Model Railroader Magazine Yes/No?

I find the scenery, weathering articles and photos applicable no matter the scale.

Have a look at Model Railroad Hobbyist.  It's a free online magazine with the current and all back issues available to be viewed online or downloaded.  There are many good articles on scenery and weathering that work in all scales.  It's all HO and N-scale at the moment, but rumor has it that a certain 3-rail layout will be featured soon. 

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/

Well, weathering is weathering and scenery is scenery, no matter what the scale.  But unless you're focused on those two topics, I found less and less to interest me in MR.  I stopped buying it years ago.

Every layout, every train picture is worthwhile and that is why I have subscribed since the 70's. 

No. I took it for a year and did not like it nearly as well as the OGR. So U took the money and bought a script for my Grandson.

The occasional weathering articled piqued my interest but not enough to renew my subscription.  So, no for me.

Chris what is it you are looking for???? Scenery,Steam locomotives,Diesel locomotives,European locomotives,weathering,layout design?

There a lot out there good luck!

I subscribe and enjoy the articles on great layouts with wonderful scenery.  Still, would really appreciate some attention to O Gauge.

Chris......I've been a subscriber for 30 years. I'm a train nerd and enjoy the layout reviews. I sometimes find stuff applicable to O Gauge.

However, I have decided to renew digital only to cut down on paper.

Peter

I buy it pending its content of articles.I used to have every issue from 66-96.

I'm not sure if it was MR or my interest level, but I felt that the quality was slipping about 8 years ago, so I quit after more than 30 years subscribing. I still have every one, and them some, 55 years in total.

I was a subscriber for a few years. I liked it mostly for the scenery pictures. I did let my subscription lapse because it is HO. I will pick it up at a newsstand now and then, depending on what's in it.  

I browse it at the news stand but it should be called HO World.

no O-Gauge Rail Roading is my only subscription

Don't subscribe myself, but get one occasionally. Although I'm a 3-railer and it doesn't really apply to me, I enjoy the DCC articles the most, and it is kind of nice to see what is going on in the HO and N scales. I also get a Garden Railways every now and then, they have some good articles on automating things and DCC as well. Guess I like the electronics parts.  Kind of wish OGR would do more articles on adding electronics and or automating things in O gauge.  

My only subscriptions are OGR and CTT, with CTT becoming a bit less interesting since I no longer have a lot of interest in PW stuff. Although I don't subscribe, I have been reading Trains quite a bit lately, may try a subscription to that someday?  

The 4 horsemen in my book are:

OGR

MR

CTT

Railroad Model Craftsman

If you've been away from MR for a while, I would recommend starting up again.  You'll be able to take the high end modeling techniques they feature and apply them to the "hi rail" concept we all like here.  Or at least be inspired to do so! 

All I can say is that those Kalmbach magazines are very advertiser driven, the product reviews are always pro everything & they tend to gloss over the bad things about whatever it is that they are showing you. They also do a lot of product placement into their articles right down to the item number of whatever it is that they want you to buy. I don't like the way the photos are presented of the featured layouts. For some weird reason they always seem to miss the camera angle of something I'm personally interested in & that I'd like to see more of. Not sure why, but I find the layout photos lacking. They're ok for how to ideas & some featured layouts & also the fact that you can learn what's new in the hobby that's coming out soon. The ads with lists of trains for sale also help me establish a comparative pricing with the Internet or hobby shops/train shows to help me figure out what's a reasonable item to buy.

If you are looking for O Scale it will most likely be Narrow Gauge O Scale.

If you are looking for scenery, structures, and rolling stock tips, then you could use it for most projects.

Andrew

You would be best to check the issue in the store to see if it will apply to your interests.

Andrew

I subscribe to OGR (digital) and buy the occasional Model Railroader depending on the content. I get their E-mail newsletters and get the magazine based on the preview. By the way, the January issue has an interesting 5x8 layout that could be reworked into a point-to-point corner layout (like the Beer Line project a couple of years ago). This one lends itself to being re-done in O scale.

With limited space, I had to cancel all of my subscriptions other than the ones to the ACL/SAL Historical Society's "Lines South" and to OST, I have copies of all issues.  I also have copies of all issues of Mainline Modeler, no longer in business.

This has prompted me to look for the online mags such as the the one Bob Bartizek mentioned above and I've started downloading mags from a number of historical societies.  They simply take up less space.

I haven't subscribed since the 90's, when I was in N Scale heavily, but now that they have a digital subscription, I'm reconsidering. Cutting down on paper generally; no more room.

If you want a print magazine then I suggest Railroad Model Craftsman.  The depth of information, applicable to all scales, is unmatched by any of the other print magazines.

However, I second the suggestion about Model Railroad Hobbyist.  And for a bit more than the subscription price of a print magazine, you can enroll in TrainMasters TV.  This is a new offering through MRH (only 2 months old) and so far I find it excellent. If they can maintain the high production quality and variety, I may end up dropping my print magazine subscriptions, it is that good.

Dave

That's one of the 3 that I continue to subscribe to - RMC.

I would also suggest O Scale Trains which has content that's equally applicable to 3- or 2-rail modeling.  I also subscribe to Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette.  A little specialized, but very high end modeling in a very well presented magazine from which I alsways get useful information and ideas.

MR?  Only if I'm trapped in an airport and desperate.....

I used to buy MR at the hobby store or bookstore on a regular basis, but no more.  Klambake sends me an offer for a free issue every once in a while, so what the hey, but to me it's just been a rehash of the same material for many years now, and I wish the king of boring, Tony Keister, would retire already.  Best thing about it is the excellent graphics.  Railroad Model Craftsman curb stomps it for good info.

Pete

No. I stick to journals that are O Scale exclusive. I pretty much alternate between OGR and CTT.  There are some others I have purchased off the shelf as well....

It may sound funny but the I like to peruse the ads.

I happily subscribe to CTT and OGR.....but haven't picked up an issue of Model Railroader  in about 15 or so years....for whatever that is worth.

I still subscribe to MR, but it has been iffy for some time.  Ten? years ago and prior

they had a lot of structure articles.  I have a file of those back into the 1950's.  Just one issue in the last several years had an interesting (to me) structure article.  When I was in HO, prior to the eighties it was of interest.....HO, and N?, now no interest.  I dropped RMC because it seemed oriented mostly to east coast railroads..no interest in those, either.  I think "Railroaded" above may have nailed it.  That subscription $

now goes to OGR and Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette, both much more oriented

toward my interests.  Classic Toy Trains is iffy, too, for it seems oriented toward old

Lionel, in which my interest is confined to the few pieces of rolling stock with road

names of interest to me, and those were found long ago.  How much can you keep

saying over and over about old production?  New Lionel with new prototypes ARE of

interest and they are in OGR. As for your question, has MR changed much?  Not that

I can tell.

Very heavy on computer graphics, photos and fluff-however, the technical substance is either light or non-existent. Not my cup of tea.

Have not subscribed for many years but will pick up the annual Greatest Model RR Layouts or however it is called from time to time. 'All layout issue' with a few non-HO & N gauge ones included. Great photography.

Have also subscribed to 'Classic Trains' and really enjoyed it as I've been very lacking in knowledge of prototype RR for many years. Doing better however.

Am a Premium Member here and enjoy OGR very much.

I did subscribe to MR back when "Hobbies For Men" hobby shop ran ads, but after they pulled their ads (or whatever the story was) I lost interest in the mag.

Looks like MRR is about the same as I remember it (No local shops carry it so I cannot look firsthand) Guess I will be checking out Railroad Model Craftsman, it looked interesting

MR has interesting articles and solutions to problems that can be used in any scale. As to the diehard builder articles, the days of scratch building are long gone, easily seen by Microscale even cancelling many HO decal sets. Scenery is the last "scratch building" part for most of today's model railroaders.

I occasionally buy an issue if there is something that interests me.  I subscribe to OGR and CTT, as well as Trains and Classic Trains. As part of my membership in the SFRHMS, I also receive The Warbonnet.

One thing I have learned from MR is that HO trains are moving up in price, closer to what we pay in O gauge.  Still less expensive, though, of course.

Gentlemen,

   I have not looked at it in years.

PCRR/Dave

Chris,

I primarily read the OGR mag, and occasionally will pick up a Model Railroader if there is an article on a technique that can be applied in O gauge.  Nothing there, though, that would have me subscribe to MR at this time.  I checked out the Model RR Hobbyist online mag mentioned by Bob above - granted it is (now) all HO and N, but again there seems to be a fair number of tips n techniques type of articles and videos that could be applied to O gauge as well - plus the online interface works well and the price is right.  I saw a note that they might be getting into something in the 3 rail area in the future. We'll see. . .

Jim

Genesee Valley and Lake Ontario RR

I have a relative that gets MR once in a while and passes them to me when done. Nice looking stuff to get ideas.

I have a notion that quite some time ago the publisher(Kalm....) looked at shrinking market share and made some fundamental content decisions. First they hire a newspaper guy from Florida to edit their flagship Toy Train magazine when Dick Christensen retired as editor and publisher. He "changes" the logo,the format,the content, it looked the same but it was sort of like drinking tea made from sawdust...

Then they move this guy to edit Model Railroader, and he worked his "magic" at that venue for several more years. I feel that both magazines are pale rememberances of their former selves. Save your money. Get OGR digital....best yet!

Regards, John

I have sibscribed to MR for 35 years, but switched to the cheaper digital version last year.  I just switched from HO to O gauge 2 years ago, so the OCR articles all have something fresh for me.  I have read the same methods over and over again in MR, and may cancel next year if pushed for funds.  There is so much available online now that even though I like the magazine, I may not be able to justify the expense, and just continue buying OGR.