Whats up with CTT?

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by thor CNJ

I am glad to see more about enjoying the trains, and less of the collections. We've all seen the stuff, so who cares who has it? The idea of the hobby is enhanced if you enjoy your trains. It's all about running them.

To that end, I have a story to share. I have some train collector friends. In particular, a father and son team. The son turned 40 this year, and has always lived at home. Twice a year they go to York, and upon their return, they invite a bunch of us over to share their most recent stories and finds.

Visiting their "museum" is fun, good friends, food and conversation. Most of the time the company is the same familiar faces, but once in a while someone new is added to the mix. Most recently, a fresh face was added, a very interesting guy. He brought along a couple of new MTH engines for show and tell. Of course, I was the one most interested.

By the end of the evening, the new guy was invting us to his house, to see his layout. The day after Thanksgiving we went. More good food and conversation, with a slightly smaller group, but the father and son team was there. Then came the moment I had been waiting for, the trip to the basement. Of course I was the first one down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, there were some shelves filled with trains. There were lots of cool engines to look at, but after a couple of minutes, I turned around and saw the layout.

It was great, it went around the walls, covering half of the basement. Four main loops done with Atlas and Ross track and switches. It had both TMCC and DCS. Our host cranked up four trains, and handed me a Cab-1 to control a beautiful K-line Santa Fe passenger train.

To this group of primarily collectors, seeing these trains run was most strange and wonderful. It almost seemed as if they were possessed. As for me, I felt right at home. The room was filled with sound and smoke, as the trains chugged around.

The layout was filled with accessories, mostly the modern versions of the classics. One whole section was devoted to the ones that load and unload. On the back corner, by the furnace, was the TMCC version of one of my favorites, the culvert loader and unloader pair.

Again our host handed me the Cab-1, and showed me how to program the different channels. Piece of cake, ENG 99 BOOST, and the culvert unloader sprang to life. He wandered away to mingle with his other guests, leaving me content in the corner to play.

I lost track of time, but eventually the others found me, and one by one I gave them a demonstration of the culverts. I handed the remote to the son, and told him to just pu***he button.

It was at that moment that we both realized what he had been missing out on for all this time. He said, "I've owned copies of all of these accessories for years, but never used them."

I've invited the group over to my house next Monday night. I don't have any trains running yet, but I'm working on it. I won't be having any display shelves, everything will be on the layout. Hopefully these guys will be able to catch up on what they have beeen missing out on for all of these years.

[Anonymous]

First off, let me say that I love CTT and enjoy reading every new issue that comes! However, I must say that overall I like the older issues better. I myself am almost strictly a prewar and postwar collector when it comes to toy trains. The articles on modern-era and highrail layouts do interest me and I like reading them, but not nearly as much as I do articles about prewar and postwar toy trains. In the older issues, this really seemed to be the main focus and that's why I generally prefer them to the latest ones. I liked the "wall of trains" articles, especially ones that featured collections with really fine rare pieces. But, as others have said, toy trains are meant to be run. I couldn't agree more with this. Some of my favorite CTT articles in the past have been ones on collectors with traditional tinplate prewar/postwar layouts, which is the type of layout that I have. There were a lot more of these then than now. Other favorites of mine are the articles on unique finds that collectors made where they find a mystery toy train and go on a search to find out what it is. Again, past issues contained many more of these articles.

I'm a member of the younger generation (I'm 18), so I wasn't around in the postwar era, but I know that I'm unique in that respect as far as prewar/postwar collectors go. I can understand the reasons for CTT's shifting focus, but I'd rather that they stick with more classic trains.

Also, a suggestion for the editors of CTT. In the 90's, you ran an essay contest entitled "My Greatest Find", in which the top winners were published. At the time, you talked about what an overwhelming response you received. Why not run that same contest again? I'm sure that it would be a big hit!

[thor CNJ]

I am glad to see more about enjoying the trains, and less of the collections. We've all seen the stuff, so who cares who has it? The idea of the hobby is enhanced if you enjoy your trains. It's all about running them.

Of course, I have better trains than everyone else around here. [:P][:P][:P]

[Anonymous]

I know he's not coming back to the magazine, but I really enjoyed the irreverant articles and reviews written by Jim Bunte.

Also, where are the "holiday"-themed cover, photos, or layouts hiding this year? Not in the November, December, or current (January) issues.

- Lou

[Anonymous]

To NeilBesougloff;

You have a great magazine! I think that what a few of us (me included)
are trying to say is that it would go a long way to just run a single topic
on a recurring basis, such as an article (just one) on PreWar, or bring
back one of the old columns such as Kent and Carl. They gave some
very good "man-in-the-street" type of information! It's great that you all
are covering the "new classics", but keep up the coverage of the old as
well. There are still a lot of tinplaters and 1950s folks out there and we
still look forward to seeing coverage of our segment of the hobby. If
we wanted only info on the "new" stuff there are other mags that would
do just as well. CTT was founded to cover our "niche" and it seems to
have drifted away some.

How about a "how-to" feature about repair/restoration? It has been
done before, but you all seemed to drop it for some reason. CTT used
to publi***he old Lionel Service sheets for PostWar locos and cars.
These are VERY helpful to those who collect and OPERATE PostWar.
Lionel also had sheets for PreWar as well.

Heck, you could even resurrect some old material from the old "Model
Trains" magazines (that was also a Kalmbach mag) that told about
such things a bridge building, scenery and such. Even though it may
be "dated" it is still good info and in this day in age it is economical
as well because those old articles told how to do these things with
ordinary materials vs. "special" and "expensive" stuff. I have several
issues of Model Trains and still refer to them periodically. The articles
would also give an insight to how things were done in the "old school".

Back when *** Christiansen started CTT it was marketed as a "TCA"
type mag for the "rest of us". That was good and still is. Try to get back
to some of your roots. Keep publishing the newer reviews as well, as
that will be beneficial to the younger newer members. But please put
back some of the "old stand-bys" as well.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hey Ya'll

Also, in the old issues, there were alot of stories about layouts that kids built in the postwar years with photos and all. I'd like to see these too.

Also, there used to be alot of stories that people contribted about the past. This is a major gap.

The magazine is rally dull, I have a binder with slots that holds 5 magazines and one in the other area. The only reson one of the newer isses is in the binder is beacuse I want to keep up with the latest adds such as the ones from Grzyboski's, Just Trains, and Train World.

I hardly read the newer issues now, but, I buy them every time I see a new one.

Nick

[Anonymous]

As every magazine publisher knows all too well:

You can please some of the readers all of the time, and all of the readers some of the time, but you definitely canot please all of the readers all of the time.

[cnw1995]

I know this is a matter of taste and opinion, but I think CTT is getting better and better - I like the articles about various aspects of history behind toy trains, and taking looks at layouts and interesting products (may their circulation numbers improve). I like the broader focus - as a toy-trainer myself - than just high-rail and scale things.

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the feedback.

Some of you hit the nail on the head: we're keeping up with the times and the shift in our hobby away from pure collecting and toward layouts and related topics.

Readers are far more demanding today than in the past. A wall of trains and a profile of an individual collector isn't enough any longer. So today we publish stories with information for collectors, like the horizontal/vertical F3 story in January's issue or the N&W J story in November's issue. If you crave more postwar information, buy the special issue we are producing in late Feburary called All-Star Electric Trains of the 1950s. There's an ad in the current CTT for the special publication, which will only be available for a few months in late winter/early spring. It's not like a book -- once they're gone, that's it.

Kalmbach publishes 14 different hobby magazines. To make the best use of resources one of the magazines needs to go first in the production cycle and the others are spread out over four weeks. As it turned out, CTT is first, which is why you likely receive your CTT issues in the mail before MR and Trains or Classic Trains.

As far as new versus old trains, when CTT started out in 1987 there weren't many new trains to write about. So by default there were more stories about postwar and prewar trains in early issues of CTT. But as you all know, the market has changed significantly in two decades. Our surveys show that you are clearly buying more new trains than old trains. So it only makes sense for CTT to reflect that. As far as prewar trains go, I've got a basement full of tinplate. But most CTT readers don't, so as editor I need to create a magazine that best balances the interests of all readers.

Sincerely,
Neil Besougloff
editor

[FJ and G]

Daan,

I noticed that too. i always get my CTT about 1 or 2 weeks ahead of MR and Trains; and all 3 are Kalmbach publications.

I think that CTT must have a large backlog of articles that they have more luxury to get stuff out sooner as there's less timely stuff like in Trains magazine which must butt deadlines with late-breaking stuff (not that there isn't some late breaking stuff in toy trains with all of the lawsuits & such).

I think CTT has struck a pretty good balance. They hook me with how to articles and layouts and retain a large dosage of articles on old Lionel, AF, etc, which I don't really care that much for since I don't collect that stuff.

I'm betting that my profile pretty much fits the majority. But I do empathize with those who bemoan the dwindling articles related to collecting and old stuff. After all, the title is, "Classic Toy Trains."

[Big_Boy_4005]

Daan, I'm not sure why they publish one month ahead, but Kalmbach has been doing it with their publications for as long as I have been subscribing, and that's over 30 years. As for your wish, it may come true one day. CTT started out as 4 issues per year, then moved to 6, then 8. Are they at 9 now? I've lost track.[swg]

[daan]

From my side of the globe, I am very satisfied with CTT. It contains stories about postwar machines and sets, has articles about new ones and last time even the test between a postwar F3 with horizontal and vertical motors in it. To me, with no other magazine that has toytrains in it, CTT does a great job capturing most of the old and the today's market..
It took me half a year to find out which brand made toytrains and what they make; the amount of products both old and new is enourmous! I never heard of K-line or MTH half a year ago, and CTT put me on their track as well..
It's simply a good magazine which I love to read and I enjoy all the layouts and articles..
The one question I have is: Why is the december issue already there in oktober??

The only thing I whish for is that it would go to 12 issues in a year..

[Anonymous]

Many people said they were tired of the "wall of trains" that used to be in CTT. I think they are moving to more operations and away from showing collections.

[Anonymous]

I have a few gripes too,

I am missing the cartoons. Iwent to a yard sale last year and bought every Classic Toy Trains issue from the first one to the current one (then anay way), Also, the scrap box and the hotbox is gone.

I would like to see more stories and photos from people's christmases of them reciving their trains or runng them.

Also, I would like to see the "Point of Veiw" in every issue and the "Talking Toy Trains" colum by Kent and Carl.

There is now, I feel a greater emhaises on modern day toy trains instead of what it used to be. There is more layouts than collections. And now, there are hardly any articles on trains from the past.

I am Dissapointed to see that the magazine I love get worse from when it first started. I prefer reading the old issues from the last isssue with the old cover, to the firs issue.

But, What I really want to see come back is the old cover. In my opinion, the current one is good, but I liked the old cover alot better.

Please bring back the good days of Classic Toy Trains Magazine.

Nick

[prewardude]

We had a thread very similar to this last year at about this time (bemoaning the lack of prewar gear in CTT). Things haven't changed. I can't blame CTT, though -- they have to publi***he type of material that the majority of their readers are interested in. Unfortunately, that leaves those of us that are interested in prewar trains out in the cold most of the time. Heck, most of what I have learned about prewar trains is a direct result of reading CTT over the past seven years! In fact, it is because of CTT that my interests shifted from primarily postwar-style equipment to prewar. But, things change, I guess...

FWIW, my favorite article since I started my subscription to the magazine is the "Carpster's" piece on Richard Kughn's Carail Standard Gauge layout in the March 1997 issue. Beautiful layout, and fantastic writing by Roger Carp! That's the kind of stuff that I would like to see a return to. Them plastic trains just don't get it for me! [xx(]

[Chris F]

It wasn't that many issues ago that Neil wrote an editorial indicating that there would be increased emphasis on operating rather than collecting, based on reader surveys. That said, we still see a lot of articles on Postwar equipment (e.g., from a particular catalog, a specific loco or type of rolling stock, etc.). I think we'll continue to see articles on Lionel history as long as Roger Carp is on the editorial staff (hopefully, forever!). I do agree that there hasn't been much on private collections, tho, at least those not associated with a layout article.

[02camaro]

I'd like to see more collection and history articles in CTT, too. I think my all-time favorite piece in CTT was the article on Don Simonini's collection way back in a 1997 issue.

I'm new here, so I wonder if I'm a typical toy train person, or just an oddball :) I'm in my 30's, so I don't necessarily have nostalgic feelings about the postwar era. (I do have those feelings about my collection of Atari and Commodore computers from the 1980's, though...) I really enjoy reading about and learning about postwar trains, but I'm more inclined to buy new trains or reproductions. Here's an example. I think one of my favorite items is my Williams Canadian Pacific F3 passenger set because it's clean, crisp, and affordable. (Compared to the original 1957 Lionel version!) I also feel free to run it - something I don't think I could do with the original. But I'm not interested in reading about current-production Williams trains - it's more interesting and fun to read about the history of the original Canadian Pacific set. (I bought that Williams set after reading about the Lionel set.)

So I hope I didn't get too far off-topic - more Classic Toy Trains, less New Toy Trains!

[RI Jim]

The consensus in my local train club is that collecting to make a buck is pretty much dead. There's just too much stuff being offered nowadays that buying trains and leaving them "mint in the box" doesn't cut it. Buy what you like and run it. Trains are meant to be played with, and not sit on a shelf. Just MHO.

[choochin3]

I wi***hat CTT would include more Classic Toy Trains and not so many New Toy Trains![2c]

[Big_Boy_4005]

This is clearly a question for Bob or Neil, as they are the ones with the inside story.

If I was going to take a guess, I would say that it may be somewhat representative of the shifting taste and interests in the 3 rail market. Collector prices have pretty much topped out, and many of the most famous collections, featured in the past, have gone to the auction block.

While the collecting aspect of the hobby is still fairly popular, the sheer volume of new trains has had a smothering effect. In my mind only the pre and post war classics are collectable, and all of the modern reproductions, created for the "nostalgia market" have only served to dilute that. Many people are perfectly happy to purchase top quality reissues in mint condition, at a fraction of collector prices. Who can blame them?

Magazine content will always try to follow the interests of it's readers. I have been reading CTT since issue #1, and have noticed this shift. Personally, collecting no longer excites me. Today's trains are made to be run, so were those of yesteryear for that matter. however, it is nice to visit the past once in a while.

[FJ and G]

Besides publishing what's available, they try to go by their readers surveys, according to them.

[wrmcclellan]

railfan23,

I believe CTT publishes what is made available to them. If no one has brought forward a collection that they are willing to share with CTT, then that may explain why there has been a dearth of collections articles recently.

I would hope that in future articles on people's collections, that they would dispense with so much wordiness about what someone owns and show a decent photo.

Regards,
Roy

[railfan23]

I was down at my local train shop discussing the hobby when one of the guys brought up something that I had noticed to. What happened to showing peoples collections in the magazine? I enjoy seeing peoples collections as well as learning the history of prototypes, samples, varriations, etc? Has anyone else noticed this and would they like to see them brought back in the magazine?