Dan’s Train Blog

How has the size of the Model Railroader changed over the last 40 years?

Size in a magazine can be complicated since it is a combination of content plus advertising. However, when times are good there is lots of advertising so the page count should go up. This was certainly true for technology magazines in the 1990′s. I remember when it was starting to look like WIRED magazine was going to challenge the phone book in size.

Then came the Internet/Tech crash and WIRED got very very skinny. MR got a bit slimmer too.

Since 1966 Model Railroader shows 30 years of growth followed by 10 years of shrinking size.

So the size plateaus in the early 1990’s and noses downwards around 1996. Now the size of MR is like it was in the late 1970′s. But in the 70′s the magazine was growing. Now the magazine is on a decline. 

I’m sure this tracks to circulation data for MR but does this track to the quality of the issues? Did the quality and excitement inside the magazine stop in the 90s or were external forces to blame?

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 1

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 2

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 3

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 4

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 5

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 5½

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 6

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 7

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 8

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 9

How has the cost of Model Railroader changed over the last 40 years?

The cover price has gone from 50 cents to $5.50. Accounting for inflation the price has gone from $3.00 to $5.28 in constant 2005 dollars. Per page it has been 3-5 cents per page throughout.

Overall, the cost of Model Railroader has been pretty steady over the years.

The bigger question is how’s the value of the magazine held up?

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 1

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 2

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 3

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 4

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 5

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 5½

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 6

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 7

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 8

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 9

What has changed in Model Railroader over the last 40 years? I know that Model Railroader is just not as inspiring as it used to be. Is it me or them? In many email groups  many other people also complaining about the quality of Model Railroader (MR). But is this a real issue, factually true or just a feeling?

I decided to collect the August issue of each year I have and compare them. My collection of MR goes back to 1966 so I looked at 1966 to 2006 (ok, so it’s really 41 years of August!).

I’ll start with easy things to measure like cost and page count and go on to harder measures that are increasingly (and unavoidably) my opinion.
 

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 1

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 2

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 3

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 4

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 5

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 5½

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 6

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 7

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 8

40 Years of August in Model Railroader – Part 9

I’ve had several people write me and ask if I think they should buy 3rd PlanIt because they like the plans I was able to make with it.

3rd PlanIt (3PI) (http://www.trackplanning.com/) is a CAD system strongly optimized for drawing model railroad track plans. I’ve been using it off and on since 2000 or so. I was a semi-experienced AutoCAD user many years before that.

The Good:

• I designed my layout and continue to maintain the plan as I build in 3PI. It has been stable and productive for me to use. I use version 7.10.006 which was released March 2, 2004.

• I find the feature set of 3PI powerful and fun to use.

• If 3PI was being maintained I would recommend it highly.

The Bad:

• No updates were been released between early 2004 and early 2007.

• 3PI is the product of one man, Randy Pfeiffer. I truly believe his work is very good (again — I’m a happy user) but it can be a problem when a company is essentially one person. Occasionally Randy gets committed to other tasks such that purchase orders sometimes do not get processed in a timely fashion.

• NOTE: (February 2007) Version 8 has been released!! In April 2005 the next version, 8.0 was coming “soon” and Randy Pfeiffer gave a detailed view of what he had been running into as he implemented threading to 3PI. I’m a Win32 C++ developer myself and his commentary looks legitimate. See his posting at the Yahoo! Group 3rdPlanIt : 3rd PlanIt Users Group

Bottom line:

NOTE: (February 2007) Version 8 has been released!! I like the product. It took a long time for Version 8 but it looks good. I can now recommend that other people buy 3PI.

This is kind of like “what’s on my workbench” but more literally (pun intended) it’s: what’s piled next to my bed.

I collect a big stack until it becomes structurally unstable (i.e. I trip over it getting up in the morning) and then put away books that I’m not actually reading. Books here have a half life of about one month – after three months there’s really 100% turnover.

Make it Work: Earth and Make it Work: Maps – Really cool books that have scenery, terrain and map projects for children that are good experience for young model railroaders-to-be.

Small World, Dioramas in Contemporary Art - this is a book about dioramas as pieces of art. Gets me thinking about the reasoning and messages I want my work to convey.

The Callboard of the Redwood Empire Division of the NMRA – (site) yep, I’m a card carrying member of the NMRA and this is my regional newsletter.

Modeler’s Resource – (site) I subscribed to this for a year recently. More oriented to the sci-fi and comic book figure modelers but strays into lots of other areas too.

Model Railroad Planning 1998 – I’ve bought several of the MR Planning “special” issues. I recommend buying them from a newsstand so you can look it over first. Some issues have lots of things I’m interested in while others may have very little.

Scenic Express Catalog – (site) Great company that specializes in scenery materials.

Redwood Railways by Gilbert H. Kneiss – My favorite history of the Northwestern Pacific and the many predecessor railroads that grew and merged into the NWP. Compared to other sources it gives a broader background of the people and history around the railroads in northern California.

The Art of the Miniature – my favorite “dioramas as art” book. Lots of insight on, and examples of composition and lighting ideas.

Make Magazine – wild and inspiring gadget building projects.

The Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette – (site) I own every issue. Over the years has consistently maintained excellent quality. Ok, maybe a couple years in the 80’s were a bit weak but still worth every penny.

PC Gamer – notice what you are reading this post on? A computer. Computers and software are my day job and are also a fantastic modeling and research tool. As computer games increasingly become immersive sensory experiences I see model building design converging with game design (and movies, for that matter).

Model Railroader – Sigh. I have a strong emotional attachment to MR because of its place in my personal model railroading history but MR is getting increasingly dotty with age. I have issues back to the late sixties and will cherish them always but my model magazine subscription dollars may soon go elsewhere.

Railroad Model Craftsman – (site) The quality of this magazine is steadily increasing.

Scale Rails – “free” with your membership in the NMRA. Good thing. Ok, I’m being harsh, the particular issue shown had a couple really good articles in it (even if the engine in cover photo has a big old feather duster feather draped over the cab). And hey! They STILL haven’t paid me for the guest editorial I did for Tom Troughton back in 2004!

Walthers catalog – still the “Sears Catalog” of model railroading. Like MR, Walthers has a powerful emotional tie to my model railroading history. Walthers’ catalog combined with their website and on-line ordering are a huge aid in any large modeling effort.

Books of Clark Kinsey photos – Wow. I just got these a couple months ago and they are simply gorgeous books. A great online source for Kinsey photos is here at the University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections.

I had a co-worker ask the other day what was a good way to get started in model railroading. The question brought me up short – not because it was a bad question but because I found I had a hard time answering it.

I’ve always been interested in models in general and model trains in particular. I’ve subscribed to Model Railroader and The Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette since the mid 70′s (and I still have all of them plus extras I’ve bought over the years). Over that time I built a lot of models and a couple model railroads.

My “start” was so long ago I hadn’t ever thought how one would get started. However, my friend’s question is a good one so, putting on my project manager’s hat, I’ve been thinking about what is a good introductory process.

Step One: Visual Brainstorm

Model railroading is a strongly visual experience so I think the first step is to collect images of model and real railroads and other scenes that you like. For many people, this is simply a matter of collecting issues of magazines like Model Railroader and making a list of photos and articles.

I have many books and magazines and I go through them and put post-its in them to mark photos or articles that I find interesting. All the photos and articles (and sketches I’ve made) become to input for the “brainstorm.” I then use a digital camera or scanner and make a huge series of images that represent all the visual elements I would love to see on my model railroad.

For the beginner, this exploratory process is about learning what kind of trains and models you find the most interesting. Modern container trains? Old time narrow gauge? British trains from the 1920’s? Before you build anything I think you should look around and find out what kind of trains and scenes with trains excite you the most.

Step Two: Build Something

Now that you have an idea what you are most interested in: build a small layout. This can be simply buying a starter set and running it on the dining room table. Or make yourself a classic 4 x 8. Or even just make a model train diorama or micro-layout.

It’s really important to jump in and build something. Model railroading is a skill like swimming, carpentry, soccer, or computer programming. To really learn how to build, run, and maintain model trains you need to jump in and do it. Consider this first layout a pure learning experience. At this point I strongly feel doing is more important than doing it right or doing it wrong. Want a tunnel, do it. Want a bridge, do it.

Step Three: Do steps One and Two all over again.

Execution is the ruin of the perfect idea

 

By actually building something you will inevitably learn that you did some things in a way you wish you had not done, or had done better. No problem. Next time you will know better. Therefore, to move forward there must be a Next Time. If you think about it, this is great. Total Freedom. Start fresh. Many good bits from a previous layout can be recycled into the new layout.

For the stuff you no longer want: there’s the garbage can or there’s eBay.

Beginner Resources:

Magazines:

Magazines are probably the cheapest and best resources you can get for model railroading. I have about 22 linear feet of Model Railroaders alone. In combination with the on-line Model Train Magazine Index it is an invaluable resource. Once you find you like a magazine, building a back issues collection is simply an eBay auction away.

Model Railroader – getting sometimes spotty in quality but still worth it.

Railroad Model Craftsman – in the last few years the quality of this magazine has improved considerably and is arguably now better than Model Railroader.

Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette – great model building and advanced techniques.

There are many other magazines, mostly specializing on particular topics but for me these are the basics. A small list of other magazines is at RailMagazines.com

Books:

I find books secondary to magazines but I do have many model train books. I find it’s best to buy them as you see you have the need for information on a particular topic. I’m going to save a discussion of my book collection for a future posting.

Web resources:

Compared to the quality of magazines and books, model Railroading is not very well represented on the web yet but there are some key resources for anyone’s brainstorming phase:

Micro Layouts — perfect beginner projects and ideas.

Australian Narrow Gauge Web-Exhibition – love this site. Not exactly what I build but great photos and ideas.