Just a stray thought.. What model, or even real railroading magazines do you subscribe to? What's the most relevant to n-scale modeling railroading? I've got some extra cash to spend and was thinking of subscribing to something to help keep my interest up in the hobby. (been kind away from the hobby the last few years due to a number of probs..)
Trains. Enough articles on some of the older stuff to keep my interest, some interesting railroad stories, and articles on current shortline and mainline roads, plus some of the new technology to make some good reading. Most of the other magazines rarely have anything of interest in my era or likes and were just piling up and taking space. .
I have dropped way more magazines than the number that I currently subscribe to. Somehow I just lost interest in reading them and they just piled up. I still read Trains, Classic Trains and two Historical Society publications, SP Trainline and The Warbonnet. If I ever get a hankering to read model magazines, I have stacks of unread issues that would take years to read.
N Scale RailRoading (1) Historical society magazine (1) Historical society newsletter Why the short list? Some no longer publish. Content or topic lacks interest for me these days. Budget a concern as well. Otherwise, just a rare pick form the magazine rack.
I currently only subscribe to two things: Cowcatcher Magazine ( http://www.cowcatchermagazine.com ) and the BN Expediter that comes with the FOBNR Historical Society membership. ( http://www.facebook.com/fobnr or http://www.fobnr.org ) I have done MR, Trains, RMC, and R&R digital editions over the past couple of years and I enjoy having that convenience but I just let them lapse and money is a little tight right now. If the N-scale mags would do a digital version I would be all over that. Kent, if you're looking for something a little different/fresh, I would subscribe to the Cowcatcher for a year....$14.95 for six issues I think. It's a very well done publication...sort of "regional" but expanding its scope of late so there's a good chance of finding something you like. I happen to know the editor and he's very passionate about his product and I think it's a good one. I do have to give a shout out to Trains magazine. I was in a hobby shop on Saturday and decided to pickup the latest MR since it had articles on weathering that I thought looked decent. Also spied Trains which has an article on the South Orient which is of interest, and then picked up Great Model Railroads as well. Got to the checkout and the guy asked me if I had any of the recent Trains magazines and I said no, I just pick them up when they look good to me. He gave me three back issues for free...I think May, June, and July of this year. I have to say, those might be the four best issues of Trains I've seen in a LONG time. I figured I would scan through the freebies and toss them but they are all four still in my reading pile. (I don't do clutter so magazines don't live long in my world...I scan the articles I want for reference and they're gone.)
I get N Scale and N Scale Railroading every month, but buy them off the shelf.......neither offer significant discounts for subscribing, I figure I'll give the local hobby shop a little business, and I don't have to worry about USPS handling my issues. I only get Model Railroader delivered.
I subscribe to Model Railroader and Classic Trains. I really enjoy Classic Trains as it covers the era that I model (late 60s early 70s). I had been a subscriber to Train Illustrated and I loved it (it was all color), but sadly, it didn't get enough readers. Classic Trains is pretty close but includes black and white photos. I pick up other magazines if some content catches my interest.
N Scale N Scale Railroading Model Railroader The Sentinel (B&ORRHS magazine) However, I also follow several railroad forums including real and model.
I subscribe to the following: Model Railroader Trains N Scale Magazine N Scale Railroading Ties (Southern Ry. Hist. Society) NMRA Magazine Layout Design Journal (Layout Design SIG) Dispatchers' Office (Operations SIG, electronic) Model Railroad Hobbyist (electronic)
Let's see: Model Railroader Trains Classic Trains Railroad Model Craftsman Railfan & Railroad N-Scale N-Scale Railroading Model Railroad Hobbyist-----Digital Online Only Since I travel a lot on the job, it's always nice to have reading material.
Wow, lots of replies. Interesting the MR wasn't mentioned as much as the N-Scale mags. But then again, I've always thought MR leaned more to the ho dark side of the tracks So right now I'm thinking I'll at least get one of the n specific magazine, since they are harder to get around here. In fact I though the one was gone since the hobby shops around here don't have it. thanks for all the feedback
SP Trainline and The Warbonnet there needs to more prototype models of santa fe and southern pacific getting old seeing all northwest railroads from n scaling magazine
Model railroader, but I'm letting it go when the current subscription runs out. It's just become a pale shade of its former self. Model railroad hobbyist (online free) That's about it so far as 'publications' go. I find I get more value from the various forms and YouTube.
