I enjoy reading old issues of MR, I have from complete 1973 to present and many more from 1947 up , Was reading the 1978’s today and saw where they had these schematics of the track plan , a linear diagram so to speak… Sure wish they still did this, was nice to be able to easily follow where the tracks were headed…
Anything you miss???
The old “Dollar Model” series…easy ways to turn household junk into something beautiful!
Matt
Contrary to what most are saying in the forum now, I think everything is fine, just maybe a few ideas. Perhaps MRR could include a trackplan section like what John Armstrong did in the 50s or whenever. I really like the Layout features, but the general how toos dont catch my interest. In the recent issue, it was build a craftsman kit. Boring. But this is only the general stuff, if it is a new or unpracticed idea, then I want a how too on it. Here are some suggestions Neil B.
I can’t really think of a thing I really miss. I know others have lamented the lack of scratchbuilding articles in recent years but that never did appeal to me and is a reflection of the state of the hobby. I’d forgotten about the schematic diagrams even though I began subscribing back in the late 1970s. One of the things I like to do when I see the track diagrams is trying to figure out the schematic so the absence of this feature actually adds to my interest. In short, I like the features they have added in recent years and don’t miss the ones they have removed. I think it is a better magazine today than ever before.
MR workshop, The boys in the basement cartoon, Ask paint shop, Student fair and MR clinic. That is just a few but I really miss the other 100 pages in each issue. Dec of 82 has 202 pages Nov of 09 has 110. There might have been a lot more advertisement but there was a lot more info in each issue. I figure that there is not to many new authors to write the articles. Plus with almost everything RTR there is not much kit bashing and scratch building going on anymore.
How about something new like Readers roads focusing on fictional roads concocted by readers, or modular news focusing on modular groups and events. Keep up the operation articles focusing on prototype operation and how we can incorporate that into the scale worlds we build.
Thats all I got. Keep up the good work MR.
Pete
If there were more ads, where did they go? Advertising pays for the printing. No ads no pages.
Subscriptions give the publisher the ability to tell potential advertisers how many readers they have so the advertiser can evaluate the cost vs. the number of potential customers.
It’s a catch 22. Why do you think any publication wants subscribers? To sell ads.
Buy the magazine from the news stand does NOT help the magazine sell ad space.
I miss the in depth articles they used to run. The “captioned photo” articles just don’t hold my intrest.
Also, please eliminate the cartoon people in the layout pieces, they are a distraction.
I miss the drawings/plans of locomotives and cars… especially the 1900-ish vintage… especially when presented in conjunction with a related article.
Jim
I used to get an issue and enjoyed reading it through many many times before I uncovered all the nuggets it contained. Today’s I get in the mail, flip through them looking at the pictures and they get tossed into a pile. I seriously don’t know why I keep the subscription other than habit. MRC is now the one that gets read and digested each month.
P.S. I enjoyed the advertisements as much as I did the articles. What happened to 6 pages of Trainworld ads? A full page of MRPO, Cheepo Hobbies, Longs Drug, etc.
I really miss the prices in the ads.[sigh]
The thirty-five cents cover price!
You are kidding, right? Or do you really find it hard to trace out a track schematic from a published layout plan in current issues of Model Railroader?
I mean - they draw main lines using a heavier line, show quite a bit of hidden tracks (as dashed lines), use letters to identify where they transition from one level to another, they use colors in a good way, and so on and so forth.
Take as an example the Great Northern Railway layout in the September 2009 issue. That is a fairly complex track plan (as plans in MR go), with four different rail lines (two GN lines + to short lines).
If I start with staging along left wall (point G), and follow track around clockwise, we get one GN mainline past Broadview, over the Columbia River Bridge, through a tunnel into Hillside Junction, through Ruston and San Pablo, then Eaton, Rockport and back into staging from the other end of staging (point F). In other words - this line is a good candidate for continuous running.
You have a cutoff at point C at Hillside Junction that allows you to bypass Ruston and San Pablo, and a wye at point D at Ruston that allows trains coming into San Pablo/Ruston counterclockwise to reverse directions and depart in a clockwise direction.
Another GN line runs from point G through Morningside, Rockport, Klamath, Scofield Junction, Rock Lick Junction, through the helix in the upper right hand corner and back to staging (coming into staging at the same end as they departed from - point G).
This line connects with two other RR lines - at Schofield Junction with the Fergus Falls Branch (shown in Red), and at Hillside Junction with the Moose River Branch (shown in Blue).
&nbs
Ok…I’ll bite.
I miss Bull Session…I thought it personalized MR.
I also miss “A railroad You Can Model” articles.
IMHO MR has become to business like-you know when you step through the door of some hobby shops and your greeted by that cold business like: “May I help you?” regardless how many times you been there.
Ok,ok,so I’m a dinosaur…
I gotta go with Larry on those features, particularly the old Bull Session column, which gave you the feeling that the staff at the magazine really were your friends and fellow modelers, as well as introducing you to other typical hobbyists you came to know. Today I find MR much more cold and distant.
CNJ831
I miss the Bull Sessions, At the Throttle, and the Student Fare articles…they gave the mag a touch of personality.
I read some of those columns in the archived magazines I have. You’re right about the what has since happened—it’d be nice to see that one back. The other one I’d like to see back is the Paint Shop one
The only thing I miss is the FREE train show listings that were in the back of the magazine. A lot of small clubs like the one I belong to relied on these to promote their shows. Other then that I like the magazine the way it is now.
More than anything, I miss being 25 years old [:(]
Dave Nelson
I miss the layout tours, they had some grand ones back in the day. It seems that the layouts are far and few between lately.
I’m with a lot of the guys who miss some of the stuff long since gone but not totally in agreement about too much advertising. As a matter of fact I enjoy reading the different adds and if it’s one I don’t recognize I will circle it and check out their website to see what they offer in more detail. In my O/P MR should be about twice as think as it is now. Keep most if not all of the present format but bring back a lot more of the old how to stuff. There are still plenty of us looking for new ways of doing things and saving money in the hobby over all. A good thing for the power that be at MR to remember is the old adage of " whats old is new again" most definitely applies to this hobby. I seriously doubt you would have too many complaints if any if you gave us more for our money.