PRR8259I read Trains during the 1970's and 1980's and they did a very good job on current railroad happenings at the time
Yes, I read Trains also in the 1980s, and there was a good amount of content on the current railroads.
When I backdated the STRATTON AND GILLETTE to 1954 I assumed the Trains magazines from that era would also have a lot of useful information.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I read Trains during the 1970's and 1980's and they did a very good job on current railroad happenings at the time, imo. I think there were good articles about over-regulation, deregulation, all kinds of interesting news. I never read the older Trains issues.
The writing was very good, at times emotional and rather artistic, perhaps in some ways comparable to fine literary storytellers. It seemed like they were trying to put the reader "right there" where the action was, to make you taste it. Lots of good imagery, symbolism, figures of speech.
Sometimes a simple photo with a caption burned itself into my brain forever (only 1960's Trains issue I can remember): images like Santa Fe rebuilt PA-1 #51L (the very first Alco PA-1) in the scrap line with "Farewell Old Friend" chalked on the nose by some railfan were heartbreaking.
Some articles like "Her Spirit Will Never Die" from circa 1973, about the very last Western Pacific California Zephyr F unit running out its last miles in freight service over Altamont Pass...engine 916-D..."Her spirit was one with the gentle wind, and her spirit will never die" burned into my brain forever.
Then there's the classic All Alco issue from August, 1980 or 1981, I believe, titled "An Alco Adieu". Many railroads had shut down their Alcos, like for example, Conrail, by Thanksgiving weekend 1979, and this was "the last goodbye" to the U.S. Centuries (before anybody really had heard of NYS&W or Apache or A&M). It had excellent articles like "1:58 AM at Wishram": "Is that a ghost...or an Alco Century short nose?...Your eyes can play tricks on you at a time like this".
Unfortunately for me some of the more recent Classic Trains steam special issues contain technical information that conflicts with other articles included in the exact same issue. I just wish they had proofread them better than they did. The apparent technical conflicts in data can be off-putting.
Perhaps some will find the examples I've selected to be corny or cheesy, but compared to the crap I had to read in Honors English class in high school, I think they're perfectly ok. Today's writing just is not the same for me as what they did back then. I think David P. Morgan and J. David Ingles, and their peers, did a great job.
I do also enjoy Fred Frailey's magazine articles and books, including "Twilight of the Great Trains".
John
Classic Trains magazine has really done a magnificent job of giving me the information I was looking for that period copies of Trains magazine did not.
Kalmbach saved the day again!
They compiled much of the 50's stuff into two special editions more recently. I have both of those.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
PRR8259The old magazines I find to be of value are Trains,
I bought a complete selection of Trains magazine from 1950-1955 because I thought they would be a great resource for my 1954 era layout.
They are not. There are very few articles on the "modern" railroading in the 1950s. If you want to read a lot about steam from the 1930s-1940s, Trains magazine from the 1950s will be a big help.
If you want to learn about railroading from the 1950s, not so much.
The old magazines I find to be of value are Trains, because some of the writing was imo very well done and certainly opened my eyes to the majesty of certain railroad subjects along with the economic issues faced by the railroads, and Diesel Era, whose engine-focused articles are always excellent, and Extra 2200 South, and I liked some of the Passenger Train Journals.
For me personally, I tend to find more value in the current web pages of certain railroad historical societies, where factual content and new product reviews are available all.
I do not keep old magazines around, but have given them all away to others in the hobby to encourage them (once I've thoroughly read them). Actually the only train magazine I currently have is the one issue that happens to include an article written by me. The rest were given away.
Those were Fleischmann ads. And they generated some controversy in letters from readers. It wasn't always Blaze Starr, she was in a few but some others used a different burlesque star. Only ran for a short time - most of the Fleischmann covers only had the trains.
When Varney ruled the cover - they were almost always John Allen photos, staging the showcased Varney equipment on the Gorre & Daphetid.
Yo guys should go back to the 50s when varney had the back cover. The ad nearly always had a stripper named Blaze Starr reclining among the trains fully clothed of course.
Jumijo I love seeing the ads at the front of the old magazines. I recall as a kid many moons ago, mailing in my order each month, and paying the UPS man for it when it arrived COD. Great memories.
I love seeing the ads at the front of the old magazines. I recall as a kid many moons ago, mailing in my order each month, and paying the UPS man for it when it arrived COD. Great memories.
Speaking of ads I couldn't wait to see the ads from Alco Models, Trains Inc or Hallmark.
While I couldn't afford every release I wanted I did buy RS-1s, a TR-6, a RS1325, a United U.P 0-6-0. I suppose the United Santa Fe 2-8-0 and the United Class B 2 Truck Shay started me on my brass locomotive diet.
As a 16 year old teenager with a full time summer job life was good.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
During my move out of my parents house a few months ago, I came accross this old athearn ( I think ) little pocket book of their new diesel locomotives. Even though it was only a sales book with prices, I brought that thing with me everywere and circled all the engines I wanted my parents to buy me. Brought back the good ol days of sitting on my bedroom floor with the EZ track set up and all my trains spread around me. Just watching them run for hours. Now if only I treated them right.
Also came accross an Athearn Genesis 60' weatherd bn boxcar that was only the box and had every part missing. Man I wish I took care of that It was a great looking car and by far one of my favorites. I guess thats why you don't give an 8 year old a genesis haha. If only I can find another.
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
I have several old MR and Trains that had articles on short lines..
Many of you recall I have mention the Columbus Model RR Club and of course Hall's Hobby Shop. As a teenager my life revovled around those two places and the hobby.. I was as happy as a two headed woodpecker in a can of worms with undecorated Athearn BB kits, Champ decals and Floquil spray and bottle paints.
I susppose two of my pride and joy boxcars back then was NYC's Jade Green boxcars with black ends and the cigar band.
Love 'em. I have most of the '60s, '70s and '80s in bound volumes in a storage cube, waiting to be unloaded at my new house on Monday. Those years were a boon to those of us modeling the wood car era - MR was full of useful drawings, and articles by craftsmen like Gib Kennedy, Jack Work, and others who were working in wood. And there were a lot of authors whose work inspired me: John Olson, Malcolm Furlow, John Allen, etc.
Now that I have an education and some experience of the railroad industry, I know what they got right, and what they didn't - but what I have learned to value was their sense of what was interesting and eye-catching in a model. There is plenty of good stuff in today's MR - particularly where technique is concerned - but I always find myself going back to the things that inspired me when I was a boy. They have never lost their beauty.
http://mprailway.blogspot.com
"The first transition era - wood to steel!"
Capt. Grimek I used to take the bus into Manhatten to visit Polks Hobbies, an amazing, older "skyscraper" (4 floors?) each dedicated to a different hobby. It was like heaven for us!
I used to visit my Uncle Roger every April for a week in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s.
Only once did we go to a hobby shop, and I honestly cannot recall its name, but it sure sounds like the one you described.
I went to FAO Schwartz every year.
When I was a teen in N.J. my best H.S. bud and I used to take the bus into Manhatten to visit Polks Hobbies, an amazing, older "skyscraper" (4 floors?) each dedicated to a different hobby. It was like heaven for us!
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
Well call me old fashioned, but I still have all my old magazines.
But then again I have only moved twice in the last 40 years........
Model Railroader - complete 1961 to now, fairly complete from 1947? to 1960.
Railroad Model Craftsman - fairly complete from the early 70's to now, a few from earlier.
NMRA Bulletin and its follow ups - complete since I joined in 1968.
And then a random collection of others.......
lots of soft cover and hard bound books.......
And in other hobbies - books on HiFi and speaker construction, 1700 vinyl records, books on old houes and Architecture, history, etc.
The Model Railroader achives make a great search engine, or a quick reference read, but to actually use the infor for a project, I go pull the hard copy, and make photo copies.
Sheldon
I kind of went thru my nostagia phase in the 90's and had accumlated boxes of MR, RMC, MRG, RMJ and other magazines. I've move a number of times since the 90's and those boxes of magazines got heavy so each time I moved, I went thru the boxes (old computer fanfold paper boxes which fit a single stack each) and went thru them to see which had any content of interest to keep and which to discard. I went from about 5 or 6 boxes of magazines down to 2, now stored in the basement. I still have some MR magazine, but mostly Rail Model Journal which have great timeless articles about freight cars, and some Pacific Rail News, Trains and CTC board. I have a few Rail Model Craftsman which had some excellent articles on things like Pacific Fruit Express or Trailer Train company, which are excellent references. Otherwise I've whittled my magazine collection down quite a bit.
Since I had read and re-rea most of those magazines umpteen times I had gotten it out of my system and in the last 10 years have found most of what has come out since I stopped buying magazines has eclipsed what was being produced in the 70's, 80's and 90's, the period I have magazines from. Before I moved to my current home, I used to drop by the library and read MR and a few others there but now online has really taken over and hard copy is kind of taken a back seat for me. I read about new models long before they are published in magazines now. Youtube video's subplant articles in the magazines.
I still have a couple boxes if I get a wild hair, which isn't very often anymore. Maybe I'm the odd one out *shrug*
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
dknelson But it is eye opening (or is that "eye moistening"?) to see the list of hobby shops in an issue of MR
I know... it is like a list of old friends that have passed away.
That same April 1990 issue was the first one that I bought when getting back in the hobby. I spent the previous decade with hot rods, race cars, and motorcycles. And college, getting married, etc...
The n scale layout of John Coots is what I remember most about it. Being in N scale at the time, it was incredible to see.
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
Oh dear. These issues of MR that are causing so much nostalgia all seem rather new to me. But it is eye opening (or is that "eye moistening"?) to see the list of hobby shops in an issue of MR from say a decade ago and compare it to the list now. Then go back three decades and really feel old.
Dave Nelson
With a Transition Era layout, my entire like is an exercise in nostalgia. Not just the trains, either. A non-train friend made me realize that the average person would recognize the automobiles more than the locomotives. Just this morning I was thinking of the Civil Defense sign to an air raid shelter I put on one of my buildings. I'm particularly fond of old advertising signs painted on buildings.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Just the cover from October 89 does it for me.
I built my turntable superstructure from the fold out in the magazine.
This is my original scratch built bridge.
I couldn’t find a motor that would drive it so I ended up buying a CMR 135’ kit and rebuilt the superstructure to fit the longer bridge.
The CMR kit came with a Granger Gearmotor, Dayton 2L003, ½RPM motor at 12 volts. If I had known about the Dayton motor 10 years earlier I would still be using my original scratch turntable. GREAT Turntable motor!!!!
The Santa Fe removed both the roundhouse and turntable in the early 90s.
X marks the spot where the turntable was up until the early 90s, Courtesy Google Maps.
Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Yes and There was one from the 70's that features building the Lido theatre. Since I love classic theatres that is/ was right up my alley. I do like reminiscing through the pages.
I recall making "wish lists" while paging through the dozens of multi-page ads, America's Hobby Center, Polk Hobbies, Hobbies For Men, etc.
In 1966 at the ripe-old age of ten, I accompanied my parents on a trip to New York City via the Erie Limited (renamed the Phoebe Snow) and the Lake Cities. Sure, seeing the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty was great but the real treat was a visit to "Five Floors of Trains" Polk Hobbies and FAO Schwarz!
Great times for a young tyke!
Yes, paging through all those issues of "vintage" M-R sure helps to relive those fond memories.
Regards, Ed
I was just perusing my April, 1990 copy of Model Railoader, and there is a two page article by Russ Larson about his visit to The Train Depot hobby shop in Orlando.
That shot me back in time like a rocket.
I remembered many trips to Orlando that always included a day of hobby-shopping, often with my friend Randy. There were a lot of Hobby Shops in Orlando back then, plus Skycraft Parts, and it was always a great day. We would always get over to NCC-1701 (later Sci-Fi City) also. I remember The Train Depot quite well.
Only Colonial Photo & Hobby, Sci-Fi City, and Skycraft Parts remain. None of these are anything like they were in the 1990s.
My misty-eyed-nostalgia got the best of me.