I will shorlty (here in the UK) receive the February 2010 issue of Trains. Amercians already have their copies. It is currently 4 January. Any reason why the magazine has got so far ahead of itself? Is this something that’s gradually happened, or is it an American thing applying across the board?
In contrast my British Railway magazines sent me their January editions a few days before Christmas.
…Personally, I’d say it’s about the same as it’s been for some time here…going back at least several years.
And I believe even today, Jan. 4th, there are still some subscribers who do not have the Feb. copy.
My February issue just showed up this afternoon. I believe the holiday season and weather issues may have slowed my delivery. But I dunno for sure.
Ed in Shelbyville, KY
I have been a subscriber to Trains since the '70s, this is the schedule it has always had (the most consistent schedule in the railroad magazine community I would have to say).
Subscribers in the USA usually receive the magazine a full month before the cover date, for example(as you stated) the last few days December for the Feb issue. This puts the news stand copies on the rack roughly 3 weeks before the cover date month. I do not know the reason for the dates but my guess is for “freshness” on the news stand.
To confuse matters, Railfan & Railroad magazine used to be two months ahead until the printing problems roughly a year ago.
Jay
Back when I first started subscribing to Trains, the issues would arrive in my mailbox around the 20th of the preceding month. They would not arrive on the same day as Model Railroader, as they do now. I suspect that this was because Kalmbach was doing its own printing. (We’re talking about 45 or so years ago now.) News stands didn’t get the magazines as quickly as subscribers did, but they certainly could be on display at the beginning of the month for which they were dated.
I’m sure that Kalmbach’s magazines (all 20 or so?) compete for calendar time at their current printers with those of a couple of other publishers, and Goodness-knows-how-many catalogs and other forms of junk mail. I think the move up to earlier in the preceding month (or late in the second preceding month–my February issues arrived on 12/31) has taken place gradually, though it’s been the norm for the past three years, at least.
Personally, I’d prefer that the issue that arrived on 12/31 be the January issue. They did a good job of putting recent news in it, but if I were, years from now, look for a December 2009 story, I’d be looking in the February issue. The two-month lag time won’t seem as good. I suppose this is inconsequential to people who throw out the previous issue every month, but believe me, I’m not one of those!
On the other hand, my Railway Age magazine usually arrives past the middle of the month for which it’s dated. In other words, I got my December issue of Railway Age less than two weeks before my February issue of Trains. There are also some January issues arriving in December. Kind of confuses things.
As Jay pointed out, it’s all about “freshness” on the newsstand. Railway Age, on the other hand, does not do this because it is generally not a newsstand magazine. Having been in the magazine/publishing/printing business for more than 20 years, it’s become pretty routine for me to live and work several months ahead of the majority of the world. Most of our commercial customers with newsstand distribution were coming through the plant during December with cover dates for Jan, Feb, or Feb-March. Weirder yet, back when I worked at Railfan & Railroad, during the month of December we’d be putting together the March issue. No wonder time always seemed to just fly right by (and it still does).
In the US it is customary to issue magazines one month before the date of the issue. This is probably so that issues do not look out of date on the stands. For those in other countries, US automakers also put out new cars 4-6 months before the model date, so that a 2007 model will be in the showrooms in mid-late 2006. I’m now retired in Italy, and have not yet received the Feb issues of either Trains or MR. They’re both due pretty soon tho.