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pristine railroader mags

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  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 28, 2005 11:38 AM
The short answer is: Not very much. When I got back into the hobby I bought old magazines at train shows as excellent and cheap resource material. Bundles of magazines, usually one year's worth still go for $5.00 or so.

Bob Boudreau
  • Member since
    July 2003
  • From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
  • 13,757 posts
Posted by cacole on Friday, January 28, 2005 10:06 AM
We couldn't even give away old copies of MR, RMC, Mainline Modeler, and other model railroading magazines, and wound up dumping them in the trash.

We had a collection going back into the 1950s at our club, with many duplicate copies. After discussing the storage space problem, we tried giving them away during two open house weekends. Overall, I think only one or two copies were taken by visitors.

No school or library would take them. We finally decided that there was no reason to keep any magazine going back more than 10 years, because:
1. None of the products advertised are still available.
2. Most businesses that advertised then have gone out of business.
3. Advances in technology have made most procedures advertised or discussed then, obsolete.

We thought about offering them as freebies here to anyone willing to pay the postage, but realized that listing what was available, receiving payments, packaging and mailing, etc. would be more work than any club member was willing to undertake.

So they wound up being chucked into a dumpster.

Several years ago, I had to do the same with a 30-year collection of National Geographic after they released all their back issues on a set of CDs.
  • Member since
    November 2004
  • From: Chateau-Richer, QC (CANADA)
  • 833 posts
Posted by chateauricher on Friday, January 28, 2005 1:47 AM
[2c] that thief must have been in extremely good shape, or had all the time in the world to get away with stealing 59 years worth of magazines -- that's 708 issues [wow] (if it was published monthly). I don't know about you (or him); but I have enough trouble carrying more than a dozen or so at a time (even if boxed or bundled).
Timothy The gods must love stupid people; they sure made a lot. The only insanity I suffer from is yours. Some people are so stupid, only surgery can get an idea in their heads.
IslandView Railroads On our trains, the service is surpassed only by the view !
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: Chiloquin, OR
  • 284 posts
Posted by Bob Hayes on Friday, January 28, 2005 1:06 AM
1899? Considering the first year MR was published is 1934, anything before that would be priceless.
Bob Hayes
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, January 27, 2005 9:44 PM
any help would be useful. thanks.
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
pristine railroader mags
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, January 27, 2005 9:34 PM
Does anyone know the approximate value of uncirculated condition model railroader magazines from 1899 - 1958. full set.

mags were stolen from a client, need ballpark figure. thanks.

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