the train — that of an American diplomat in 1950, who he de- scribes as “one of the first victims of the Cold War.” Chapters consist of
Simplon Orient-Express snowed in for fi ve days in Turkey, 1929 — COLLECTION OF ARJAN DEN BOER
posters, brochures and photographs. He has, in fact, created as a unique storage space for this extensive holding of Orient Express railroadiana, and describes the app as “an electronic coffee table book.” It opens with a 2:36-minute video introduction in which den Boer explains and illustrates the purpose and content of his project. Ten chapters follow, with titles such as Prelude, Pioneer Period, Golden Age, War Train, and Last Train?. In Cold War, one learns details of one of the two murders thought to have been committed on
from 16 to 33 “pages,” 234 in all, each made up of explanatory text and/or interactive route maps, posters, diagrams, art, his- torical photographs, eyewitness accounts, biographical sketch- es, timetables, and 360-degree panora- mas of the train’s lux- ury accommodations. The presentation ends with a 4:44-min- ute film montage de- picting different eras and locations. This excellent —
What? Book? DVD? Gallery? Museum tour? — app is a model for presenting information on railroading’s heritage and contributions to our increasingly mobile devices-dependent population. The only thing missing is the abil- ity to touch the displays, and Oculus VR tech- nology may soon enable that. Released in October 2015, it is available
through the iPad App Store exclusively — search term Orient Express History. Al- though it lists for $5.99, mine downloaded
for $4.99. Go here for more information, in- cluding screen shots:
itunes.apple.com/app/ id1038824442?mt=8. And Then There’s This: Stave Puzzles,
in Norwich, Vt., creates a variety of upscale handcrafted wooden jigsaw puzzles of various types. One series, known as TroubleMakers, offers “a mind-boggling experience” to “baffle, bemuse, and bring you hours of entertain- ment.” Central to the concept is each puzzle’s “magic piece,” “a keystone allowing you to swap it with other pieces in the puzzle [which] in turn creates several completely different puzzling solutions.” The one that caught my eye while working on this column is the 200-piece Stave Orient Expresso. It consists of a locomotive carrying — for some reason — four gendarmes, followed by four passen- ger cars whose travelers include the “Gang of 4” — thieves. Alerted to the presence of the thieves, the gendarmes set off through the train in pursuit. Your mission, puzzle-master, is to assist them in chasing and capturing the thieves as they move through the train (ex- cuse me, “puzzle”) as it races to its destina- tion. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Another TroubleMakers, the 90-piece
Ready To Roll, depicts a circus train with lions and tigers that get restless in their as- signed spaces and must be moved. These puzzles, individually hand-cut one
piece at a time, come in their own handmade keepsake box. If ordered on line, the two men- tioned here retail for $1,271.00 and $744.00 respectively. Learn more at
www.stavepuz-
zles.com — click on “Shop for Puzzles.”
PLEASE SEND QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS on railroad dining, art, and other trackside treats to Jim Porterfi eld at P.O. Box 3041, Elkins, WV 26241, or email
onthemenu@railfan.com.
58 JANUARY 2015 •
RAILFAN.COM
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