Maple Leaf Rag to its publication, Joplin anticipated that the piece would be a success—he told Arthur Marshall that "The Maple Leaf will make me the king of ragtime composers". The exact circumstances which led to publication of the "Maple Leaf Rag" are unknown, and there are versions of the event which contradict each other. After approaching several publishers, Joplin signed a contract with John Stillwell Stark on August 10, 1899 for a $0.01 royalty on all sales of the rag, with a minimum sales price of $0.25. The "Maple Leaf Rag" was published between August 10 and September 20, 1899, when the
Maple Leaf (train) operating out of Iran. In the United States, the Maple Leaf shares the route of Amtrak's "Empire Service". Prior to the completion of the Empire Connection in 1991, the "Maple Leaf" originated at Grand Central Terminal in New York instead of Penn Station. In Canada, the service shares the route of the GO Transit Lakeshore West line. The "Maple Leaf" operates over Metrolinx, Canadian National Railway, CSX Transportation, Metro-North Railroad, and Amtrak trackage: The "Maple Leaf" operates year-round with an Amtrak GE P42DC or P32AC-DM locomotive and Amfleet I & II passenger cars. A typical consist will include: Between Albany