(https://pioneerandpilot.com/ray/img/pioneerpilot_thelighthouse.png)
Last year, we moved The Future is Still Silver and Black to its new home on pioneerandpilot.com (https://pioneerandpilot.com/). This year, we're finally unpacked and hosting a trainwarming party.
In addition to seeing how 1977 is treating our preserved pen pals so far, we've made a lot of upgrades and added amenities that will make your ride with us smoother and more comfortable. While the route is a little shorter this time around, we've built a cozy station in anticipation of your arrival.
Now departing for 1977!
The Spring 1977 Update includes::letter: Four
new letters (https://pioneerandpilot.com/site/january-1977/) to kick off 1977
:letter: A more user-friendly (and mobile-accessible)
art gallery (https://pioneerandpilot.com/ray/) to view Ray's collected art
:letter: A
complete website redesign built on Wordpress with tons of quality-of-life features including:
- An overall aesthetic upgrade
- Responsive CSS for a nicer experience on mobile devices, including embedded pages like the Timeline and Guestbook
- Every letter is now its own post, making them searchable, linkable, and bookmarkable
- This also allows for reading one by one in the post view or all at once in the blog view
- Additionally, it means that we can post new updates as we write letters rather than waiting until we have a year's worth
:letter:
New entries on the Engines, Etc. page for:
- The Stephenson's Rocket replica (and his brothers)
- Chicago Transit Authority No. 4391 (Green Hornet)
- Nevada Northern No. 101 "Ely"
- Illinois Terminal No. 101
- Norfolk & Western No. 2050
- Pullman 1792 (D.D.'s Delight)
- Chicago & Western Indiana No. 1900
- Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad No. 9904 "Pegasus"
- Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad No. 191 "Silver Inn"
- Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad No. 199 "Silver Inn"
- Galena and Chicago Union Railroad "Pioneer"
- Santa Fe (ATSF) No. 811
- Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad No. 3001
- Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad No. 4714 "Silver Dome"
- Christian Radich
- USS Constitution (Old Ironsides)
:letter:
New sections in the "Posts and Parcels" page for:
- Our humanized "fanfic of our fanfic" stories (https://archiveofourown.org/series/3847798)
- A piece of graphic art we did for the Flying Yankee Association (https://pioneerandpilot.com/site/postscripts/flying-yankee-doodle/) last year
- Our collected letter covers (https://pioneerandpilot.com/site/postscripts/letter-covers/) and postcards (https://pioneerandpilot.com/site/postscripts/postcards/), the first pieces of our Zephyr memorabilia collection that we've curated to share
:letter: New
Reader Forum (https://pioneerandpilot.com/forum/index.php) where members can discuss the letters, trains in general, or anything else.
- With a merit badge system where members can collect illustrated stamps (https://pioneerandpilot.com/forum/index.php?action=badgeawards;sa=masterlist) of all our favorite engines by doing things around the forum
:letter: New
tumblr (https://pioneerandpilot.tumblr.com/) blog compiling TFISSAB content over the last few years - both from our separate train sideblogs and fanwork we've been given - all in one place and tagged for easy browsing.
:letter: And a new
Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/pioneerandpilot.com) account, just to branch out a bit.