Model railway magazines.

[Timbo66]

I`m of an age where hobby information came from hobby magazines, and I still like them. In the last couple of years, my favourite motorcycle, weight lifting, shooting and military vehicle modelling magazines have all disappeared. I still buy Railway Modeller and Model Rail, but how much longer can the hobby support five readily available magazines, not forgetting N Gauge Now. (Or the NGS journal, but I guess that`s a bit different!)
 I do subscribe to various forums, but I like a hard copy which I can read.
 

[Chris Morris]

I think each magazine has its niche. RM is still top dog and has an N gauge layout most months. Model Rail is perhaps for less experienced modellers and has plenty of ideas of how to do things. Like RM, MR seems to feature N most months but not as good as RM. MR also has Chris Nevard's excellent photos which makes it worth looking at. Hornby Magazine seems to focus a lot on Tech and has strong coverage on what is developing. BRM seems to have the least N gauge coverage. So they all have their specialist areas. I hope they do all continue.

[37214]

Agree, I like to buy Model Rail and occasionally, Railway Modeller

[crewearpley40]

Railway modeller and model rail. Both have useful articles, some I'd skip, some have inspired me. Each reach different readers views in my opinions,  skills, ideas. Some useful skills, products, tips in model rail. Rm has been around for as long as I can remember

[ntpntpntp]

I must admit I gave up subscribing to magazines many years ago. They were just taking up more and more shelf space and never looked at again after the first read.  The same article themes tended to crop up repeatedly over time.  They've all been disposed of now apart from issues featuring my layout or friend's layouts 

Nowadays I probably end up buying a hard copy mag maybe once every couple of years, but only if there's a particular layout I like or I know the builder.

I find all the info I want online, and I enjoy viewing layouts at shows. To be honest I can't remember the last time I've bothered to pop into WH Smiths to flick through an issue.

[Southerngooner]

I agree entirely. I ended up with about an inch thick pile of useful articles after going through ten years of magazines and Journals, so the rest was just wasted paper. These days I look at them all digitally on Readly, which keeps sending me free two month subscriptions. That gets me the Modeller, BRM, Model Rail, Railway Magazine, Steam World and a host of preservation type mags, plus all the modern image ones if I can be bothered. I read them all in the two months, including back issues, and take screen shots of any useful articles, which I then either print out or save on the PC. When the free period ends I close the subscription until I get another freebie, usually three month# or so later. While it's good for me, it can't be good for the mags though. I do buy the occasional Modeller if it has something good in it. I think I'd happily pay the £9.95 a month if I had to though as that's good value for 10+ Railway related mags plus shedloads of other topics.

Dave

[Bealman]

I grew up with the dear Railway Modeller, and all I can say is, I'd be sorry to see it go.

Unfortunately, I think that is on the cards for all magazines. I know that Silicon Chip mag here in Australia is thinking long and hard about this same issue.

[The Q]

Several magazines have gone in my other hobbies, electronics,  computers, sailing, land rovers, I'm surprised we still have so many model railway magazines.

I've bought RM on and off for the last 50 years, the only other railway magazine I buy now is MRJ..

[Stuarted]

I think RM is still the market leader. I buy it most months and would be sad if it disappeared from the newsagents' shelves. As others have said there are still a surprising number of printed model railway magazines available; printed magazines have ceased to be produced in other subject areas, including my local football club's match programme.

Stuart

[Timbo66]

I buy RM because of the quality of the writing, something that`s sadly lacking in magazines, and Model Rail for the practical aspect of the hobby.
Fortunately, my club still does a programme, at a reasonable price too!

[Kris]

Magazines lost their relevance years ago for me.
I used to purchase them to find out about developments in the hobby, the internet gives me that instantly now, in more detail and depth.
I used to buy them for the layouts. The internet gives me that now. The quality is variable however ability to see the progress of a layout and far more pictures is a massive advantage.
I used to buy them for the trade adverts. The internet gives me that now. It gives me instant access to far more trade, far quicker than ever before.

Why would I purchase a magazine again?

[Robert_Salter]

Only physical magazine I read now is the N Gauge Journal however I do get BRM in digital form but oddly I feel like I prefer a phyiscal magazine even though they do end up taking up a lot of space hence the digital sub.  Lately though I have found BRM lacking in n gauge stuff though so maybe a change is in order not like the exhibition discount was that much f a draw especially since they got rid of the one it was easiest for me to get to.

[Coyote]

I have read Railway Modeller for over forty years, or fifty, and it's the only one that I pay for, and appear in. For all the other railway magazines for models and full size, I have an app called Libby that links to the local library and I can "borrow" the latest magazines for two weeks. It also does books and audiobooks, https://www.better.org.uk/what-we-offer/libraries/online-resources

Dave

[dannyboy]

I have to admit that I am a 'Readly' user. I like to physically hold a printed magazine, but they can be expensive, especially when, with some of them, they were only read once and then put on a shelf or in a box. I can download the magazine I want and go back to it numerous times. One of the main reasons I have 'Readly' is because it was costing a fortune for Louisa to buy her feminine magazines!

[The Q]

I should add if I lived in a town with a newspaper shop that carried model railway magazines I'd probably drop subscription to RM, and just buy any of the magazines with an article that interested me.
However, it's a 40 mile round trip to any suitable shop, so the RM subscription stays.