Hey Y'all;
A week or so ago I was given a scattering of 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, MR which had been given to our little local model RR club.
They were given to me for 2 reasons, one becaue the city doesn't want us collecting a bunch of paper and cardboard in the city building our club uses & perhaps the primary reason was that I am, quote, "the only member who finds useful stuff in those old things".
Hmm.
Well, I did find that with the saying at top of cover of this one, MR's psychic totally nailed the character of the membership of our club which formed about 44 years later;
As it happens, there is a 1962 issue, I think 1962, which has content about creating model RR clubs and one article mentions that in clubs of any given size there will be 4 to 8 members who are the ones who regularly do stuff and accomplish things; even in clubs of 30, 40, 50, official members.
True, still oh so true, this half-century later.
(maybe it is simply because I am autistic, maybe not, that I totally can not stand the back and forth, and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round that goes on in club business meetings.
and in the intital 5 years worth of business meetings I did attend it seemed to be none of the 8 members who show up to do things who were the cause/causes of the going round and round and round and round ... ad infinitum)
I had a pretty complete collection back to the late 50's, with a scattering of older issues, up until they released the 75 year DVD set - which filled every gap in my paper collection and then some. Couldn't give them away, so most got trashed.
But when I got the DVD, I started with the very first issue and read them all in order. I always find something useful no matter how old the issue. Maybe we know better these days to not use asbestos for scenery material, but while materials change and new techniques are deveoloped, the old ways aren't completely dead or useless.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Yes, that has been the case for our club, a core group that does most of the work. Unfortunately, that statement suggests that the others are a bunch of lazy freeriders... Well that would not be totally accurate in our club. Unfortunately, the core group has been very protective about their work, to the great frustration of others. Other threads on the forum speak of this in other clubs... Engaging all members will always be a challenge, especially when some members are not willing to compromise on things.
Simon
I wish I was more active in the club i belong to but my work schedule prohibits it. It is a small group and to be honest functions quite well. They have a cool layout.
We too are in a disused city owned building and collections of magazines continiously get donated to us. We are allowed to store such magazines provided they are in enclosed totes and not out in the open on shelves. Still we have more than we know what to do with and hate to get rid of them.
And believe me, then editor Linn H Westcott took plenty of heat for removing the old "Model Railroading is Fun" slogan and replacing it with "For Enjoyment with Everlasting Challenge."
The biggest problem I have with old issues of MR or RMC or other magazines is if they have been stored in damp surroundings they take on an odor which cannot be removed.
I have MR solid back to 1948 and scattered issues before then. Some of the oldest are of interest more or less out of curiosity or nostalgia, but starting in the early 1950s they are of actual use for structure and rolling stock building, prototype plans and information, and sometimes track plans. And the old ads and old product reviews sometimes have something that, once you know it used to exist, you can keep your eyes open for at swap meets.
I would say 1960/1962 is when the usefulness quotient rises particularly as to prototype plans, railroads you can model, yard design and such. It is prototype plans by the way which are particularly helpful to have in "hard copy" versus digital screen only. Ironically however it is the (then) "high tech" articles which started to proliferate in the 1960s which age the worst in terms of usefulness. And both editors Linn Westcott and Russ Larson were big into high tech (of the time).
The thing about any magazine issue is that our opinions about usefulness change. Back when you are in benchworking mode, articles on operations or scenery seem like wasted paper. Once the benchwork is done and tracklaying and wiring begins, those are the articles you want. Once you get to operations, then all those articles on benchwork, track laying, wiring - those seem like wasted paper. That is why I tend not to discard magazines. But to be frank it is also why I grow a little fatigued with the annual MR project railroad either because it rehashes info I already have from my 73 years of back issues, or because I have my benchwork and know how to lay track. But there are always plenty of readers for whom this is finally the year they get off their duff and start a layout, so the project layout articles are important.
Dave Nelson