I doubt I could ever name just one issue as being a favorite. My favorite featured model railroad that has stick in my mind for years was from a late 70's or early 80's edition. The railroad was called the Calapooia (sp?) Pacific. The huge high timber trestles and steam locos are still engrained in my mind.
Robert H. Shilling II
I have several.First MR was July 1973, was able to meet Bruce Chubb years later. July 2011 featured Jeff Ashby's layout, regular operator, have seen layout grow. April 2016 featured Larry Hickman's layout. Have operated and learned a lot from Larry's layout and operations.
Dan
Can't remember when but the 1950s issues with Tuxedo Junction as the main railroad. Taught me that you can smile when reading an article about a railroad.
David
Long Haired DavidA.K.A. David Penningtonmain man on the Sunset and North Eastern R.R.http://www.gmrblog.co.ukfrom the UK
While many issues of MR have been inspirational, one that I have never forgotten is August 1962. I found this issue in a collection of MRs from the 1960s in binders that I bought at a swap meet in the mid-1980s. In that issue was a short feature on George Bastert's Grey Burro Line, a 4' by 4' HO layout.
I had admired this small layout since I was a kid when I read two articles about the layout had appeared in Railroad Model Craftsman in March and August of 1963, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the additional photos over 20 years in the old MR.
As a chronically space challenged S Gauger, I was, and still am, fascinated by the level of detail and the interesting track plan found in such a small space. If I ever build a second layout for my modest HO collection, it will take its inspiration from the Grey Burro Line. Of course, if I am going to have a second layout, I will need to build my permanent S gauge layout first. It will need to be larger than 6' by 6'!
Alan
January 1972.
Why?
It is the very first issue of MR I bought. I was 14 at the time.
Although my collection of old MR's got ruined in a flooded basement years ago, I was able to get a copy of that issue afterwards from a hobby shop which had boxes of old magazines, and I still have it.
The January 1984 50th anniversary issue where the Milwaukee Road 4-4-2 locomotive (in 3 scales) toured the country and visited the famous layouts of the time. I loved that article. Great issue. That was the same time I got my Driver License, so model railroading took a back seat in my life for a while. I guess that might have something to do with why I remember ir so well. It was probably the last issue I read with enthusiasm for about a decade.
.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I had a subscription to MR as a boy. While my friends were recieving Boy's Life in the mail, I was reading Model Railroader. As the years went by, my interests changed. Hot Rod magazine replaced MR. With a driver's license in my wallet, I pursued cars.
Now, I've always liked trains and have been a big fan of the New York Central System. One day at the age of 31, I was walking by the magazine rack at my local grocery store when something caught my eye. There it was. Model Railroader magazine, April 1988. On the cover, "The Century at Breakneck Mountain". BEAUTIFUL! Associate editors Jim Kelly, Gordon Odegard and Dick Christianson had captured in N-scale, on a 6' by 30" module, the very essence in New York Central railroading. There before my eyes, having emerged from the tunnel at Breackneck, I beheld a Dreyfuss Hudson pulling the 20th Century in two-tone gray. On the opposite track, a string of Pacemaker boxcars, heading in the other direction.
And that was not all, besides this excellent article on recreating this most famous of NYC scenes, there in the center of the magazine was a six-page article by David P. Morgan entitled "The greatest Century of all". Packed with information, loaded with photographs of the hudsons and every car of the new 1938 edition of the Century. This alone was WELL worth the $2.50 that I paid for the magazine.
But wait, there's more!
Following the Morgan article there were 10 pages of mechanical drawings by Harold W. Russell of the entire 1938 train, on a "double gatefold"! And MORE photographs and COLOR renderings of a Dreyfuss Hudson and a diner car by Chuck Boie. Man, I hit the mother-lode!
This magazine renewed my interests in modelroading which I have continued to this very day. Now being a member of the NMRA, and having completed an 8' x 16' HO scale model railroad at my home.
Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep 'em rolling. John.
SBX Can't remember when but the 1950s issues with Tuxedo Junction as the main railroad. Taught me that you can smile when reading an article about a railroad. David
Big endorsement from here, too.
George Allen was the lead writer. Part 1 was in the October 1952 issue. The final one was part 25 in the December 1954 issue.
They did have a sense of humor. But, as I recall, they also approached layout building with a scientific approach. Rather than using "received wisdom".
I DO have to dig that series out and reread it. It's in those boxes over there. The ones my wife says just clutter up the room. Yeah, right.
Ed
I can't pinpoint an exact issue. I know I started to read when I was a sophomore in high school in the Fall of 2001. My favorite issues were those depicting the Utah Belt. It was an inspiration to see a model railroad that was so modern and life like. To this day, I go back to reading those issues simply for those articles. Any chance there is to look at a modern layout, it's a favorite issue. Currently, im enjoying rereading the article about the Georgia Northeastern by Tom Klimoski. lots of pointers that I'm jotting down for when I can start building.
A reader since 1962 ( and have all but 6 of the issues since) I was most impressed with the article and coverage given to Rod Stewart, his home layout and his travel habits. It is encouraging when we hobbists see us at all skill and respect levels for our hobby.
John
My favorite...the October 1984 issue of Model Railroader. Having just decided to attend Western Carolina University I was thrilled to see the famous "Murphy Branch" as a cover story as it was the right down the road from the Unviersity!
Great replies all! I also have some other favorites that I can recall, such as Lionel Strang's Allegheny, Lackawanna Southern (I can't recall the issue, but I know it was some time in the '90's); also the May, 2001 issue, featuring Johnathan Jones' Mid-Atlantic Central, 2' x 10' switching layout. In Johnathan's article, he not only showed how to pack a lot of railroading into a small space (and was an inspiration for my TEC RR), I thought it was also well written.
There are many others, like the December 2007 issue, which featured Rod Stewart's layout, David Barrow's Cat Mountain & Santa Fe, and many others that captivated my imagination.
Thanks for all your replies and happy railroading!
E-L man tom Great replies all! I also have some other favorites that I can recall, such as Lionel Strang's Allegheny, Lackawanna Southern (I can't recall the issue, but I know it was some time in the '90's); also the May, 2001 issue, featuring Johnathan Jones' Mid-Atlantic Central, 2' x 10' switching layout. In Johnathan's article, he not only showed how to pack a lot of railroading into a small space (and was an inspiration for my TEC RR), I thought it was also well written. There are many others, like the December 2007 issue, which featured Rod Stewart's layout, David Barrow's Cat Mountain & Santa Fe, and many others that captivated my imagination. Thanks for all your replies and happy railroading!
I was gonna answer with "January 1994" Too! I love layout toursand of course this had plenty of them. MY favorite being Bryan Kanis' Utah Western. Is that Layout still around?Also Lionel Strang's layout appeared the next month in the Febuary 94 edition. ;)
Oh my, Rod Stewart's article was that long ago?
Mike
My You Tube
Think it was the November 1960 - the first issue of MR I read. Had drawings of the J1 NYC Hudson, reviws of Athearn new RTR heavy weight passengers cars, and photos and ads of brass steam which I lusted after. The somewhat unfavorable review of the Athearn cars along with the editor's very high standards on all reviews led perhaps to his replacement soon after. With the end of steam and slot car competition this was not a happy time in model railroading.
June, 1996. It was in May that I ran across a model railroad shop on vacation and discovered the hobby of scale model railroading. I was 28 and had been a railfan all of my life, so I fell in love immediately. I found Model Railroader a few days later in a book store and purchased this issue. It opened the door to my new life-long hobby and obsession.
Ron
Owner and superintendant of the N scale Texas Colorado & Western Railway, a protolanced representaion of the BNSF from Fort Worth, TX through Wichita Falls TX and into Colorado.
Check out the TC&WRy on at https://www.facebook.com/TCWRy
Check out my MRR How-To YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/RonsTrainsNThings
My favorite MR issue HAS to be the one with the "How to get started in DCC" article.
Definately an issue in 1985 featuring the steel mill at Severan Park MRR Club.
Mike Habersack http://rail. habersack. com
Maryland - the land of pleasant living...
For me, this is simple....August 2014 with the cover story about John Lawson's SRR pike. I've seen many, but in my opinon, Lawson's work is about the best ...at least in my opinion. Keller's volume #45 is done on this layout, but way out of print.
Note here..............There are many really great layouts not yet published as builders for some unknown reason are reluctant to share. My dad was this way. His pike which came down in 1961 was a highly secretive affair and it was really great. I learned just about everything I know from him, and even though my layout is sort of well known, it was a loop around the Christmas tree compared to his. I am or became just the opposite as I feel art has no real meaning unless it is shared. If I published photos of his work, he'd undoubtly come back and haunt the hell out of me.
There is a pike here in central MD which is in this class, but the builder will not share nor will he allow the public in.....only close friends. I can not share his name as this would greatly upset him. Oh well!!
sorry to get off message......
HZ
I haven't responded to this because there have been so many that I can't pick just one. Recently, when I responded to a question on another thread, I had to look something up in the August, 1958 issue and was reminded just how great that issue was. The cover and lead article showed Wally Moore's HO East Side engine terminal. It's amazing to see modeling that is so good that you're not sure whether you're looking at a model or the prototype, and to reflect that this was published almost 59 years ago! Wally Moore's modeling has informed my own approach to the hobby ever since I saw that issue. There have been many great ones, but this one stands out.
Tom
On further thought, my favorite was the swimsuit issue. Can't remember what year it was...
June 1996. Even though I have every issue from 1950 to present, this issue stands out because it is the only issue to have a track plan for the Alaska Railroad.
Only from scouring through the magazines time and time again, being a 10 year arm chair modeler, then stumbling upon this track plan again About three months ago opened up a world of possibilities for me.
i'm proud to say I am no longer an armchair modeller and I'm working on a small module to practice my late winter modeling skills, so I can create a layout that rivals Alaska in beauty.
Joe
Modeling:
Providence & Worcester Railroad
"East Providence Secondary"
HO scale
My favorite is Dec 1985 because it had my favorite layout of all time, Harry Clark's Indian Creek Valley.
My second favorite is Apri 1986 because of the Intro to the infamous FS&M layout.
December '77. Arcadia Terminal Street & Dock RR. Just a great layout.
Scratchbuilding a turntable, still relevent. PLUS prototype drawings!
Old time concrete block factory. Both a model how-to, and prototype drawings. There is room on my existing layout for this complex.
Photo contest winners, just pleasant to look at.
The whole magazine was enjoyable to paruse, includung the brass ads.
I am just loving these replies! One thought that comes to mind as I read the recollections of the issues from back in the 50's, 60's and 70's is that it was the time when I would occasionally pick up a copy of MR or Model Railroad Craftsman, or other popular model railroading press at the time and go through it and just be amazed at the whole spectacle of scale model railroading. Back then, having been a "closet" model railroader (I didn't think my friends would think that it's "cool"), and only exposed to Lionel trains, as most of us were growing up, I sat and wondered: How does one get into this hobby, as wonderful as it is? It wasn't until later on in life (1993 to be exact), that I had the information and the "budget" to start into this wonderful hobby. I have to say that MR Magazine was responsible for pushing me over the edge to full-on engagement and I am happy for that.
February 2017 MR (or is it 2016, I cant tell from the cover...).
For me, it would have to be the March 1980 issue. It had an article by Harold Russel about a Tourist Railroad you could Model ( The Adirondack Scenic Railroad). It was one of my first issues purchased and the article struck close to home. The Adirondack RR was form NYC's Adirondack Division, which statrted life as part of the Mohawk & Malone, who's southern terminus was Herkimer, NY (My home) where it connected with the NYC.
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/446168/
JOHN C TARANTO I had a subscription to MR as a boy. While my friends were recieving Boy's Life in the mail, I was reading Model Railroader. As the years went by, my interests changed. Hot Rod magazine replaced MR. With a driver's license in my wallet, I pursued cars. Now, I've always liked trains and have been a big fan of the New York Central System. One day at the age of 31, I was walking by the magazine rack at my local grocery store when something caught my eye. There it was. Model Railroader magazine, April 1988. On the cover, "The Century at Breakneck Mountain". BEAUTIFUL! Associate editors Jim Kelly, Gordon Odegard and Dick Christianson had captured in N-scale, on a 6' by 30" module, the very essence in New York Central railroading. There before my eyes, having emerged from the tunnel at Breackneck, I beheld a Dreyfuss Hudson pulling the 20th Century in two-tone gray. On the opposite track, a string of Pacemaker boxcars, heading in the other direction. And that was not all, besides this excellent article on recreating this most famous of NYC scenes, there in the center of the magazine was a six-page article by David P. Morgan entitled "The greatest Century of all". Packed with information, loaded with photographs of the hudsons and every car of the new 1938 edition of the Century. This alone was WELL worth the $2.50 that I paid for the magazine. But wait, there's more! Following the Morgan article there were 10 pages of mechanical drawings by Harold W. Russell of the entire 1938 train, on a "double gatefold"! And MORE photographs and COLOR renderings of a Dreyfuss Hudson and a diner car by Chuck Boie. Man, I hit the mother-lode! This magazine renewed my interests in modelroading which I have continued to this very day. Now being a member of the NMRA, and having completed an 8' x 16' HO scale model railroad at my home. Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep 'em rolling. John.
My favorite issue as well and you put into words my thoughts on how well done and complete the article and drawings on the train were done.
Alvie