Railway Modeller

[Ali Smith]

I picked up the August issue of Loco-Revue whilst in France. It cost 9.80 Euros, which may be more than Railway Modeller but not three times. I have no idea what it costs here, indeed I wouldn't know where to go to get a copy. I should look in Continental Modeller, I suppose...

[Portpatrick]

I started buying magazines when I was 14, in 1967 and quickly settles on the Railway Modeller. Then half a crown each month, that is 12.5p in decimal money!   I changed from working in OO to N in 1975.  I got a bit bored with RMin the end and moved to Model Rail in 2000.  But after c 12 years or so I felt there was not enough in it to really grab me every month, and justify the cost,  so cancelled the subscription.

These days I glance at content on the shelves of my local supermarkets or WH Smith (as was) and typically buy 3 or 4 mags a year, any of the 4 main ones,  when I see enough to really interest me.

The NGS Journal is my only regular reading.  I did buy N Gauge Now for a few years.  Again I stopped it after a while.

For some years now I have cut out articles I want to keep after a year or so and file them in lever arch folders. The rest goes in recycling.   And I created and maintain a database in Exel of every article I have retained.  I do the same with the NGS Journal though have not got round to indexing those yet.  And I have been a member since 1984!  Must get round to listing them!

[Graham]

Thanks, Graham, but the problem is I don't think I'm keen enough to be bothered to go to the library to look at it! I'll keep my eye on the newsagents, and if an issue shows up that I find interesting, then I might consider buying it.

No need to go to the library, assuming you are already a member at your local library, there is an app and you can read it online.

[paulbeckwith]

hi  all

  for  those  who  dont  want  the  paper  mag    ...  i  subscribe  to    www.gb.readly.com

  it  might  be  £14  a  month   but  theres  all  the  uk  real railway  and  model  railway  mags   inc  back  issues  to  browse  thru    along   with   1000 s  of  other  mags 
  all  genre s

  paul 

[icairns]

Confessions of a Railway Magazine Reader

I have been addicted to reading railway magazines from an early age.  My first magazine was the September 1964 edition of Railway Modeller. 

I am currently a hard-copy subscriber to Railway Modeller, BRM/Traction, Model Rail, Steam World, the N Gauge Journal, and Train Collector.  I also subscribed to N Gauge Now before it stopped production.

I have been through several well-meaning family 'interventions' and rehab attempts but nothing seems to help.

Storing all these magazines is a problem.  So, a few years ago, in an attempt to pretend that I was kicking the habit, I decided to go through all my pre-2000 Railway Modellers and save only the articles that I was interested in. 

The articles that I have saved include N gauge layout articles and articles about N gauge in general, locomotive and rolling stock drawings (especially the "Drawn and Described" features by Ian Beattie), articles about layouts that I had seen at exhibitions, interesting letters and even some advertisements. 

I have listed all these articles on an Excel spreadsheet to make searching for specific articles in the future simple and easy.  This exercise resulted in the space needed for 35 volumes of Railway Modeller being reduced to the equivalent of only five volumes.

However, as someone that was at the birth of British N gauge in the 1960s and has an interest in researching history of early N gauge manufacturers and models, the availability of the online Railway Modeller archive has made accessing historical articles so much easier.  (This is also true of the electronic availability of all issues of the N Gauge Journal that can purchased from the NGS). 

How do I pay for my reading habit, you ask?  Well, I have a modest layout, I have been collecting models for more that 50 years so my collection can be considered mature, and I only buy new models if it is something I really want.

I agree with John @Train Waiting  that Railway Modeller is still a very good read and arguably the best one "for the average modeler." 

As the majority of articles published in RM are from readers, it is to be expected that there will be many more article about OO than N because there are many more OO modellers (I have forgotten the exact ratio).

If you know any other railway enthusiasts with a similar addiction to mine, please treat them with respect.  They are, probably like me, chained in quicksand, like a dinosaur. 

Ian

P.S.  I also subscribe to a hard copy daily edition of the Los Angeles Times.

P.P.S.  As Woody Allen once said (paraphrasing): " I subscribe to Newsweek but mainly for the lingerie ads."  Unfortunately, lingerie ads in railway publications are few and far between, but one can live in hope. 

[LASteve]

P.S.  I also subscribe to a hard copy daily edition of the Los Angeles Times.

If you do the LAT crossword, you've probably done a few of mine!

[icairns]

If you do the LAT crossword, you've probably done a few of mine!

I haven't but I will look out for them!

Ian

[JulianO]

I'm probably a bit like I Cairns in that I hoard old railway modelling magazines. There are 2 large shelving units at the back of the garage holding them. I have nearly all Railway Modeller from 1970 on and quite a few earlier issues, plus lot of MRC, MRN, MR and a few others.
I also still feel RM is the best. I have a physical subscription, which means the magazine usually arrives here in NZ only 2 or 3 weeks after going on sale in the UK, which is 2 to 3 months before it hits the shops here, if you can find it at all. Also appreciate the digital archive, which I have used quite a lot.
I wonder if perhaps RM has deteriorated a little since Steve Flint left as Editor, but there again they can only publish what is offered to them.

[Southerngooner]

I consider myself a reformed addict. I bought the Modeller and Railway Magazoine religiously (along with NME) from when I started work in 1973 until sometime in the 1990s. I then stopped all bar the Modeller, but even that went in the 2000s, with just the odd copy being bought. I eventually stripped all of the ad sections off which helped a lot, but then on a house move I gave them all away to a fellow modeller. I've kept all articles I've had published in a separate file, and have had access to the digital file when I took out a subscription around Covid, from which I screenshot a few interesting bits. I've often picked up old Steam World, BRM, and Steam Railway mags from preserved lines, and have built up a good archive of prototype articles that are relevant to my modelling. All that means I have three lever arch files of stuff which is easily transportable.

I do wonder about how much effect Readly is having. I keep getting "have two free months on us" offers which of course I take up, meaning that I can read (and screenshot) all of the railway mags on there while I have my two months for nothing. I usually only miss a month or two before another free offer comes along, so I haven't missed a magazine edition fr four years or so now. However, I feel quite morally compromised on this as clearly I am getting stuff for nothing which I could (should?) be paying for. I don't understand Readly's business model as I can't be the only person doing this, so how do they make money, and how much do the magazines that use it get? It must be beneficial to them as they don't have to be on there.....

Dave

[JanW]

I also have Readly, with paid subscription.
They allow you to share the account with up to five persons so I asked my (railway)friends and family if they were interested.
We now share the subscription with 4 so it only costs me €3,75 a month.
And I can read the railway magazines, photography magazines and more

Jan

[Bealman]

But that's online, though? Me being me, I like paper. Cranky old git, eh.

[Papyrus]

Interesting that many of you still feel RM is worthwhile. Perhaps my negative comments earlier were misplaced and I should give it another go. Even our village newsagent/Post Office, which has recently become a micro-Morrisons, stocks it, so they must still sell a few. I will check it out.

Cheers,

Chris

[Newportnobby]

The November issue is also £6.45 so I've knocked buying from shops on the head. Instead I've taken out annual subscription for £50 which works out at just over £4 delivered!
It means I can still pass it on to my pal and I get the archive as a Brucie Bonus while saving almost £28 per annum
I've seen the future (and it ain't just cheesecake)

[Bealman]

You can check out my old articles then

[Train Waiting]

The archive is brilliant. Although I always look forward to the next issue of Railway Modeller, I spend much more time reading old issues of the magazine. I often simply select a year and month at random and settle down to enjoy reading.

With all good wishes.

John