which camp are you in ??

[blownoutcylinder]

I get them all, whenever I can, and I do have the MRH...I'm too eclectic

[fotoflojoe]

I subscribed to both MR and RMC this year. Most likely though, I won't renew. To me, it's simply not worth the cost, even at discounted subscription rates. Plus, my local library system gets both magazines, so I can borrow them for free.

[Y3a]

I currently have a gift subscription of MR, but I REALLY MISS Mainline Modeler. MRC is a good little mag too.

I was unimpressed with the few recent articles on "Weathering steam locomotives" where none of the authors seems to know what kind of deposits and such the appliances made.

[trailrider]

I subscribe to both MR and MRC. As I model western railroads, MRC is a bit concentrated on the Eastern railroads. However, there are a lot of neat articles that can be adapted to Western and Midwestern roads.

[68 Camaro]

My wife gets me Model Railroader Magazine subscription for Christmas, however I normally tear out the articles I like and recycle the rest. I spend most of my time on the computer on Big Blue, www.the-gauge.net, since there are more people that seem to show their work on this site. There are also several Europeans that model American railroads whose work is excellent. Model Railroad Forums does a nice job on their site. I generally do not look at the Model Railroader Website.

Larry

[Cjcrescent]

Originally Posted by Y3a

... but I REALLY MISS Mainline Modeler....

I didn't mention this mag in my list. I just stayed with the mags currently on the market. That being said, I definitely miss MM. A great mag that served the southeastern roads alot more than the others. They seemed to concentrate more on the craftsman side of the hobby. I have a complete collection of it, but like the majority of my magazines, they are all packed up right now. One day, soon I hope, I'll have all my mags set up in my "library", an extra room in my basement currently used to store "stuff".

[NYW&B]

Of what little remains available in the way of model railroading publications these days my clear choice between the top two is RMC. RMC reflects what model railroading was all about throughout its first 50 years as a true craftman pursuit: research and quality, realistic, modeling and model building.

Being a craftsman model ralroader, rather than just a model train collector as so many newcomers are today, I lost interest in MR about a dozen years ago when the editorship was transfered from the magazine's last editor who was an actual model railroader (Sperandeo) to a series of tin-plate Lionel enthusiasts (Thompson and then Besougloff), while at the same time the magazine's modeling quality and usable content took a nosedive.

Several of the vanished magazines were certainly better and I know that the Gazette is a choice for many, but I never could get into it. Unfortunately, however, today's shrinking marketplace no longer finds a broad range of publications concerning the hobby viable like it once did.

NYW&B

[kbkchooch]

Originally Posted by Cjcrescent

Content quality wise, this is how I have the current offerings ranked;
1. Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette
2. Railroad Model Craftsman
3. Model Railroad Hobbiest
4. Model Railroader

Umm, Cj, old buddy old pal, ya forgot one!
And so far I'm the only one to mention it! The NMRA magazine has come leaps and bounds from where it used to be. I'd place it somewhere above MR in quality of content. Yeah, I know, the issue before a convention is nothing but a walking guide to the convention, but otherwise, great stuff. Plus you are helping to support the NMRA, without which, the hobby would not be the hobby it is.

Oh, and 1 other comes to mind, Model Railroad News I'll be honest here. I've never picked it up, but isn't it mostly new products propaganda?

[Cjcrescent]

No, I didn't forget the NMRA Magazine. While its quality has gotten a lot better, its not really universally available, as the others are. AFAIK, there's still very limited availability commercially. The only way to really get the mag, is to be a member of the NMRA.

While I wish that every model railroader would join, I know that they won't. I know many have left because "they got nothing out of it". What they have forgotten is the NMRA is a VOLUNTEER organization, so they will get out of it exactly what they put in. If they put in nothing, that will be what they get out. I found that out when I was 12.

[Iron Horseman]

Originally Posted by blackz28

I noticed peopld seem to subscribe to either MODEL RAILROADER OR MODELRAILROADER CRAFTSMAN , ME i like modelrailroader but MRC seems to be aimed for at the small scratch builder types i love their " how to " articles . MDR seems to just do an overview of some layouts & push the latest & greatest in the hobby, so what mag do you subscribe too??

Nope, I subscribe to both as well as Trains, Railroad and Railfan, and a couple others. On the other hand, had I not been a MR subscriber for so many years I would be re-thinking that. As others have said it is going the way of telling "stories" with pictures rather than real how-to do X articles. I've not been a fan of picture books since about 3rd grade.