Wright writes.....

[Chamby]

I used to subscribe to three monthly magazines about railway modelling, and got a lot out of each one. Nowadays I subscribe to one, and after reading it swop with fellow club members who buy the others. What strikes me more than anything is how similar they are becoming, heavily focused on the new RTR releases and related articles, such that reading more than one monthly starts to become repetitive. Quite why the Kernow Bulleid Diesel qualifies for another full page review simply because it is now available in green livery, when it had such extensive coverage for the black versions so recently, suggests that the balance of content needs looking at again.

 

It must be quite a challenge to keep finding inspirational new layouts and articles for a monthly publication. I don’t envy the editors job!

[Barry Ten]

I used to subscribe to three monthly magazines about railway modelling, and got a lot out of each one. Nowadays I subscribe to one, and after reading it swop with fellow club members who buy the others. What strikes me more than anything is how similar they are becoming, heavily focused on the new RTR releases and related articles, such that reading more than one monthly starts to become repetitive. Quite why the Kernow Bulleid Diesel qualifies for another full page review simply because it is now available in green livery, when it had such extensive coverage for the black versions so recently, suggests that the balance of content needs looking at again.

 

It must be quite a challenge to keep finding inspirational new layouts and articles for a monthly publication. I don’t envy the editors job!

 

I agree with that; I had to wonder why that Bulleid diesel - good as it undoubtedly is - was deserving of such a splash again.

 

I know this one of those topics that comes around with a certain regularity, but I do find that MR, BRM and Hornby are very similar in the style and presentation of content, to the point that I wonder how such a market is sustainable. I separate Railway Modeller to a degree as I find that it still has something of its old identity and of the mainstream magazines, it's still the one with the highest text to picture ratio - a good thing, in my view. I think the fixation on RTR releases has got quite out of hand, though. In the old days, a model would be announced and then there'd little or no mention of it until it was released and reviewed. Now there's a year-long drip feed of cad images, test shots, decorated samples, as well as (in my view) too many tie-in prototype articles. There are racks full of excellent magazines dealing with steam and diesel prototypes, and the historical railway scene, so why overlap with their content?

 

I was a long-standing subscribe to the "old" BRM (the one where so many of Tony's articles appeared) but it's become more of an occasional purchase for me in recent years. I'm not knocking it, though, nor any of the others specifically. As others have noted, though, the trend does seem to be for the magazines to be getting shoutier and bittier, if that's a word. It's hard to imagine anything like the single issue of Model Railways that was devoted solely to Borchester Market, yet that's one of my most inspirational reads.

 

Al

[jollysmart]

What I find is that very few of the major magazines today have articles that are memorable, I don't really want to know how to fit DCC into a different locomotive every month but clearly some people do. 

 

I have some copies dating back to the 60's which have interesting, inspirational and informative articles but I have to agree that the modellers back than didn't have masses of RTR to use so converting/building and generally improvising was the only way to get what you wanted and the magazines reflected that to a large extent. I notice that the best selling magazines are also available in supermarkets so perhaps the wider availability  will attract new modellers who will find them as interesting as I once did? Times and circumstances change.

Edited August 30, 2018 by jollysmart

[Headstock]

Buckeye couplings are not slow, I have a siding out the back and the local shutter whacks the boxcars around quite quickly.

Richard

 

Presumably, having detached a portion after the various pipes had been released, the new leading carriage would then have its buffers extended and the Buckeye dropped out of the way so that the loco could couple on?

 

Would a gangway cover plate be added to the exposed end?

Edited August 30, 2018 by Headstock

[Tony Wright]

Good morning Tony,

 

One thing that has improved over the years is the recognition that locomotives and stock, as represented on big four layouts, should actually require weathering. Back in the mists of modeling time such layouts would be gleaming like a polished floor.

 

Edited to add one of my Fathers reminiscences.

 

He recalled that the Midland (by which he ment the LMS) were paticuly tardy in this respect. It was rare to see an LMS red engine as they were usually covered in muck.

Good evening Andrew,

 

Many thanks for your comments.

 

It's interesting, having completed the LB 1938 DVD today, how the selection of pictures/images (obviously with my influence, of course) has gone towards the 'natural-looking' locos/stock which were brought. By 'natural looking', I mean they show signs of having worked in a 'real' environment where soot, muck, road dirt, brake dust and general weathering were the order of the day (other than the soot, it hasn't changed today). 

 

Everyone has the right to choose the looks of their models, but pristine, un-weathered locos/stock look so unrealistic. Repainted to perfection some of the RTR locos might have been, but they haven't made the 'final cut'. Neither have too many white-roofed carriages. I respect the wishes of the owner of such dazzling models, but I hope he also respects that our collective aim was as 'realistic' a representation of what the trains looked like running through LB in 1938. 

 

The articles/DVD goes out with the November issue of BRM. Not only that, I've just gone through the footage of the 1958 sequence on Little Bytham, which will be also appearing on a BRM DVD in the New Year. Jesse Sim helped me shoot it. What's interesting (and making me 'puff out') is that, because so few RTR locos appear in the later presentation (compared with the '38 one), with the very rare exception, all the '58 locos ride dead steady in comparison. They're all-metal, much heavier and have far less in the way of chassis slop compared with the '38 RTR Pacifics. The later trains also appear to ride more steadily - a result of my (zealous) insistence of ensuring adjacent vehicles ride at the correct, relative heights, are all in line when viewed from above, have consistent back-to-backs and do not wobble from side to side in motion. 

 

Anyway, viewers will be able to make their own comparisons.

 

I'd like to thank the Grantham team once more for all their efforts in making the '38 LNER weekend on LB such a success. Everyone at Warners is delighted with the DVD, as I hope viewers will be when it appears in November's issue.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Bucoops]

When would the November issue be available? I'm not sure I've ever read BRM so I think that would be an appropriate one to try!

[Tony Wright]

Hello Tony

 

Could the lack of articles like "How to build the flying kipper train" be thin on the ground because they have already been written and do not need repeating?

Likewise with drawings how many more times do we need a (poorly drawn) Deltic drawing?

How many more articles of how to build a K5 from a K3 kit? Has there ever been an article on converting a Bachmann K3 to the K5?

These are the sort of articles that many modellers miss, I know I do.

 

Have many moddllers taken to showing their wears on the internet instead of writing for a magazine? There are umpteen videos on Youtube of how to unpack a Heljan Western, none on how to get in back in the box which is a real piece of performance art.

 

Do we need to write about how we scratchbuild our favorite locos when the RTR guys have either made a better one or it is waiting in the wings?

Clive,

 

Truly, there's nothing new under the sun, and just about every loco's construction will have been written about, somewhere/sometime. 

 

There's no doubt (as has been mentioned on here time after time) that the current excellence in RTR has rendered many (most?) of the previous 'how to improve a...................' articles superfluous. 

 

I'm convinced many (most?) 'how to articles' are aimed now at the beginner/novice (though I could be completely wrong, of course). Articles which fight shy of soldering, metal-bashing or those where a project might take time (lots of time) seem to be in decline. 'Beginners'' layout projects, out of necessity simple, fall down because real railway practice has not been followed, and a chance to be really 'educational' has been lost. Things like the wrong positioning of signal boxes, an absence of trap points, silly run-round facilities and way-too-high platforms, not to mention hopeless signalling do little more than mislead, and this can't be good for any beginner in the hobby. 

 

Me? I've got a drawbridge, and I'll happily lift it up! 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

When would the November issue be available? I'm not sure I've ever read BRM so I think that would be an appropriate one to try!

Early/mid-October.

[Headstock]

Good evening Andrew,

 

Many thanks for your comments.

 

It's interesting, having completed the LB 1938 DVD today, how the selection of pictures/images (obviously with my influence, of course) has gone towards the 'natural-looking' locos/stock which were brought. By 'natural looking', I mean they show signs of having worked in a 'real' environment where soot, muck, road dirt, brake dust and general weathering were the order of the day (other than the soot, it hasn't changed today). 

 

Everyone has the right to choose the looks of their models, but pristine, un-weathered locos/stock look so unrealistic. Repainted to perfection some of the RTR locos might have been, but they haven't made the 'final cut'. Neither have too many white-roofed carriages. I respect the wishes of the owner of such dazzling models, but I hope he also respects that our collective aim was as 'realistic' a representation of what the trains looked like running through LB in 1938. 

 

The articles/DVD goes out with the November issue of BRM. Not only that, I've just gone through the footage of the 1958 sequence on Little Bytham, which will be also appearing on a BRM DVD in the New Year. Jesse Sim helped me shoot it. What's interesting (and making me 'puff out') is that, because so few RTR locos appear in the later presentation (compared with the '38 one), with the very rare exception, all the '58 locos ride dead steady in comparison. They're all-metal, much heavier and have far less in the way of chassis slop compared with the '38 RTR Pacifics. The later trains also appear to ride more steadily - a result of my (zealous) insistence of ensuring adjacent vehicles ride at the correct, relative heights, are all in line when viewed from above, have consistent back-to-backs and do not wobble from side to side in motion. 

 

Anyway, viewers will be able to make their own comparisons.

 

I'd like to thank the Grantham team once more for all their efforts in making the '38 LNER weekend on LB such a success. Everyone at Warners is delighted with the DVD, as I hope viewers will be when it appears in November's issue.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Evening Tony,

 

I did my own minor bit of 'puffing out' today. My B16 completed its running in trials yesterday and took its first train this afternoon. The train itself is newly completed and has never run before, I'm glad to say it is signed off as fit for purpose and the B16 is just about ready for the paint shop. If all goes according to plan both locomotive and train should be running at our exhibition in September.

Edited August 30, 2018 by Headstock

[richard i]

Presumably, having detached a portion after the various pipes had been released, the new leading carriage would then have its buffers extended and the Buckeye dropped out of the way so that the loco could couple on?

 

Would a gangway cover plate be added to the exposed end?

On a passenger train in Britain. Here there are no buffers to worry about and they just pull away and let the pipes snap off each other.

Richard

[Clive Mortimore]

Thinking of old magazines I miss the old locomotive reviews.

 

" The manufacturer has gone to great trouble to replicate as much detail as is possible. The class ABC looks the part when at the head of a train of the same manufacturers coaches. It pulled four on our test track comfortably. We are sure its performance will improve with running in."

 

Much better than a four page praise review with lots of colour photos. Followed by six pages of how to take it apart to fit the sound chip.

 

Mind you a quick guide as to how to unpack it without dropping it might be handy.....or are the reviewers like me and do a bounce test first.

Edited August 30, 2018 by Clive Mortimore

[mullie]

Re: Magazines

 

Looking back at the few RMs I've kept including a complete set of 1978 I do find the older ones more interesting, I also have Borchester, and Buckngham specials. I've met Steve Flint a few times and he kindly published an article of mine back in 2011 (I think) and I like what he has done with the magazine but I haven't renewed my subscription, why is that?

 

In around 40 years of modelling I've gone from universal 00 to dabbling in EM (from the start of 2018) and I simply don't get enough out of the magazine to justify buying it every month. Perhaps having read it for 40 years it is time for a break. There are now bits I don't read, including the reviews as new locos in particular are beyond my pocket and of limited relevance. However, if I build a loco/wagon etc.  from bits or a kit I can spread the cost and end up with something more interesting.

 

I read other magazines from time to time especially prototype based magazines . Depends on what is in them and I will certainly look for the DVD of Little Bytham 1938 and 1958. I do read  the journal of the Great Eastern Railway Society every few months which is superb.

 

It is a personal choice and some clearly get loads out of the current formats and there seem to be more railway modelling magazines around than there were some years ago? What does this tell us? (I don't know for certain).

 

Martyn

[Headstock]

On a passenger train in Britain. Here there are no buffers to worry about and they just pull away and let the pipes snap off each other.

Richard

 

Evening Richard,

 

I was thinking more of Grantham 1938 rather than modern stock.

[t-b-g]

The only magazine I get regularly is now MRJ and even that is probably because family members buy me a subscription as a regular birthday or Christmas gift.

 

When I started out, many years ago, I found magazines an almost endless source of inspiration as almost everything in them was better than what I was doing.

 

As the years have gone by, without wishing to sound big headed, my modelling has improved and it has reached the stage, after some 45 years, where it is rare for me to see anything that I haven't seen before or that I haven't done for myself already. The huge improvement in modern RTR means that so may layouts are largely or totally reliant on RTR locos and stock and many articles on are very firmly based on RTR equipment, which is just not my thing at all. The current "fad" seems to be micro layouts in shoeboxes and suchlike. For somebody having a big interest in the operational side of layouts, I glance once, think "another micro layout" and move on. 6 inches of track and no points may be a layout to some but to me it is a static diorama of the sort done by military modellers, but theirs are often to a much better standard.

 

The oft repeated "You can build this in an afternoon" that accompanies many features is a real turn off to me too.  

 

So I am very picky and only get ones which feature layouts or models that friends have built, or ones that I have played a part in.  Or if there is a rare article on something that I have a direct interest in.

 

Flippin 'eck, I am turning into a grumpy old man. Or I already have!

[gr.king]

Presumably, having detached a portion after the various pipes had been released, the new leading carriage would then have its buffers extended and the Buckeye dropped out of the way so that the loco could couple on?

 

Would a gangway cover plate be added to the exposed end?

 

That latter point would certainly be interesting to know - in connection with carriages / portions removed from the rear of a train too.

 

At the front of course, a loco with corridor tender might logically use its drop-head buckeye to couple back up, assuming that it had already been raised and in use.

[gr.king]

t-b-g's point about ultra-simple track on micro-layouts and very basic modelling that can be done in an afternoon puts me in mind of "easily made, rapidly becoming boring, soon thrown away". Maybe good for those with very little attention span, very little real interest, or almost no time available for the hobby. Possibly okay too for dabbling in techniques at an early stage, but if anybody is going to go to the trouble of making a GOOD model wouldn't they want it to ultimately be complex enough to be lastingly interesting / entertaining, even if it has to be incorporated into a bigger scheme in order to achieve that effect?

[jamie92208]

That latter point would certainly be interesting to know - in connection with carriages / portions removed from the rear of a train too.

 

At the front of course, a loco with corridor tender might logically use its drop-head buckeye to couple back up, assuming that it had already been raised and in use.

The late father of a friend of mine spent some time working as a shunter at Poulton Le Fylde where many portions were split and combined. I remember him telling me that they were only allowed a very short time to split a train and end boards had always to be put on the exposed corridor connections.

 

 

Jamie

[Headstock]

The late father of a friend of mine spent some time working as a shunter at Poulton Le Fylde where many portions were split and combined. I remember him telling me that they were only allowed a very short time to split a train and end boards had always to be put on the exposed corridor connections.

 

 

Jamie

 

As I recall, four minutes were allowed from a train stopping to being given the whistle when a locomotive change was required at Leicester Central. From memory the likes of the 'Newspaper' were allowed two minutes to detach vans.

Edited August 30, 2018 by Headstock

[Jesse Sim]

Thanks Andrew,

 

I wasn't aware there were so many discrepancies in the DJH C2 kit (ignorance was bliss!).

 

However, 'variety of scales' or not, it does go together very well, and I think 'captures' the essence of this dainty (dainty compared with its big sibling) loco.

 

Klondike.jpg

 

Here's the one I built over two years ago, seeing service on the layout for which it was made - Grantham.

 

Right or wrong, I think this still looks 'all right', especially with Geoff Haynes' very-natural paint finish.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

 

 

 

 

I expect top quality work thank you very much!!!!!

 

No dodgy building!

 

It probabaly won’t work anyway when we test it on Brighton Junction if you had your DCC glasses on!

 

Can’t wait to see the finished product, have complete and utter faith in your work Tony!!

 

In my last three days at Edinburgh, see you very soon.

[t-b-g]

t-b-g's point about ultra-simple track on micro-layouts and very basic modelling that can be done in an afternoon puts me in mind of "easily made, rapidly becoming boring, soon thrown away". Maybe good for those with very little attention span, very little real interest, or almost no time available for the hobby. Possibly okay too for dabbling in techniques at an early stage, but if anybody is going to go to the trouble of making a GOOD model wouldn't they want it to ultimately be complex enough to be lastingly interesting / entertaining, even if it has to be incorporated into a bigger scheme in order to achieve that effect?

 

I was told, fairly recently, by somebody connected with one of the mainstream magazines that they are no longer interested in publishing anything too "in depth" as their readers don't have the attention span to read articles that are anything other than short and basic. Lots of pretty pictures and a bit of text is the new world order!

 

So you are quite right. Disposable, shallow and quickly boring is where the future lies.

[pete55]

So you are quite right. Disposable, shallow and quickly boring is where the future lies.

 

Sums up contemporary society in many ways then!

[Jamiel]

I was told, fairly recently, by somebody connected with one of the mainstream magazines that they are no longer interested in publishing anything too "in depth" as their readers don't have the attention span to read articles that are anything other than short and basic. Lots of pretty pictures and a bit of text is the new world order!

 

So you are quite right. Disposable, shallow and quickly boring is where the future lies.

 

I tend to agree with this view on magazines, however it doesn't mean that the future only holds light weight fluff.

 

The existence of this forum and the wealth of very in-depth knowledge shared here shows that it is possible that the internet is becoming the new home for deeper reading and learning about the hobby.

 

Perhaps the question is if on-line articles, blogs and forums become the home for this knowledge is how do we fund it? Would people here pay the money that they used to spend on physical magazines on supporting this and similar forums through subscription and sponsorship? Are advertising revenues from the banners on these pages enough to support the forum in the long term if there is a serious decline in the funds generated through the physical BRM?

 

It is a very difficult balance to manage, because while many would pay for this forum, there may be a lot of people put off by such payments and that could stem the flow of new blood and ideas into the hobby.

 

This is certainly becoming an issue with news and current affairs, and over the last 20 years we have seen the music industry change hugely from albums, CDs, etc. being the main generator of income to them being a ‘loss leader’ for artists to generate income from tours and merchandise.

 

The huge success (in knowledge and access terms) of Wikipedia is perhaps also a positive example.

 

We live in changing times, but I suspect that not getting something for nothing is something that will remain a constant.

 

Jamie

[St Enodoc]

I used to subscribe to three monthly magazines about railway modelling, and got a lot out of each one. Nowadays I subscribe to one, and after reading it swop with fellow club members who buy the others. What strikes me more than anything is how similar they are becoming, heavily focused on the new RTR releases and related articles, such that reading more than one monthly starts to become repetitive. Quite why the Kernow Bulleid Diesel qualifies for another full page review simply because it is now available in green livery, when it had such extensive coverage for the black versions so recently, suggests that the balance of content needs looking at again.

 

It must be quite a challenge to keep finding inspirational new layouts and articles for a monthly publication. I don’t envy the editors job!

I go into full Victor Meldrew mode when I find a layout that was featured in a different magazine only a few months previously.

[Tony Wright]

I expect top quality work thank you very much!!!!!

 

No dodgy building!

 

It probabaly won’t work anyway when we test it on Brighton Junction if you had your DCC glasses on!

 

Can’t wait to see the finished product, have complete and utter faith in your work Tony!!

 

In my last three days at Edinburgh, see you very soon.

Thank you Jesse,

 

The finished loco will be perfectly DCC-compatible. The chassis/tender frames, and thus all the bodywork have been made electrically-dead, which minimises (if not totally obviates) the risk of short-circuits. 

 

Looking forward to meeting up again.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

[Tony Wright]

I tend to agree with this view on magazines, however it doesn't mean that the future only holds light weight fluff.

 

The existence of this forum and the wealth of very in-depth knowledge shared here shows that it is possible that the internet is becoming the new home for deeper reading and learning about the hobby.

 

Perhaps the question is if on-line articles, blogs and forums become the home for this knowledge is how do we fund it? Would people here pay the money that they used to spend on physical magazines on supporting this and similar forums through subscription and sponsorship? Are advertising revenues from the banners on these pages enough to support the forum in the long term if there is a serious decline in the funds generated through the physical BRM?

 

It is a very difficult balance to manage, because while many would pay for this forum, there may be a lot of people put off by such payments and that could stem the flow of new blood and ideas into the hobby.

 

This is certainly becoming an issue with news and current affairs, and over the last 20 years we have seen the music industry change hugely from albums, CDs, etc. being the main generator of income to them being a ‘loss leader’ for artists to generate income from tours and merchandise.

 

The huge success (in knowledge and access terms) of Wikipedia is perhaps also a positive example.

 

We live in changing times, but I suspect that not getting something for nothing is something that will remain a constant.

 

Jamie

Jamie,

 

It's probably inevitable that paper magazines (and books?) will eventually be replaced by electronic substitutes.

 

Though I'm definitely a Luddite in this matter, I can (amazingly!!!!) see advantages. Content is not limited by pagination and moving images can be included as well. It's also instant, and correspondence can take place immediately. Storage is also easier.

 

Yet, I love the smell of new books/periodicals. And, especially well-produced books, have a tactile quality that nothing electronic can replicate. When I'm building a model, I spread drawings, books, pictures all over my workshop's horizontal spaces. There's not enough space on a computer screen to do all that. 

 

As for the proliferation of 'easy, quick and lightweight articles' (if there is a proliferation), then that, perhaps, as suggested on here, is no more than a reflection of current society's expectations, or lack of challenging aspirations.

 

Returning to that old theme about RTR/kits, it's much easier to populate a layout by just opening boxes and plonking the things inside on that layout than it is opening boxes, making what's inside and then plonking the finished product on the track. Or, getting someone to make what's inside for you, and then popping it on the track. Isn't it just human to seek the easy option? The result, of course, is currently layout after layout just displaying the wares of what the RTR boys supply. As I've also said, there is great merit in altering such stuff (by yourself, for yourself), but that isn't always done, not even on 'pay to see' exhibition layouts.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

Edited August 31, 2018 by Tony Wright

[micklner]

Tony,

        The big problem with kits is ??? the lack of anything new coming one the market .

 

 

How many new kits have been produced this year ? anyone know ? I can't think of many .

 

r.t.r far far far more produced, and in many case better detailed as well, than many of what are now very old kits.

 

 

Mick

Edited August 31, 2018 by micklner