kgbw49 Where is "here"?
Where is "here"?
Mexico
BackshopBackshop wrote the following post 1 hours ago: I don't mind e-magazines and newspapers, but like real books.
Funny I'm the opposite for the most part. Books on my phone are great as they are alwatys with me wherever I have a few minutes to kill.
More to the overall point, I moved out of the US in September and canceled my decades long print edition of the LA Times. I maintain an online subscription, and go through it daily. Although I disagree with their positions much of the time, and more so in recent years, they do give good coverage and there's always something to interest me. Plus, the comics, of course.
I first saw Trains for sale at Fry's electronics in El Segundo. Early 1990s I think. Never knew it existed before that, but subscribed ever since. Good luck finding a newstand to serendipidously come accross something like that today. Heck, even Fry's is out of business. The only places that sell magazines of any variety are chain bookstores, and they are rare now, too.
I find I don't read Trains as much with the online edition as I did in print. For one thing, you can't keep a full size page infront of you unless you have a huge monitor, and that requires sitting at a desk. No more lying in bed with the paper edition, brousing, getting Cheeto dust on it, and falling asleep without having to close it or turn it off. I miss that. Well, not the Cheeto part, but you get the idea.
It is difficult to find physical books in English here. I bring a few back when I visit the US, but they are heavy and I have to travel by air.
I discover great stuff on Youtube all the time. But I am aware that the stuff that is presented to me is based on an algorythm, not serendipity. I miss that too.
And woe is to all of when the power goes off. Or the ISP is down. I keep a Zenith Transoceanic Royal 3000 stocked with 9 D cells for just such occasions.
Cheers,
David
I don't mind e-magazines and newspapers, but like real books.
Here's another Kalmbach glitch--why isn't your password for business purposes (subs, etc) linked with forum accounts? I was kicked out for being away for awhile and it wouldn't let me back in, even after redoing my password. Then I figured out that it only changed my business PW. Stooopid!
tree68 NKP guy All my newspapers are delivered by the same hapless person who misses days, or arrives late, etc. The other morning he told me about some change in where and how the papers he delivers are printed or distributed. "Enjoy them while you can," he said, "they'll probably be gone in a year or so." He meant home delivery. Our local daily (which I buy daily at the local convenience store) no longer does any home delivery as such. Instead the papers are delivered to local post offices, which deliver the papers to the customers. They really push their on-line page.
NKP guy All my newspapers are delivered by the same hapless person who misses days, or arrives late, etc. The other morning he told me about some change in where and how the papers he delivers are printed or distributed. "Enjoy them while you can," he said, "they'll probably be gone in a year or so." He meant home delivery.
Our local daily (which I buy daily at the local convenience store) no longer does any home delivery as such. Instead the papers are delivered to local post offices, which deliver the papers to the customers.
They really push their on-line page.
My first 'job' was delivering the 'Garrett Clipper' in Garrett, IN - Delivered twice a week and collect once a month. Didn't mind the delivery, collecting was the problem - amazing how many excuses were spouted to avoid paying $1.25 a month.
While it still appears to be published it looks like it is being published in Auburn instead of Garrett.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
NKP guyAll my newspapers are delivered by the same hapless person who misses days, or arrives late, etc. The other morning he told me about some change in where and how the papers he delivers are printed or distributed. "Enjoy them while you can," he said, "they'll probably be gone in a year or so." He meant home delivery.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
I've always enjoyed newspapers and I subscribe to four of them--all in print. But I got a jolt a short time back when the New York Times announced that of the more than 10.3 million subscribers it has, only some 640,000 of us read the print edition.
All my newspapers are delivered by the same hapless person who misses days, or arrives late, etc. The other morning he told me about some change in where and how the papers he delivers are printed or distributed. "Enjoy them while you can," he said, "they'll probably be gone in a year or so." He meant home delivery.
Trains magazine has been delivered to my house for fifty years. I enjoy this forum and I hope both will be not only around, but revived and thriving, well into the future. But Trains is prey to the same demographic changes as the rest of the magazine & newspaper business.
Still, I'm hopeful, if not optimistic.
charlie hebdo Clearly the trend throughout publishing is the decline of print media and the death of many newspapers especially complared to even 40 years ago. Why should a railroading magazine be any different? I wonder what is the median age of Trains subscibers? >60?
Clearly the trend throughout publishing is the decline of print media and the death of many newspapers especially complared to even 40 years ago. Why should a railroading magazine be any different? I wonder what is the median age of Trains subscibers? >60?
I'm surprised that there are still print newspapers around today. Alot can happen in five years...Or maybe the boomer generation needs to die off before electronic media take over entirely. I'm all for online, but I like having a book or magazine in my hands..it's what I'm most comfortable with.
Clearly the trend throughout publishing is the decline of print media and the death of many newspapers especially complared to even 40 years ago. Why should a railroading magazine be any different? I wonder what is the mefian age of Trains subscibers? >60?
We live in a sound-bite nation with a Tik-Tok attention span.
Gen Z (born 1997-2012) is on Tik-Tok, Instagram and YouTube. They are creating their own content and posting it. It is amazing what one can find on YouTube.
I think the railfan community is thriving. It just can't be measured by Trains subscriptions. Content is out there - it is just more fractured now in a wide range of sources.
Trains will always have a niche and depending on how the new owners approach it, they can grow subscriptions to content, of which the print version will be an option for the foreseeable future.
I could see Trains turning their website into an Amazon of all things railroads, railfanning, and model railroading. Sort of a clearinghouse of information but also an online railroading "bazaar" - a place you can go to locate articles and read a subscription, but also to buy "merch" of all types. A one-stop online shop like a virtual Walmart or Canadian Tire.
Lots of options for the new owners.
It will be interesting to follow them as they ramp up a growth strategy.
UlrichI'm guessing the editors and writers are of an older generation, like most of their readership. They're a font of knowledge about railroading in decades long gone by, but like most of us of that era we struggle to keep up with modern technology at times.
Probably true as a general matter, but its not like the editors have to write the web site HTML code (or whatever is used nowadays) themselves. It's a matter of setting a policy and then hiring the appropriate resources to implement the policy.
I'll stick around long enough to see what changes the new owners have in store, and there is a lot that can be improved. A target rich environment, as they say...
Backshop Ulrich Trains remains a fine magazine; however, technology and the abundance of information has changed everything. I was surprised when I went to renew my Classic Trains subscription a few months ago, that there wasn't an "online only" option. That's stupid. You could only get "print" or "print and online". They could save tons of money by making it only online. That's how I get my naval events sub (Warship- International Fleet Review).
Ulrich Trains remains a fine magazine; however, technology and the abundance of information has changed everything.
Trains remains a fine magazine; however, technology and the abundance of information has changed everything.
I was surprised when I went to renew my Classic Trains subscription a few months ago, that there wasn't an "online only" option. That's stupid. You could only get "print" or "print and online". They could save tons of money by making it only online. That's how I get my naval events sub (Warship- International Fleet Review).
I'm guessing the editors and writers are of an older generation, like most of their readership. They're a font of knowledge about railroading in decades long gone by, but like most of us of that era we struggle to keep up with modern technology at times.
croteauddSuch spiral-downs of society invariably end in tragedy! Personally, I see society as we know it having difficulty going past 2035. In that year, it has to be wondered what the circulation of TRAINS Magazine will be, and if the industry the magazine covers will even exist!
You may want to get some fresh air.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
tree68 Extra 2200 South's owner passed.
Extra 2200 South's owner passed.
Ulrich:
Your last few sentences were a mouthful and hit the nail on the head! But there comes a time when that is impossible, and that was what I was alluding to, a time when nothing will work. We are seeing something like that even now. Apparently, Kalmbach saw that and bailed out! The best thing everybody can do is try to be friendly with everybody and avoid conflict. But, if repetitive world history is any indicator, people for some reason get into a ‘me first’ attitude and rarely show concern for others, and eventually a civilization implodes!
Trains remains a fine magazine; however, technology and the abundance of information has changed everything. There are now blogs on almost every conceivable topic, and many of those are well informed and very well written, and available for free. Same with photos.. thanks to iphones and their clones anyone at any time can take a decent photo and circulate it to anyone anywhere in the world. Like any business, the fan press needs to evolve over time.. I'm not sure what that would look like, but ultimately it's about branding and being able to offer something that cannot be found elsewhere.
Time escapes me, but in the last 15-20 years a steady decline in the TRAINS circulation has transpired. There were 90,000. Then 80,000, 70,000, then only 60,000. Somehow I theorized there may now only be 45,000.
The reasons for such a decline may be varied, but it has been noted that there are common threads to such declines. A phenomenon in economics is inflation, which forces companies to be ever more efficient, i.e., reduce the workforce. Such brings on the worst in management, making them hate mongers! Firing people has become a goal in itself, and railroads excel in that! In the late 1960’s I knew a number of trainmen. Four were men of outstanding integrity! One day there was an unscrupulous crewmember, an engineer, that was assigned to the crew! He stupidly ran a red signal! Everybody got fired! It didn’t matter if they were good guys or bad guys! Oh, the great satisfaction and thrill of the railroad manager showing hate to their fellow man! THAT is really anti-American and showing hate for the stars and stripes! But stockholders love it!
Such spiral-downs of society invariably end in tragedy! Personally, I see society as we know it having difficulty going past 2035. In that year, it has to be wondered what the circulation of TRAINS Magazine will be, and if the industry the magazine covers will even exist!
It is definitely a trend to have railroad content move from print to online. Some of the story telling that used to be common in Trains is now being carried on by various podcasts or Youtube channels, i.e. https://www.youtube.com/@Hyce777 (those guys are hilarious, IMO). For younger people, those are simply more natural mediums for them to interact with than waiting for a monthly print publication. I don't think you can judge the size of the railfan community anymore by print publication circulation.
For my part, I still get printed Trains magazine but probably the last five issues sit by my easy chair, unread. It is just not that compelling anymore.
Print is taking a hit everywhere - railroading is hardly the only victim.
Amateur radio's QST magazine just quit printing (it's available on-line). Firehouse magazine is half the size it used to be. Time and Newsweek are now on-line. Extra 2200 South's owner passed. My old hometown weekly newspaper still carries the "Milford Times" at the top of the front page, but Milford is sometimes completely absent from the miniscule content, the paper having been taken over by an outside entity.
In the meantime, FB and numerous other on-line sites cover much of the same information, as noted, on a near instantaneous basis.
Can't really judge the condition of railfanning by that measure.
BackshopI'm an active railfan but have little use for Trains. I have a subscription to Classic Trains, but that's it. When I go to the local B&N, I mainly look at R&R and TRP. Both have better information for railfanning. Of course, Facebook is also a good source. Trains has lost its way.
Also, interestingly enough, when was the last time they did a reader survey? I can't remember. Would seem to me they might want to know how the remaining readers know at some point.
PJS1If these numbers are correct and, furthermore, reflect a corresponding decline in the number of train enthusiasts in the U.S., what are the implications for rail buff mags, tourist railroads, railroad museums, etc.?
In my own view, railroads used to have much larger PR and marketing departments than they have now. I remember when I was a teenager in high school writing various railroads and getting a large manilla envelope back with a form letter and lots of cool emblem stickers and other neat stuff. You would not get that today. Further, post 1978-1980, if your near railroad property and even remotely look like your loitering.........you get hassled by the police, railroad police or even sometimes railroad employees in some cases. I am sure that has taken it's toll along with the post 9-11 targeting of railfans in some cases. Even today there are YouTube videos from railroad employees saying to perspective employees not to overtly say your a railfan or express an undue interest in the railroad because it might be used against you and you might not get hired because of it.
The other item of course is the declining visibility of railroads to the public. So many abandoned lines, passenger trains gone, REA gone, etc, etc.
News or articles are three months old by the time they are printed in Trains magazine. The most up to date information is on the Trains forum allthough it might be a few hours old since rail fans like myself post the information as soon as it is known.
I'm an active railfan but have little use for Trains. I have a subscription to Classic Trains, but that's it. When I go to the local B&N, I mainly look at R&R and TRP. Both have better information for railfanning. Of course, Facebook is also a good source. Trains has lost its way.
Seems to be a little jump in logic assuming the # of Trains magazines being circluated is that directly related to the decline in the hobby of railfanning.
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
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