I have a collection of Model Railroaders spanning 1940 through 1998. Some are full years and some are in the Model Railroader binders. Can anyone tell me if these have any value?
Unfortunately not much. The dinbers are probably worth more than the magazines. Prior tot he DVD release, I was buying up old issues to fill out my collection, and guys at train shows would literally give them away so they didn;t have to carry the whole pile back out again. One show a guy had 10 full year’s worth, I was going to buy 5 of them. Guys said if I buy 6 he’d just give me the rest. For about $2 a year. Since the cost of the DVD comes out to about 22 cents an issue…
I’ve offered them free to the railroad club and local modelers, no takers. I hate to throw them out. Some aren’t good for much else, the are well worn from reading and re-reading, others are in perfect condition.
–Randy
Just like Randy, I too offered about 30 years worth to clubs in my part of the state and I had the same results.
I bought the DVD collection so I brought the whole collection to a show this summer and wrote free on a sign and one guy took a few. Since they had made many moves with me all over the country I was not going to lug them around any more and they went to the recycling bin.
Steve
Yeah, last year I bought two years worth of MRs for the low low price of $1.75 at a holiday open house.
They were supposed to be a dollar a year, but turned out that I only had $1.75 on me. Apparently very eager to get rid of anything (they had two banquet tables piled high with MRs and RMCs twined up into year-bundles) they could, my $1.75 was “close enough.”
Depends…I seen 1960-1966 bound volumes sell for $75.00 bucks for the lot and I I seen loose issues of MR,Trains and RMC sell between 50 cents to a $1.00 at train shows…These was in mint condition
Now,I paid $1.00 each for 6 MRs from the early 60s just for the “A Railroad You Can Model” articles and Doug Smiths article on car cards and waybills that I wanted…I cut the articles out and placed them in a 3 ring binder and threw the remainder of the magazines into the trash.
I would put 'em on e-bay as a lot deal and see what happens.I’ve sold paper back western novels at $2.00 each.It doesn’t hurt to try to sell things.
You know how the detail on engines and cars have made older stuff obsolete? Same thing with every aspect in older magazines.
Not true at all. Perhaps the materials have changed (I don’t think anyone would use asbestos cement in their scenery these days) but the techniques are mostly all still the same. Modeling techniques and tools are mostly still the same. The older magazines have much more information on even older prototypes, so if you model something other than the modern era, there’s more coverage than in today’s magazines.
–Randy
Last summer I got a collection of about 1/2 that number of years of both MR and MRC for free.
I had a ‘complete’ collection back to 1948 - I then bought the DVD. Right after Christmas I tried to sell them. The Mag Dealer guy at the trains shows would take them for free(and I had to haul them). I tried to give them away - Wound up making several trips to the county re-cycle site. At least they did not charge me!
Jim
It´s the sad truth that with the release of the DVD, a complete magazine collection has depreciated down to nil in value. Before taking it to the dump, I´d suggest you to ask your local public library if they have an interest in them.
Mitch, I had a fairly large collection and not that Model Railroader has the entire collection on DVD, I’ll probably pick it up. Our church was taking up a collection of magazines that they sent to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, so I was happy to donate them.
Curiously, Model Railroader itself might appreciate receiving at least some of your magazines. My understanding is that to create that “complete” edition they had to cannabilize their library’s hard copy collection – reduced to a bunch of loose pages after scanning. They have replaced some years but not all.
I was told that Linn Westcott’s widow found many needed issues at her home and gave them back to Kalmbach.
Dave Nelson
Dave and all -
Just to clarify, while we do accept donations of older issues of MR and Trains for the Morgan Library at times because copies do get worn when we’re making photocopies, taking photos of pages, and so on, we did not destroy the collection to make the DVD. Some newer (and widely available) issues were cut, but older issues were scanned in a way that did not damage them.
Speaking of the DVD, the second DVD set (special issues plus the archive) will be here any day. We’re really happy with it - it includes full sets of Great Model Railroads, Model Railroad Planning, plus our recent special issues, plus some treasures like a copy of Boomer Pete’s book on how to operate your layout (“Boomer Pete” was the pen name of Al Kalmbach), rare articles from Model Trains magazine, plus a second disk with several rare model railroad films, including an early 1940s look at how MR was made plus the 50th anniversary film.
You can click here to order: http://www.kalmbachstore.com/15140.html
or call 1-800-533-6644.
Thanks for reading MR,
Terry
Must agree with most above, they are worth very little if nothing at all, I have a complete collection of Fine Woodworking magazines, can’t sell them, can’t donate them, can’t give them away, would like to have the money in hand for what I paid for them,( I’m afraid to add up all the costs of each issue- yikes !) though I never bought them to make money. who knew eh?
Same mirrored here…Back issues of MR and MRC are free at most train shows. If you find a dealer and are seeking a specific issue from 1950 onwards $1.00 is the going price, but most recent back issues are not worth much to anyone.
Just the opposite, unfortunately for me, on back issues of the Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette which tends to offer its specialized articles that are intrinsically timeless and valuable. Some train magazine dealers regularly specialize in these back issues and a 1998 back issue that was $3.95 at the newsstand always goes for $5.00 each. This includes a back issue of the Jan-Feb issue 2012…$5.00 please.
I have never seen a back issue go for less than $5.00 of the NGSLG! Issues earlier than 1982 go for much more. This is one specialty mag that commands re-sale value as most of the readership cling to their back issues like gold. This magazine is thick and slick covered and every bit as thick as MR or MRC, but with more articles and just enough ads to be helpful in getting the specialized goodies narrow gaugers need from Nn3 to Gn3.
MR’s recent DVD back issue collection offering has sort of voided the value of the past printed word on pulp. Still, some few collectors want the original rags on their shelves. So, there will always be a market provided you meet the right person at the right time. But going out in the open for a quick sale in real money… forget it.
Richard
The model RR group at Boothbay RR Village has a collection of MR and other magazines. The MRs go back to the 1940s, and comprise a number of donations. When we get a new donation, we check to see if the donated ones are in better condition than our existing ones, then we sell the duplicates for 25 cents each or 5 for a dollar. There is not much interest in the old magazines, unless someone comes in with a specific issue in mind. Usually, the buyers are kids starting a new layout who want a handfull of magazines to read while they are on vacation in Maine
I am finding issues where I have three copies. I take the 3rd copies to waiting rooms. Doctors Offices, Dentist Offices, Barbers, hair stylists, hospitals, tire stores, car dealership service department waiting rooms, and most recently the local Grease Monkey. I figure if it gets just one more person interested in trains and model railroading then it is worth it.
You could donate some of the most recent ones to nursing homes. My mother made several visits to a nursing home over the last two years of her life. They had a book case with some old National Geographics and a few other mags, so I donated a year’s worth of MRs to them.
Steve S
There may be a few magazines someone is looking for and would be willing to pay, but overall I have to agree with everyone – there is simply not much value to them. Someone “donated” (dropped off and drove away) about 15 - 20 boxes of MR, RMC and several other RR magazines at one of the Lansing Model RR Club officer’s house. It took me most of the day at the Lansing Model RR Club Swap Meet and Show to unload them on show attendees. We gave them away for free, but I still had to cajole and wheedle people passing the club table to take them. Most of them went to families with little children, but we did have one guy take 5 boxes (thank you, whoever you are!). None of the dealers I spoke with were interested in them. One idea we were kicking around with is to take a handful and leave them in doctors’ waiting rooms when we had an appointment. Leaving them in retirement homes is an awesome idea – I think we will do that when the next round of magazine donations comes in.Good luck with unloading them.
Chuck