st 1969 and the early 1970s, during which time the New Haven's own unique corporate image and operations were gradually (and in some cases quickly) absorbed into Penn Central. I'm not working on a strict deadline (I'm loosely striving to be ready to go into print sometime in 2007) and have not yet picked a publisher. Check back here periodically during the next six months or so for material updates.
February 12th 2005
The Barnes & Nobile and Brentano's bookstores in the Copley Place mall in Boston, MA are now carrying Dining on the Shore Line Route. If you live or work in Boston and are considering buying a copy of this book in the near future, please consider buying it at one of these stores. Dining on the Shore Line Route is also carried by the Border's bookstores in Braintree and Kingston, MA and at the B. Dalton bookstore in Braintree.
December 22nd 2004
Marc Frattasio was extensively quoted (though in some cases not entirely correctly) in an article in the Stamford Advocate newspaper regarding the New Haven Railroad's McGinnis-era NH logo and red-orange, black, and white color schemes! Read the article ("New Haven Railroad Emblem A Lasting Image In A Changing World") on-line here.
The design program that is the basic subject matter of this article is, of course, covered in a huge amount of detail in The New Haven Railroad in the McGinnis Era.
October 22nd 2004
The Border's (near K-Mart) and B. Dalton (in the Braintree Plaza) bookstores in Braintree, MA are now carrying Dining on the Shore Line Route. If you live in southeastern Massachusetts and are considering buying a copy of this book in the near future, please consider buying it at these two stores or at the Border's bookstore in the Kingston Mall.
September 3rd 2004
The Border's bookstore in the Kingston Mall in Kingston, MA is now carrying Dining on the Shore Line Route. If you live in southeastern Massachusetts and are considering buying a copy of this book in the near future, please consider buying it at the Kingston Mall.
August 20th 2004
The R&LHS published a review of Dining on the Shore Line Route in the Spring-Summer issue of their fine publication, Railroad History. Among other things, the reviewer said that "This is the best, most comprehensive, and most focused introduction to the subject.".
May 13th 2004
Marc Frattasio and his two New Haven Railroad books, Dining on the Shore Line Route and The New Haven Railroad in the McGinnis Era were featured in a full-page article published in the Hyde Park Bulletin newspaper.
May 1st 2004
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On May 1st Marc Frattasio was guest speaker at the Mystic Valley Railway Society's annual meeting and luncheon. The event was held at the Piccadilly Pub on Route 1A in the town of Dedham, MA. Marc presented a 45 minute talk on the history of food and refreshment service on the New Haven, while wearing authentic NHRR Dining Car Department attire, and put on a display of menus, posters, china, silverware, and related artifacts from the railroad.
April 29th 2004
The April 29th edition of the Norwood Bulletin featured an article about a dining car service-related presentation that was given at the Norwood Public Library in Norwood, MA the previous evening during which Marc Frattasio put on a display of dining car menus, posters, china, silverware, and other related artifacts from the New Haven Railroad.
April 11th 2004
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An authentic New Haven Railroad dining car Easter luncheon was enjoyed by (left to right) Faith Frattasio, Penny Hermanson (former NHRR grill car hostess), Arthur Hermanson, Don Constantineau (former NHRR grill car and bar car bar attendant), and Marc Frattasio (behind the camera).
On the menu were New Haven Railroad favorites including Cantaloupe Fruit Cocktail 2-C, Chicken Croquettes 7-K, Ham Croquettes 9-AU, Mint-Glazed Carrots and Peas 11-N, Mashed Potatoes Au Gratin 11-BG, Corn Sticks 1-H, and Glorified Rice and Strawberries 16-AG. Each item was prepared per the authentic New Haven Railroad Dining Car Department recipes included in Dining on the Shore Line Route, except for Mashed Potatoes Au Gratin, which unfortunately did not make it into the book due to space constraints but which is presented here for you to try at home.
MASHED
POTATOES AU GRATIN 11-BG
Makes 8 Portions
Place 4 cups of Mashed Potatoes (Recipe 11-AA) in a pan. Sprinkle with grated cheese and melted butter. Place in the oven to brown.
April 5th 2004
Have you seen the May 2004 issue of Trains magazine yet? Page 72 highlights Dining on the Shore Line Route as the month's "Recommended Reading" with a review that states in part that "In a sea of books about railroading, it takes a lot to stand out. This one does.".
March 17th 2004
Radio station KUNM (89.9 FM) in Albuquerque New Mexico will broadcast an interview with me, on the subject of the New Haven Railroad's dining car service, at 10:30 PM Eastern Time / 8:30 PM Mountain Time on Saturday March 27th. If you live in the Albuquerque area be sure to tune in! If you live anywhere else in the world you can listen to live streaming audio on-line here!
February 8th 2004
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If you didn't get over to the Amherst Railway Society's train show in Springfield, MA on Saturday February 7th you missed the spectacle of me autographing copies of Dining on the Shore Line Route and The New Haven Railroad in the McGinnis Era at the New Haven Railroad Historical & Technical Association's booth wearing a complete New Haven Railroad dining car department attendant's outfit from the late 1950s/early 1960s era.
There will be more opportunities to meet me during early 2004 since I will be signing copies of my books at a number of train shows and other events across southern New England. See the schedule of events on my public appearances page for dates, times, and locations.
December 6th 2003
The January 2004 issue of Railfan & Railroad magazine features a two-page review of Dining on the Shore Line Route.
October 11th 2003
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A reunion of former New Haven Railroad "Grill Car Girls" was held at my home on Saturday October 11th to thank these women for the assistance they provided in producing Dining on the Shore Line Route. From left to right are pictured Alice McGillicuddy, Ruth Anderson, Betty DiGregorio, Ann Flynn, Gerry Corrado, and Penny Hermanson. These women worked as hostesses and attendants on diners, grill cars, and lounge cars assigned to various New Haven passenger trains such as the Merchants Limited, Yankee Clipper, Bankers, and East Wind.
September 30th 2003
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Dining on the Shore Line Route is now in distribution and can be obtained from a variety of sources.
The ISBN number of the book for those of you who want to try to order it through your local bookstore or hobby shop is 1-883089-83-2.
July 28th 2003
E-mail messages and letters of praise regarding The New Haven Railroad in the McGinnis Era are beginning to come in from people who have received the book. Here's a few excerpts:
"Wow!" - (This was really interesting as the entire letter was just one word, written huge in black magic marker, on a sheet of vintage B&M Railroad stationary.)
"Received the book in the mail yesterday. Thanks! Really enjoying reading the book as I stayed up late last night & most likely will do the same today."
"Better than I expected! An excellent history of this era AND excellent photo coverage. The book can stand on either of these merits alone, and the price is fair for the amount of material. More than most of the current crop of photo books. Although I don't want to denigrate any of the other books written, the depth of your material is nicer than the somewhat limited view of some railroad employees and photographers."
"I have only had time to quickly browse through it so far, but I am very impressed with the depth to which you went to present the story."
"With numerous photographic images and descriptive text, Mr. Frattasio has presented an extremely informative, comprehensive history of the line during the brief tenure of Patrick McGinnis."
"It's wonderful! I'm very impressed! I'll stop now using exclamations! I can't wait to dig into it. It looks extremely thorough."
"All I can say is RUN, DON'T WALK, to your railroad book supplier! SELL THE KITCHEN STOVE, MORTGAGE YOUR BRASS MODEL COLLECTION IF YOU MUST, but DO NOT miss out on this, the New Haven book of the century ! ! ! Every NH fan should get one, REGARDLESS of whether you "like" PBM or not. Well done, Marc !"
"You did a wonderful job and I will spend many happy hours reading it."
"The book came the other day and it looks like a winner!"
"I want to congratulate you on the release of this book. I am a big fan of Northeastern railroads and I was anxious to see this book when it came out. It is a very polished piece and full of great information."
The New Haven Railroad Historical & Technical Association's Bill Reidy has written a review of The New Haven Railroad in the McGinnis Era for the "NHRHTA Bulletin". His review is reproduced in full below:
"The New Haven Railroad in the McGinnis Era", by Marc J. Frattasio, White River Productions, Inc., hardcover, 256 pages.
Mention the name Patrick B. McGinnis to any student of New Haven Railroad history and you're likely to get a strong reaction. The range of views on this controversial New Haven president run from slick con man to an unrecognized visionary.
Marc Frattasio's new book presents a detailed review of McGinnis' professional career as a railroad securities analyst and in railroad management, including his involvement with the Norfolk Southern, Central of Georgia, and Boston and Maine railroads. Most of the book, though, reviews McGinnis' 21 months as New Haven Railroad president, from April 1954 to January 1956.
Detailed information is presented on the McGinnis plan to "reinvent" the New Haven in the public's mind, from a conservative, fading institution into a modern transportation system. The author provides an extensive review of the McGinnis administration's "Planned Progress" initiatives, including new high-speed trains, modernized passenger stations and a new corporate image. Scores of photos, diagrams and artwork detail McGinnis' attempt to develop the New Haven's new corporate image -- an image which still lives on nearly 50 years later, due to the adoption of the McGinnis locomotive paint schemes by the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
There are some minor problems with the book: J.P. Morgan nemesis Louis Brandeis is referred to as "Lewis" Brandeis; The possessive form of McGinnis frequently appears as "McGinnis'ss" (as in "McGinnis'ss plans"); and although color is used extensively, some of the publisher's choices on its use are baffling. For example, some of the equipment painting diagrams are presenting in black and white, making it difficult to see the subtle differences in the evolution of paint schemes.
While there is mention of McGinnis' contemporary critics, at times it would have been helpful to have more detail on their objections. One example: the McGinnis leaseback program for railroad equipment is characterized as controversial, but no explanation is given of the critics' concerns.
Overall, though, Mr. Frattasio presents a fascinating review of McGinnis and his involvement with the New Haven. While most critics of Patrick B. McGinnis are unlikely to be swayed in their opinion, this book provides a detailed history of the New Haven during this critical period. "The New Haven Railroad in the McGinnis Era" belongs in the library of everyone who is interested in the history of the New Haven Railroad.
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The New Haven Railroad in the McGinnis Era is now in distribution and can be obtained from a variety of sources.
The ISBN number of the book for those of you who want to try to order it through your local bookstore or hobby shop is 0-9659040-6-7.