June 2008 was the last issue.
KL
What a shame, I used to see that periodically and I believe have purchased it in the past.
Another one bites the dust!!!
Robert Schleicher, the editor, is himself an excellent modeler and Railmodel Journal featured some rather sophisticated articles. and he attracted a fine roster of regulars and writers. But some of these second and third tier magazines (I refer to circulation not quality) are so often the work of just one or two people. When illness or burn-out or fatigue or ecomonic problems set in, it goes away because it all rests on one set of shoulders.
Dave Nelson
If a tree falls in the forest… [zzz]
I think I picked up one freebie at a Timonium show. I’ve never seen it on a newsstand, and I don’t recall there being much in it that isn’t more immediately available on the internet.
C’est la vie!
Lee
That’s too bad but with the growth of the net, the need for several all-around general model railroading mags, has dropped like a rock-- And a “weak sister” has expired.
If I was a publisher and interested in creating a profitable business based on model railroading, I’d niche-niche-niche my way too profits.
For example I’d put out special editions on specific topics. I’d also get heavily involved into producing high-quality DVD’s and manuals. Of course these things are already being done to one extent or another by a few publishers, but I think there’s room for another player.
This makes three general modeling mags in about the last two years: Mainline Modeler, Model Railroading, and now Railmodel Journal. RMJ was a concern back when the other two closed in 2006.
There are still a few of us old timers who may use the net, but prefer having a magazine to look at. I keep RR mags in my car, something to read while my wife is shopping or doing something else. I also keep a stack in my bathroom. When all of us old timers die off, then you kids can do it your way.
Bob
Kids? I’m in my mid-40’s, but I’ll take the compliment sir. [:)]
I have a complete collection of “Model Railroader” going back to the mid-70’s, not to mention several years worth of RMC and the other mags that have gone to that great newstand in the sky.
Heck, I love mags too, but the Internet has made it difficult for ANY publication that’s not specialized to one degree or another to succeed-- And I’m not talking just about this hobby either.
Generally speaking within any industry, the #1 “guy” gets twice as much business as #2, #2 gets twice as much as #3 and so on… And with shinking readership overall, the folks at the end of the line are getting crumbs… And they can’t survive on crumbs.
These mags would have had a bette
Just wondering, where did the OP see this news?
Granted the RMJ website is dead (this isn’t a great surprize), and googling didn’t bring up any real info, but was there an ‘official’ announcement anywhere?
I’ve brought RMJ from time to time, and it just so happens I brought the June 2008 issue, which has a 20th Anniversery retrospective article, so I guess this issue would be as good as any to end on - except they also listed in the back upcoming articles for the July issue (oops…)
Posted on the Steam Era Freight Cars Yahoo group. One member (a frequent RMJ author) stated that Robert Schleicher, the editor, had just called him. Another poster (also an author) confirmed that Schleicher had also contacted him with the same news.
KL
Times are changing!
Even though we’ve lost 3 magazines, we have a new digital magazine on the way.
Take a look at www.model-railroad-hobbyist.com
It will be a free quarterly online magazine.
Be sure to go to the theater section!
It’s available now.
Amen Bob !!! [(-D]
mmmm that site look suspiciously familiar…
There’s a couple of us newtimers that like it that way, too.
[
] I’m sorry to hear about the magazine, quite honestly I haven’t read it, But I have seen the pubication on the news stand at my LHS. I hope with one MRR mag voice silecence, another one will be heard.
Sicerley,
Trainsrme1
Perfect.
My one year, $48.00 subscription begins and ends with one issue. Pretty expensive…
And I didn’t even get a kiss.
Unfortunately, your economic model is no longer valid in the publishing world now that the internet has become the primary way to disseminate and acquire information. All you’d succeed in doing is niche-niche-niching your way to the poor house. Publishing print magazines demands having the lowest possible cost/page and cost/thousand to maximize profits. The more restrictive the niche, the fewer advertisers you can attract and the fewer copies you can sell; as a result your costs go up dramatically…as do your losses from smaller press runs and even more unsold copies.
I’m saddened to see yet another model railroad magazine bite the dust, even if they were a “competitor”…I always thought of us more as collaborators in our efforts to serve the model railroading community. Each of us targeted slightly different niches in the hobby, but we all tried to expand the horizons of modelers with different interests.
Randy Lee, Former Editor/Publisher, Model Railroading
This thread has several times mentioned first tier/second tier etc. model railroad magazines.
I suppose the first tier would be:
Model Railroader
Rail Model Craftsman
In the early 21st century, I guess the second tier would have been:
Model Railroading
Rail Model Journal
Mainline Modeling
Model Railroad News [Is this magazine reviews & news only - no projects?]
what were some others?
What would be the third tier - did that tier even exist?
Are these simply niche:
N-scale Magazine
Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette
I feel your pain! I was lucky that, believe it or not, my subscription ended with the last issue published. I really liked RMJ, even though the content and quality of photography had slipped over the past year or so.
However, I was burned BIG TIME by the other two mentioned here. I blame myself for gambling on publishers who were habitually late (sometimes months past the cover date) on a regular basis. The handwriting was on the wall, yet I continued to support their publication with yearly renewals. To take money from a subscriber when you know full well you will be pulling the plug in a few months is unethical and outrageous. I never even received a letter in the mail from any of the three defunct operations notifying me of this.
Nice. Real nice.
I’m glad my business was so appreciated. Somewhere my misappropriated money is floating around. Maybe the joke is on them…you know what they say about karma!
[}:)]