Not to come across as boorish, but…I’ve been an avid reader since about 2000…I like the magazine. but during the past several months, things have started to appear…“kitschish” to a level that feels discomforting.
Just finished reading both the Winter edition of classic trains, and the December issue of trains, and all I can say is…“O boy, snow, how novel” AS if I wasn’t gonna be having enough of that to deal with personally before too long,…lets really rub it in.
I guess the base culprit here is “themed issues”? A few months back we had that “70’s issue” which was (while novel) a little bit too warm and fuzzy for my tastes (that pic of the brady bunch was just too “hot co-co and marshmallows” for me)…but.as a change of pace, I figured why not…it was cool to see the paint schemes.
But now we have entire issues devoted to mens struggles against winter, and it just seems like we’ve gotten a bit too “Oprah” ish, in focusing on the personal side of railroading.
Don’t get me wrong, some of the themed issues we’ve had in the past were big favorites of mine, such as the ones devoted to helpers, or the 2 issues devoted to switching yards…but I just have a feeling that if the issues focused on switch yards were to run today they would have a page and a half dedicated to what the hump operator had for breakfast that morning and 2 more recounting his devoted afterwork participation in local charities… which isn’t really what I buy the magazine for.
Anybody else feel similarly, or am I all alone here?
The “personal side” of railroading may have it’s appeal, but at some point of being overdone the end product begins to look too much like “McCalls” magazine. Which if THAT was what I wanted, that is what I’d be buying. It isn’t.
To use a phrase that means very little these days…, “very interesting” observation. The world’s a big place and the variety of people, even among us rail nuts, still surprises me. You see I have thoroughly enjoyed the mag(s) as they’ve focused on the human side of railroading.
Yes, I love the hardware side, the structure side, and so forth, but people make it all work. Sometimes, as I observe the industry from the sidelines, I do wonder about what the hump operator had for breakfast, or even whether he (she) had any at all.
This phase, if it actually is one, will pass just as all the rest have done. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy a side of the industry not highlighted too often. I don’t watch Oprah, don’t read McCall’s and have a difficult time properly using the word “kitsch” in any meaningful way, let alone “kitschish”. But I love trains, all aspects thereof.
The gospel according to Mark (Hemphill), Chapter 4, Verse2 (I think), The Editors Guide to the Galaxy goes something like “You can please some of the readers all the time and all the readers some of the time, but you can’t please all the readers all the time”. And then there are the advertisers.
I suspect that all comments will be noted and considered.
Don’t know if the 70s issue was too saccharin, but it was different.
As for the December Trains…well, never having to work in snow that deep…
Now, I do have had to work in another substance quite often, about knee deep; it too sticks to everything, and is great for slinging!
I think part of the problem is that we got too comfortable with the tone and flavor Mark had set at the magazine…and the new crew is still looking for the groove that sets them apart.
Now, if I had any criticism for the current editors, it would be that they seem to have forgotten that the middle of the country has a lot of railroads also.
I have been a reader since 1990…and noticed early on that if it wasn’t in California, or east of the Mississippi, specifically the North East, it didn’t rate much coverage.
But beyond that, compared to the other fan oriented magazines out there, Trains has them beat hand down for content and style.
I have been a reader since about 1972. It was the issue with the cover of the actress getting off of the Super Chief that caught my eye. Been hooked ever since.
Back in the day with David P. Morgan, there was always a holiday theme and it often involved snow. I guess I got used to that, so this issue was pretty good as far as I am concerned. Actually, we got a double dip as Classic Trains also had the snow theme. Like it or not Anti…we are going to get the snow pretty soon.
Each time there was a changing of the guard, I always thought…now what? I really think Mark was hitting his stride and making a HUGE mark with his blend of rail business and being a fan. I was sorry to see him leave, but the magazine will no doubt survive. The recent two issues dealing with the NS and CSX were really good. It was good to see the Eastern roads covered, rather than UP and BNSF.
Regarding what was served for breakfast…I will go back and read it again, as I missed that and a good article on the diner is always appreciated.
One thing I will easily and readily concede, there was David P. Morgan and Mark Hemphill … and then after a long pause, the other editors. I do very much miss Mark.
Jim Wrinn has yet to prove himself (no offense meant).
There was a time when the masthead or title on the cover of Trains magazine matched that of it’s sister publication, Model Railroader. To have TRAINS spraweled across the cover of the magazine the way it has been just doesn’t cut it with me. It is dull and unimaginative. I wi***hat Kalmbach Publishing would go back to using the old style of masthead. But sadly, I doubt that would ever happen.
I would like to see some rosters once and awhile. It would have been nice to know where all of those MRL SD45s came from in the June issue.
The magazine now is certainly better than it was under KPK when he tried to turn it into Passenger Train Journal.
Hopefully there won’t be any more European travelogues with George Drury.
We just had a two day blast over the Dec issue of Model Railroader over in the HO forum. It seems that the issue promised an in depth look at DCC systems, but they didn’t deliver. A large number of members excoriated Kalmbach for the pap that they published.
Maybe the time has come to give them an attitude adjustment. They are catching it in both ears.
I have been an avid Trains reader since 2000. I do have to say it’s one of the finest railroad magazines I’ve ever read. I espeacilly enjoy it when Trains features articles about different types of railroading techniques and differnet styles used such as Mountian Railroading or Flat Land Railroading. I also enjoy it when Trains puts out articles about the people involved in railroading and the lifes they lead or have lead. I do noticed that many of these articles seemed to come about during Mark Hemphill’s time as editor.
1.) Trains is not going to run a feature on a railroads’ locomotive roster unless it is germane to the theme of the article. It would have been nice to see an MRL SD45 roster, but that’s for the editor to decide.We the readers, have the right to disagree after the fact, however. 2.) Kevin Keefe’s reign as editor generated a lot of debates over content. Controversy sells magazines and hits on their website! That’s his job, and he knew he’d catch a bit of heat now and then. 3.) George Drury’s travelogs give us perspective on how the rest of the civilized world travels. It can be of value to us, espically now!
Wow, so I’m really in the minority on that one huh?
Too bad because that would suggest the mag is likely to cultivate that aspect of their mix, and if they do and the personal element becomes a predominant component, I will stop buying it.
I hated the way NBC went gonzo in the coverage of the last olympics, hour after hour of endless drivel about the personal struggles if (each of) the individual athletes. Seems like the Lifetime network was taking over sports casting.
Recently I was watching a special on TV about the building of a replacement for the bay bridge in San Franciso, when half way through they drum up this nonsense about: >> But HEY folks, Iron workers are NOT just all work and no play types, lets see how the workmen spend their WEEKENDS!<< and broke away to show a buncha shirtless paunch bellies sporting truckers tans and swilling beer on jet skis…and I just thought “cripes” not really what I was tuned in for, yanno?
Times change I guess, So how long do we have to wait for the feature article depicting the ‘feminine side’ of the great robber barons of the 19th century?
I’m a so wanting to see Jay Gould’s fragile inner nature put out on display for all to see… And read all about Al Perlman’s home petunia garden [zzz]
maybe its geography maybe its past history.the magazine used to be trains and travel.i suspect most readers are from the mid-section of the country.so seeing pics of the west and the east gives us here in the middle a good look at places far away.and as far as details maps and other facts trains gets it right the first time.I am always at the mailbox at the beginning of the month waiting for it to come.keep up the good work.
stay safe
Joe
Well, I’m not really trying to slam Kalmbach, just airing my concerns about a particilat trend I see growing in the magazine that makes it less enjoyable for me.
I just payed out like $13.00 for the December and winter issues of their magazines, and had read everything that interested me in a day and a half,…and that is a first.
Left me feeling like I got hustled. (just being honest)
I know they have to appeal to all tastes… but after reading about the RR X-mas toy relief for children, and the usual recant of past experiances that is common for “railroad reading”,…I was 'full" of the personal aspect and was ready to read about some trains…
Maybe the time has come for Kalmbach to branch out and ad a sister publication? “Real lives of Real railroaders” or some such? Even perhaps “True Railroad Detective” and get that guy who was writing the detective cinderdick spoof here to contribute…
You may have just spoken golden words, ANYTHING in moderation is tolerable, bit with both the December and winter issues devoted to the same subject, my snow plow runneth over. enough being it’s definitive self, and all, etc
There’s obviously a healthy diversity of preferences here for our favorite magazine. I’m glad I don’t have to make the decisions that Jim Wrinn and company must make every month to get the mag out.
It’s a darn good magazine and I intend to hang in there with it for the duration.
Oh my, Mr. AntiGates, your comments are priceless. They got me thinking about Lou Menk’s porcelain doll collection, Ben Biaggini’s priceless set of antique doilies, Downing B. Jenks’s expertly assembled assortment of preserved butterflies, and D.W. Brosnan’s collection of 18th century European thimbles.
WHAT? WHO AM I KIDDING? Each of these railroad presidents had a well earned reputation of minds-like-steel-traps, a kick-butt-and-ask-questions-later / take no prisoners style of managing, and they ate raw human flesh, 10-penny nails, and battery acid for breakfast!
In a world full of skim milk personalities, the average railroader is a chocolate malted: thick and rich! Trains, my favorite magazine, would be less of a publication if it didn’t expose its readership to the human side of railroading - the comical, the sad, the happy, and the frustrating. I don’t want dry statistics, all 3/4 wedge and roster shots, endless photos of coal trains (Yawn!), grain trains(Yawn again!), and double stacks (Zzzz.), and the “Chamber of Commerce” fluff that too often passes for writing in the railroad trade press. The editors do a good job of giving their readership a broad selection of stories that appeal to a whole cross section of interests. I’d rather see them experiment with something new, from time-to-time, than just reha***he same old topics over-and-over.