On looking into Old Railway Modellers

[hayfield]

I've every Modeller since 1958 and some before, however have had to thin them out a bit for storage reasons, the weight was about 730 kg that's 3/4 of a ton, I've thrown the adverts out from 1980 apart from Xmas edition s this got the weight down to about 350 kg and a lot less space. Yes shear amount of adverts

 

 

Just before we moved I just cut out the plans from my old Railway modellers, still have them, What I might do is to sort them into groups of four or 5 related plans and put them on eBay

 

I took the unwanted material to my local recycling centre, one chap started to give me a hard time claiming I was a dealer. I ignored him then phoned his head office. All was sorted out. Lets face it they sell paper and cardboard, and there were always plenty of vans being emptied, so could not see the (very small) boot of a hatch back would cause issues

 

As for the Railway Modellers, I kept about 6 years worth.

[rjh]

SNIPPED

 

Anyway, I recall that I particularly enjoyed "The Living Lineside", by 'Dax', a series of ideas for satirical lineside accessories, more often than not involving complex animation.

Hello,

 

Interesting thread....

 

Ah, but who was "Dax"?

==================

 

I've asked Steve Flint at Peco/RM and nobody there now apparently knows...

 

Apart from the Living Lineside series, you find other little sketches in the same style as headers etc to other items over the same period.

 

the Rolla Controla

==============

 

I have one of these...

 

search RMweb on: Rolla Controla

 

you should get about seven hits with more gen.

 

I am hoping to get to ExpoEM at Bracknell on Sunday 14 May 2017 and I am quite willing to bring the Rolla Controlla along and hook it up to the test track by arrangement.

 

Let me know if you are interested in seeing / using the controller...

 

"The R-C is to today's electronic pulse width modulation (PWM) controllers as the Baird television is to today's home entertainment systems".

 

Regards,

Rodney Hills

archivist@merg.org.uk

[joppyuk1]

I started buying the RM in the early 1960s after discovering it in the school library. Have every issue since then and most back to 1955, that I purchased later. I have mine bound into volumes (sans adverts) annually and they have certainly grown in thickness. I just wish I'd indexed them, but the joy of looking for an elusive article I remember is the sidetracking that takes place when I spot something else. 

[Nearholmer]

So, did you weigh them yet?

 

K

[kevinlms]

Are you sure you've got the numbers right? They look out by maybe a factor of ten to me.

 

Current edition weighs 0.458kg, complete with adverts (pretty obsessive, eh? Weighing the RM at 0700 on a Sunday morning).

 

Even if all editions weighed that much, and they certainly didn't, 800 x 0.458 = 366.4kg.

 

My guess, based on the thinness of editions up to and including the 1970s, would be c100kg, with ads (unbound) or without ads (bound).

 

Anyone care to weigh their collection?

 

Kevin

Recent issues are much heavier, not just due to the greater number of pages, but also due to the high quality paper used these days. The paper is coated, so that the colour quality of the photos is much better.

 

Some earlier magazines used paper, that was not much better than newspaper. The first issues of Practical Model Railways were pretty ordinary from that point of view, although later they improved.

 

I have just weighed the December issue of Railway Modeller for 1972 (picked randomly) & it is 220g (non digital scales), so I would guess the average weight would be around 270-280g perhaps? I have around 2000, so based on that, my magazine collection would weigh around 550Kg.

 

No wonder it was such an effort to move them, 4 years ago with a house move!

[locomad]

The whole lot from first issue to last year was moved, up to 1980 all were bound, as they were been moved they were weighed on an old Human weight machine which went up to 20 stone, I did this as not to overload an estate car keeping within the 200kg mode I recorded about 730 kg including some of the boxes later issues were in.

 

Wether it accurate or not it's still a lot of mags, the volume takes quite a bit more space too, I noticed later issues had a lot more adverts in than say 1960, from one month to the next there roughly the same, hence kept December issue complete.

 

We debated this on early thread, like many I like reading old copies, 1960 is a prime example of the change in the hobby which evoluted to what we have now, Hornby dublo 2 rail, birth of kits ie airfix, kitmaster, peco streamline just come out, triang new models, superquick cardboard models. At the time large layouts took railway of the month.

 

I keep them as they are good reads, I've digital all the meccano mags from 1916 to 1971,all stored on my phone wish I could have the same for RM, then we can talk in Gigabits and not kg, they weigh less too

[PatB]

A digitised archive of RM? Yep, I'd pay for that. Maybe can't afford quite as much as the publishers might like though .

 

Seriously, though, such a thing might have some legs as a wishlist item with which to pester Peco/Pritchards.

[DLT]

Some earlier magazines used paper, that was not much better than newspaper. The first issues of Practical Model Railways were pretty ordinary from that point of view, although later they improved.

 

 

Which led to certain members of my club giving it the nickname "Practical Bog-paper"....

[5050]

I started buying the RM in the early 1960s after discovering it in the school library. Have every issue since then and most back to 1955, that I purchased later. I have mine bound into volumes (sans adverts) annually and they have certainly grown in thickness. I just wish I'd indexed them, but the joy of looking for an elusive article I remember is the sidetracking that takes place when I spot something else. 

Sometimes it's the adverts that are the most interesting read - especially with the earlier issues.

[Tony Davis]

Because of this thread I have taken out a subscription to RM, May & June issues have been delivered and I am glad I listened to the comments here. I have spent a lit of yime reading through the on-line back issues and found a lot of valuable information.

 

Thanks people

[locomad]

A digitised archive of RM? Yep, I'd pay for that. Maybe can't afford quite as much as the publishers might like though .

 

Seriously, though, such a thing might have some legs as a wishlist item with which to pester Peco/Pritchards.

Don't they offer a annual cd for £15 that would save some space, I've though of the task of photographing using a digital camera every page, I've done a few years and the odd good article, now if a few people got together and copied say different years then we can all share them well job done. However someone would moan it's copywrite yet a friend who works at a local library says this is quite a common practice for local papers.

 

While I did take annual subscription up until a few years ago one could use exact editions to view online, but it was a nightmare, poor internet, failing passwords, unable to copy or download. I really gave up when the post office service just went worst it was not peco fault, 10 days to receive a copy, average 2 out of 12 lost, time spent chasing up lost copies, local newsagency not much better forgotten order etc just gave up. Then picked all of 2015 up for £5 at local cho-cho club lot easier something to read over xmas

[Nearholmer]

If anyone else is about to do what I'm understanding LocoMad did, and recycle bound volumes of early years, could they please PM me.

 

I'd certainly be interested in 1950s bound volumes, and probably 1960s too, because I recycled all my old, unbound, ones years ago, and have come to regret it.

 

Kevin

[locomad]

If anyone else is about to do what I'm understanding LocoMad did, and recycle bound volumes of early years, could they please PM me.

I'd certainly be interested in 1950s bound volumes, and probably 1960s too, because I recycled all my old, unbound, ones years ago, and have come to regret it.

Kevin

Up to a few years ago it was reasonable common to see "free to collecter" RM offers on this forum, there was a few threads as what to do with old magazines, so I set about asking locally if anyone was willing just to part with them. I was lucky that a widow having sold the railway collection was left with almost a complete collection of Railway Modeller, moving the lot took a couple of car loads due to weight and volume. She was grateful the whole lot went.

 

I settled on railway modeller as found this was the most interesting, other old magazines tend to focus on "how to do it" repeating themselves time and time again, such information is available elsewhere.

 

Railway modellers tend to be timeless, and not much changed, plan of the month, railway of the month, plan of a loco each month, reviews of new products, advice page etc, it tends to become an encyclopedia of British railways and British modelling over last 60 odd years.

 

Problem is magazines have little value money wise, heavy and take up a lot of space, with recycling now it's all to easy to chuck the lot and lose a bit of history.

 

I've also acquired Model Engineer 1940 to about 1953, there even more interesting especially the War issues, lots of railway modelling articles even the famous live steam 0-4-0 dock shunter "Dock leaf"?, problem is can't understand the terminology of the engineering, it's all written and very few diagrams, bit like early airfix kits, "place 20mm pom-pom on starboard aft poo deck" ??, However they are thin (wartime measure) and weigh a lot less

[PatB]

Don't they offer a annual cd for £15 that would save some space, I've though of the task of photographing using a digital camera every page, I've done a few years and the odd good article, now if a few people got together and copied say different years then we can all share them well job done. However someone would moan it's copywrite yet a friend who works at a local library says this is quite a common practice for local papers.

 

While I did take annual subscription up until a few years ago one could use exact editions to view online, but it was a nightmare, poor internet, failing passwords, unable to copy or download. I really gave up when the post office service just went worst it was not peco fault, 10 days to receive a copy, average 2 out of 12 lost, time spent chasing up lost copies, local newsagency not much better forgotten order etc just gave up. Then picked all of 2015 up for £5 at local cho-cho club lot easier something to read over xmas

I was thinking more of issues from the 50s, 60s and 70s than recent or current ones. It wold be much easier to purchase a download of scans tbant to trawl through the piles of tatty old magazines at our infrequent shows and haul a pile of mouldy paper home only to find that some previous custodian has already cut out all the interesting stuff.

[kevinlms]

I was thinking more of issues from the 50s, 60s and 70s than recent or current ones. It wold be much easier to purchase a download of scans tbant to trawl through the piles of tatty old magazines at our infrequent shows and haul a pile of mouldy paper home only to find that some previous custodian has already cut out all the interesting stuff.

People that cut out bits and then offload them to unsuspecting owners, should be strung up by the whatsits themselves.

 

If anyone destroys a magazine by removing parts, then it ought to be removed from the gene pool altogether.

[Dunsignalling]

Don't they offer a annual cd for £15 that would save some space, I've though of the task of photographing using a digital camera every page, I've done a few years and the odd good article, now if a few people got together and copied say different years then we can all share them well job done. However someone would moan it's copywrite yet a friend who works at a local library says this is quite a common practice for local papers.

 

While I did take annual subscription up until a few years ago one could use exact editions to view online, but it was a nightmare, poor internet, failing passwords, unable to copy or download. I really gave up when the post office service just went worst it was not peco fault, 10 days to receive a copy, average 2 out of 12 lost, time spent chasing up lost copies, local newsagency not much better forgotten order etc just gave up. Then picked all of 2015 up for £5 at local cho-cho club lot easier something to read over xmas

They did the annual CD-R for 2002 to 2010 inclusive and I have them all but, IIRC, it ceased when they started offering a digital subscription.

 

Pity, I think it was and remains, a damn good idea.

 

John

[Dunsignalling]

People that cut out bits and then offload them to unsuspecting owners, should be strung up by the whatsits themselves.

 

If anyone destroys a magazine by removing parts, then it ought to be removed from the gene pool altogether.

Not Guilty. I agree with your second sentiment and sympathise with the first.

 

The covers and adverts go straight into the recycling bin, followed by the other remnants unless somebody I know wants any of the leftovers.

 

The only problem is that newer issues are bigger than A4 and slicing bits off in the photo-trimmer so they fit standard filing sleeves is a bit of a faff and makes me even more selective about what I keep.

 

John

Edited May 8, 2017 by Dunsignalling

[BG John]

People that cut out bits and then offload them to unsuspecting owners, should be strung up by the whatsits themselves.

 

If anyone destroys a magazine by removing parts, then it ought to be removed from the gene pool altogether.

I removed mine from the gene pool after I cut out the bits I wanted. I've now got a quite compact collection.

[locomad]

I've found a collection on eBay,1955-2011, £50 the lot and free delivery! Not a single bid, strange though my collection looked a lot higher than that, if you stack them unbound they tend to fall over after about 2 feet high. I'am sure I had a good 12 stacks and they are heavy, bound ones you have to cross stack them

 

Free delivery interesting would expect cost more than they are worth.

 

Talking to traders on our local car boot who specialise in house clearance, they get charged some silly tax of per a ton to get rid, so they get in specialise recycling firms to take away large collections of books and magazines straight to recycling centers to avoid the tax they get so much for the paper per ton. Rest gets dumped at car boots so hoarders, collectors, traders etc remove the rest, price tends to drop thoughout the day until it's free to anyone, then the fun begins.

[Jongudmund]

I have a copy of Model Railway Enthusiast from the early 90s with an article about Hornby Battle Space and a foldaway layout built in a cassette box. Both have really stuck in my mind.

[melmoth]

I've found a collection on eBay,1955-2011, £50 the lot and free delivery! Not a single bid, strange though my collection looked a lot higher than that, if you stack them unbound they tend to fall over after about 2 feet high. I'am sure I had a good 12 stacks and they are heavy, bound ones you have to cross stack them

 

Free delivery interesting would expect cost more than they are worth.

 

 

If that's the listing I think it is, delivery is shown as being free because it is collection only - and if you look at the location, it's going to cost a fair bit to get there for most of us

[5050]

We always have loads of RM's (and many other mags and books) for sale at the Wakefield Show in November.  There were a good quantity of 50's ones there last year which I avidly devoured whilst manning the stand. Prices are very competitive and lots of visitors come prepared with lists of their missing issues.  Plenty of time is spent before hand time sorting them into dates and types of magazine to assist people seeking specific ones.

 

Come along this year and have a root through for the 'one that got away!'

[rovex]

As I think I have mentioned before, I have an almost complete set of RM from about 1966 to 2010 (or thereabouts), free to a good home if you can collect.

 

Pm me if interested

[joppyuk1]

Sometimes it's the adverts that are the most interesting read - especially with the earlier issues.

Unfortunately they take up space when binding. I've tried weighing them, the bound volume of 1957 comes in at 1kg, while the 2016 one shot of the scale at 2.5kg.

[ejstubbs]

While you're about it, what's the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

 

Do you mean an African or a European swallow?

 

Someone had to say it...