Chit-Chat with author Bill Trombello: Wheaton author on right track with writing stories

Author Bill Trombello of Wheaton learned to work outside of his element. A former educator and senior instructor with the Electro-Motive division of the General Motors Corporation in La Grange, Trombello is all about the facts when it comes to writing educational books on trains. But for his latest and third book, “The Willow Falls Christmas Train,” Trombello had to learn to write a story. The three-year project is finished, just in time for the holidays, and is available through Trombello’s company, Technical Training Consultants based in Lisle, and through online book stores like Amazon.com. Trombello says the book is up for a possible publishing deal to be distributed in Office Depot stores nationwide.

Children's author and locomotive training specialist Bill Trombello is about to release his third book - a holiday book - called "The Willow Falls Christmas Train." STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN COX

When did trains become a fascination for you?
As every child, I had a train set — a Lionel train set — and I think most children have a fascination with trains. That’s the nice thing about them — they’re fun. My fascination was never with the steam trains. It was almost always with the sleek, diesel locomotives, like the streamliner.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve done with a train set?
When I first got married, I must say, I took up a complete bedroom in our little two-bedroom home. I took the train set and a race car set, and here I am, 22 years old, and they were set up in this room. Needless to say my wife wasn’t happy. (laugh) It wasn’t the best use of a bedroom in a two-bedroom home.

What inspired you to write a holiday book on trains?
The publisher of my first book, Nightengale Press, had a couple of authors who did holiday books, and I think that inspired me... I thought, ‘Children love trains and a holiday book about trains is wholesome for the family and would certainly be a wealth of change.’ There are some wonderful young adult novels out today, but so many of them are dealing with the dark side, like vampires ... But I thought, ‘Hey, let’s get back to some of the wholesomeness, some of the family, some of the holiday value’ and that’s what this book does. It’s got a good message to it.

Do you draw from your childhood or community experiences when you write?
Mostly work experiences. What’s special to me about this book is that it deals with my experience with trains, for example the E9 train in the story... The story is actually based on a true story that happened in Montreal with the train lighting the town after they lose power. A lot of people don’t know that trains can produce electricity. And it also comes from what I experienced with trains during Hurricane Katrina. I remember trains being loaded up with items, before heading down there.

Speaking of trains, look for Bill Trombello and the Little Obie Train, a miniature parade locomotive courtesy of the Canadian National Railroad, in the Wheaton Christmas parade on Nov. 28 in downtown Wheaton.
 

BUY THE BOOK
WHAT “The Willow Falls Christmas Train” by Bill Trombello
HOW TO GET THE BOOK You can e-mail Technical Training Consultants, Inc. at ttcinc01@aol.com or call (630) 353-0400 to purchase a book.
HOW MUCH $13.95