Hello TSZ subscribers!!!

First, did your zine arrive yet? Please let me know if not.

Second, please do this survey. Help us improve the zine! Three random people who finish it will be given $50 towards Train Songz merchandise to use any time.

Third, check our billing portal to make sure your payment information is up-to-date if you’d like to renew on your renewal date in 2026. If you want to switch to $33, $55, or $77 get in touch and let me know. Else you’ll renew at your usual rate.

Speaking of the merchandise store is open. Our pop-up shop for #8 is mostly last year’s odds and ends, meaning everything but the brown “Locomotive Engineering” shirt is ready to ship immediately. We have limited stock of each item, and once they’re gone — they’re gone. This’ll be the last time any of these items run, as we turn over to our 2026 merchandise in February.

If you’re new around these parts, we only sell merchandise to subscribers. We also only sell 4x per year, for about a month of pre-orders after each issue drops.

• By the way, there are no hats. I’m bringing the rest of what I have to our concert in Asheville on February 12.

• Hats will be back in the issue #9 pop-up shop.

Here’s a few hats we’re cooking up for February, shoutout @rankstrangedesign on the fish and @nothingshakinco on the Norfolk Southern horse-on-the-tracks flip.

Chance for $50 off merchandise

• Do this survey — 3 random winners for $50 off merchandise

• It’s 4 total questions. Four! We ask that you put thought and time into each, because we’ll read every response.

• We’re still making issue #9, so we’ll implement your feedback immediately.

This is a small community! We have 1,300 subscribers. Your voice matters, and we really value your feedback in helping us shape future issues. That’s why we do surveys. This is a comprehensive one, not just about issue #8, but about every issue of last year. I want to know your favorite issue, whether you liked the Royal-style takeover or like more varied content within the confines of our pages. I also want to hear what you think about Train Songz as a whole, if you’d be kind enough to take a few minutes to share.

Looking forward to reading what you’ve got to say! Don’t hold back. We’re tough as Carnegie steel. Ah, Carnegie. A railroad man through and through.

–The Conductor