Trains is a great magazine...may I suggest that you include some more foreign content. I can't be the only one who is curious about railroading in other countries...One never hears about the rail scene in Chile.. Brazil...Russia etc...would be very interesting to see what they're doing.
I concur wholeheartedly. Overseas railroading includes a lot more than European passenger service.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and mine is KEEP IT PRIMARILY AMERICAN RAILROADING RELATED (say 95% plus).
DPM used to catch flack for covering foreign railroading. The magazine targets the market, and the market seems to prefer a concentration on modern U.S. railroad topics. I would prefer to see more on the earlier historical aspect of trains, but there is apparently almost no market for that.
I agree with Jim, after all, it should have a predominently American content, BUT couldfrom time to time there be some pieces showcasing some other countries railroading.
There used to be a thread that contained primarily on topics of English railroading, It had gotten to be a pretty good size; I think, before it disappeared. I know there are a lot of readers that call the UK home that subscribe, and contributed; they need to jump back in the pool.
At another time recently we had several threads referencing the railroading in Brazil, and the conversions done on American locomotives, to convert them to a BB+BB configuration (Pedro, where are you?).
Also there were contributions from Australia, they were pretty interesting.
OK, I'll pack off my two cents and soapbox. Any others agree or disagree??
eolafan Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and mine is KEEP IT PRIMARILY AMERICAN RAILROADING RELATED (say 95% plus).
....................100% agree....!
Quentin
I dunno..a story about the trails and tribulations of railroading in the Andes would certainly be interesting.... but apparently all train mags are regional in scope..Railfan..Rail Topics etc....nobody does the global perspective. This might be a business opportunity for someone..
I concur completely. "Trains" should remain primarily focused on latter-day North American railroading.
To address one other comment, "Classic Trains" magazine covers the historical aspect of America railroading. I also subscribe to it, and if that is your area of interest, it's a great magazine.
Mike
Classic Trains is very rapidly becoming by favorite rail magazine.
Classic Rock, Classic Trains....I must be aging quicker than realized.
ed
MP173 Classic Trains is very rapidly becoming by favorite rail magazine. Classic Rock, Classic Trains....I must be aging quicker than realized. ed
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
MJChittick eolafan Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and mine is KEEP IT PRIMARILY AMERICAN RAILROADING RELATED (say 95% plus). I concur completely. "Trains" should remain primarily focused on latter-day North American railroading. To address one other comment, "Classic Trains" magazine covers the historical aspect of America railroading. I also subscribe to it, and if that is your area of interest, it's a great magazine.
I buy Classic Trains quite often, but it is intended to cover only a narrow historical window, whereas with Trains, there is no restriction on historical timeframes. For instance Trains ran story about Casey Jones a while back. That story would have been considered off limits for Classic Trains because it was too early. A lot of people think Classic Trains is for the old railroading and Trains is for the new, but that is not accurate. The Trains purview is free to run anything on any historical period, but they limit how often according to the limitation of interest suggested by market surveys, which show hardly any interest in earlier railroading. But interest comes from exposure, so without exposure, interest will not develop. And the older the subject matter is, the harder it is to expose to people.
Trains has no policy that defines which historical timeframes it covers, nor which countries it covers. Marketing polls indicate a strong interest in the present and also in the classic period, which they apparently define as about 1935-1960. The polls also indicate scant interest in foreign railroading. Before Classic Trains was launched, Trains used to cover both major historical periods of interest with limited departure into earlier timeframes and foreign topics.
When Classic Trains was launched, it took over coverage of the earlier popular timeframe, and was considered to be strictly limited to that timeframe. Trains has no such self-imposed absolute limits on its topics. However, it does limit the frequency of departures into foreign or pre-classic topics as directed by marketing polls, which show little interest in those topics.
I would suggest that Trains would discover a larger potential market in those rare topics if they would lead the polls rather than just follow them. Their role is to teach as well as to reflect.
If you'd like more international information what about Railway Gazette International. Granted its more business focused than Trains but it is full of great information from around the world.
http://www.railwaygazette.com/home.html
Its an age old question and arguement which TRAINS has answered with a little bit of foreign content based on what reader feedback has been over the years. I for one enjoy a lot of the off shore railroading features from operational, equipment, economic, and social angles. Trains and railroading are actually the same wherever you go as are the people who run them. There is a lot we as railfans, railroaders, politicians, businessmen, and citizens can learn about transportation and railroads by occasionally looking at what transpires in the rest of the world. Often interesting is the remnants of American made equipment that is often found in some backwater place in the middle of a land I know I'll never get to got to.
There has been a similar attitude by readers toward mass transit, streetcars in particular. I'm glad both Trains and Classic Trains do present material on both from time to time.
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
I am really surprised at the response to the question of more or less foreign content in TRAINS. I would have thought from the response to the former thread on railroading in Europe and UK and the life that thread developed while it lasted; Q&A from both side of the pond. Lots of information was exchanged in that thread.
I agree TRAINS is an American publication, but it enjoys what appears to be an international readership. I am really surprised that there is such a level of xenophobia againt an occasional foreign origin article.
I would love to see some South American railroads in Trains, Brazil in paticular, with their dual guage and all the former US locomotive thay converted to meter guage and B+B trucks.
We sent them lots of B30-7A cabless BN units a few years ago.
23 17 46 11
How about 3 or 4 pages every month devoted to some international 'hot spot'? Just enough to wet the appetite of some and not too much to overwhelm others.
Hope you include the CPR & CNR from up here in Canadaland, nice to be included with those "foreigners" (and we are) I'm going to get my passport and visa so we can visit the U.S.A.
eolafan MP173 Classic Trains is very rapidly becoming by favorite rail magazine. Classic Rock, Classic Trains....I must be aging quicker than realized. ed Wow, isn't that the truth with so very many of us...at age 59, I wait anxiously for my newest edition of Classic Trains as well.
I'm not old (even though I draw Social Security) - but what ever happened to big band music?
When they start playing Classic Rap on the oldies bandwidth, I'll worry about it (not!!!)
Frankly, I don't buy Trains very often, because I don't have a lot of interest in today's North American railroad scene. I DO buy one Japanese model railroading publication which, unlike the Kalmbach publications, occasionally admits that there are railroads in places that don't share a shoreline with Japan. Since they don't have a reader mail column, I have no idea what reaction that stirs with the native readership. I will note that, while the subject may be foreign, the modelers are all Japanese...
Chuck
Bucyrus The polls also indicate scant interest in foreign railroading.
This seems to be faulty polling. They may have polled their readership, but it is already a self-selecting and limited sample, and probably has few foreign readers comparatively.
The question is, "Would the magazine enjoy a wider and more schooled readership if they provided a few articles each year on foreign operations?' At some point, I could see the foreign readership growing substantially if they do it right, and that would likely have the salutary effect of providing them with the draw to get more advertizing revenue from foreign suppliers and providers.
-Crandell
selector Bucyrus The polls also indicate scant interest in foreign railroading. This seems to be faulty polling. They may have polled their readership, but it is already a self-selecting and limited sample, and probably has few foreign readers comparatively. The question is, "Would the magazine enjoy a wider and more schooled readership if they provided a few articles each year on foreign operations?' At some point, I could see the foreign readership growing substantially if they do it right, and that would likely have the salutary effect of providing them with the draw to get more advertizing revenue from foreign suppliers and providers. -Crandell
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.