Are There Any "Good" Model Railroad Magazines?

I've seen (and participated in) a number of threads over the last little while where the majority opinion of the posters is that "mainstream" model railroading magazines (like MR & RMC) are not worth the price of a subscription.

If you subscribe (pun intended) to this viewpoint, are there, in your opinions, any "good" model railroad magazines? If so, which ones are they?

 

riverotter;

I don't subscribe to any of them. I pick up copies now and again if something interests me. But as someone on here said in another thread, so much of it seems to be recycled. I was reading an article from a recent MR on repowering an old brass HO loco. While it was interesting information the references at the end were all old issues of MR.

We are, at the present time, living witnesses to a major shift in news dissemination. People are turning away from print media to the internet. As far as I'm concerned, TrainBoard is the best model railroad "magazine" I can subscribe to. I would like to think I'm doing a respectable job on About.com, but frankly that site is oriented to beginners and parents who want to buy trains for their kids. Although I do hope some of you are watching to "keep me honest".

Best!

 

Nobody likes a bragger.:tb-wink::thumbs_up:

 

I have allways found this one to be pretty good, but I am definatly biased on this one

 

With all the internet resources I can't think of any good reason to use a monthly magazine ( except maybe if you are amish?). The paper is un-needed and the interaction is very slow for these days of electronic instantly transfered information. For instance if you asked your question in a paper magazine it would probably be 3 to 6 months before you got a reply and it would be edited by someone to suit their self interest.
I do buy the annual MRP and GMRR issues to keep for a journal of evolving practice ....dave

 

Model Railroad News is an excellent magazine. Check them out Welcome to Model Railroad News - The NewsMonthly for Model Railroaders

 

I really like the Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette and Continental Modeler. The Gazette focuses on just what the name says, narrow gauge and shortlines, not to mention a good amount of logging, mining and industrial trains. Continental Modeler is an English magazine that focuses on international trains, models and prototypes. Besides those two, I'll occasionally pick up an N-scale Railroading or RMC, depending on what's in the issue. I usually buy MR's Great Model Railroads as well...

-Cody

 

Worth in this case is a personal thing. I think the first questions to ask yourself are:
What do I want (in terms of information)?
How do I want to get it (on screen or in print)?

The idea that the internet will kill off printed paper has been around nearly as long as "the paperless office". Several attempts to sell 'e-books' have simply not gone anywhere yet. There is a huge inertia of conservatism, and logically I'd expect that to be even heavier in model railroading - most of us model the past,even if only 10...20 years ago.

And even those of us who claim to be modellers rather than collectors are usually squirrelers as well. Be honest - when did you last throw something unless it was really necessary?
So collecting magazines can be classed as a legitimate part of the hobby.

I get MR and would agree that there is a level of recycling of ideas, but then again it reminds me that there is good experience out there and reinventing the wheel isn't always the best way. They also highlight new products which I probably wouldn't find otherwise.
Above all it's nice to sit in a comfy chair with a mug of coffee and a magazine for some armchair modelling

If you decide you want print, then get a few issues of the most likely contenders and see which floats your boat best before taking a sub. And look for deals - there can be good savings to be made if (eg) you take a 2 year sub over a single.

 

If your interested in magazines of any kind, try this link. This is for the train mags.

every-magazine.com - Trains magazines - buy online - subscribe - subscription

 

I agree with everyone here that it depends upon what your personal needs/wants are. I was a subscriber to MR and RMC for many years and found it helpful when I was in the scales they are focused on. When I got into narrow gauge I went with Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazzette and have remained so. IMHO it is the highest quality mag out there, but even that has changed in the last few years and one does get the occassional turkey.

Unfortunately for the mag world of model railroading the internet has replaced much of the need for a mag. For instance, when I want specific info on DCC I do not go pawing through back issues, I simply google what I want and if needed print it off. The worth of my magazines really is starting to come down to looking at the great layouts and wonderful modeling in them and then having that as a guide and source of inspiration later on.

 

As so well stated in one of the first replies in this thread. Were witnessing a shift in how we get our news, via the internet. Which in my opinion is more current than we've see from printed media. I've read and subscribed to the printed media in recent times also to verify this fact since I came back to the hobby from a long absence. And the statment is true. Model railroader Mag is one of the better pubs out there now a day though I must say. It's more bias toward HO scale than any other scale though . But other than that it uses fairly current news and sources for it's articles.
I'm an N Scale modeler however so it really wasn't as useful as I would have liked.
I also subscribed to both of the N Scale pubs the verdict is still out since I am covering the second of the two.
Well that's my two bits:tb-cool:

 

I would respectfully disagree with those who think the computer, internet, bloggers and or other poorly executed attempts of sharing information will ever... replace the written, printed and or published word. Not as long as there are those who want to sell their pictures, be published and otherwise require you to buy a book or magazine. All of which falls under copyright and legal issues therein!

Personally, I don't think there is a bad model railroad magazine out there and each one is needed. I still enjoy sitting down in the throne room to read an how to article on scenery, scratch building and/or re-powering a locomotive. Reflecting on the past, I still consider the best Model Railroad issues to be the ones from the 50's and 60's. And, I'm not alone.

We do well here at TrainBoard, the Atlas Forum and other model railroad type's of forums but honestly...you have to wade through a lot of interesting but annoying misinformation with repetitive questions that deal with "What is the minimum radius curve I can use?" OR "What couplers are best?" OR "What happened"?.. Ie., To a specific locomotive, (never mind it's been out for almost six months and some one isn't doing their homework or ooogle googling to check with various vendors). How about those poorly titled threads that make it difficult to do a search Ie., "I had one of those" (what, what, what did you have?). Oh yes, I know there isn't such a thing as a stupid question but there are "Dumb" ones. Ie., A guy falls off the roof of a ten story building and someone runs up and asks "Are you Ok"! or "Are you hurt"...Yep, you guessed it a "Dumb" question but it does show compassion. You are a red neck if...grin!

For those of us who share our best advice, it's often ignored or overlooked. And, if it is appreciated it's often done so with nary a thank-you. For those of us, (I'm not one of them) who blog themselves into being published it's usually because they do hands on research and report said findings in an authoritative and informative way. I would think it can be fulfilling and rewarding to be published.... I've read articles written by those who participate here and enjoyed them immensely and found them helpful Ie., Pete Nolan, the Colonel and Power Steam Guy. I probably wouldn't have paid much attention to the same thing in a "Blog". But, wait I have and found Bob's/ PSG's blogs to be very helpful. As far as the magazines go... I have my favorite editors and authors and why not?

Reflecting on past issues: You ought to see the stack of older magazines I have in storage. Time to share the wealth with others. They may not smell good (LOL) but they read the same. Oh and the really bad articles were torn out and used as...well...you know!

N Scale has two magazines dedicated to serving us microscopic model railroaders (Said with a grin). "Blind scale", as my HO and O scale friends refer to it. Two wig wags...how lucky can we be? I can't wait for each issue to arrive and my private time. Humm, I live alone, why do I need private time in the lou? Old habits are hard to break...I guess!

This is a great place to discuss a present problem and see how others have solved the same problem. Here many of us can find a way to reach out to others, swap funny stories, reflect on the past share the current project or demonstrate a how to and otherwise encourage each other to continue enjoying a unique hobby.

There was a time when the only model railroaders you had to talk to was someone locally. Because, of the stigma of "Playing with toy trains", many of us were reluctant to share our hobby interest. Keeping it secretive. I knew a fellow who would walk away from a purchase just to avoid being seen buying toy trains. Sad...actually. Not anymore. We can be proud of who we are and the hobby we share together.

Have fun!

 

For me, magazines are a great source of information. Like books and the web. I've never been to the USA so I'm a subscriber.

Wolfgang

 

I agree that most of the info is re-hashed and repeats almost anually. I always keep in mind the motivation of the magazines to keep profitable while doing something they enjoy. So they need to dedicate some info to the beginner hence the repeated info. I think I can speak for many modelers that if they were published their opinions would change in a second.
I also do not subscribe to any at this time, but would like to. There are other resources less expensive and more thorough. Even with the noise in the forums you aren't limited to the authors one opinion therefore may have better solutions to choose from.

 

I think the big issue with model railroad magazines and really almost any similar hobby is that very little of the information we want is news. We mostly want to see tips, tricks, others work. Almost none of that is actually best served by a monthly magazine. On the internet, I can show you my work without needing to prove to a biased editor that it's worthy and you can comment directly without going through a letters page. It really fosters a sense of community. I've seen this community on a number of different sites on a number of different topics, so I know it's not a fluke.

We finally have a tool in the internet that allows us to communicate with likeminded people as a community regardless of age, money or location. It simply can't be topped by any magazine regardless of how good it is.

 

I have to admit I still love reading Model Railroader.

 

That is interesting. I was just going to send in my subscription renewal for MR: 1 year for $37.95. This link sells a 1 year MR subscription for $29.95. Have you ordered magazines through this web-stie? Are they legit? Maybe I'll skip the renewal offer and use this site instead.

Thanks

 

Bingo. I have subscribed to MR on a consistent basis since January of '84. I still get something out of it. Mike is correct, it is very much a personal thing. For me, I would much rather sit down with a magazine (or book) and flip through pages, etc to do my learning. I find it easier and more natural to go back and forth between a couple of pages rather than go back and find screens, etc., on a PC. But that is probably a function of being a little older, or whatever.

As far as the magazines go, I do get ideas from them. Not all articles are going to be targeted to my era, scale, geography, or road. But that's fine. There is still enough information and technical application in MR that I can get something out it and apply it to my layout. Especially now that I am tearing down my existing layout and planning a new one, I have found I am reaching to my backlog of 24 years of MR more and more to get ideas.

I will still from time to time purchase other magazines such RMC if I see an article on the cover that I think would appeal to me. But when I subscribed to MR back in the day, it came down to a decision between MR and RMC. I just chose MR. Don't know why. I just knew I couldn't continuously subscribe but to one.

MR (in my opinion) has admittedly gone to the "perfect" "glitzy" layouts over the last couple of decades. Its obvious to me that some of the layouts have had multiple folks helping out with construction, etc. That can be discouraging to the "lone wolf" like myself that does everything from building the craftsman kit box car; to slapping down some green foam-turf; to putting a water tower on top of a building; to wiring a control panel; etc., etc. I do wish MR would feature, emphasize, and REQUIRE HOW a paticular bazillion square foot empire got to the point it did when it hit the magazine.

But that's fine. I can get past all of that to gleem what I need from it. Its still a useful magazine.