What is the value of a the early Model Railroader Magizines

My opinion:

Dollar "value"  =  ZERO.

Historic/information "value"   =   PRICELESS!

Check out Ebay, type in the magazine and the year. And yes the historic value is priceless.  I enjoy reading through the old magazines.

The book it's self is in also excellent condition, so I wanted to know if it would one of the first things I would take with me in the case of a wildfire.  The last wildfire we had come though Ramona, Cal came to my house on my 9th birthday.   Thankfully it didn't burn down our house but I don't want to leave my stuff behind again. 

I do see the historical value, and in one of the 35 magazines, it showed the Great Northern (I think) Logo with a for a Swastika sign of good luck, of course before Hitler used it.

Madison,

I would recommend that the magazines be left behind in case of a fire. Concerning the issue of value, I am not an expert, but I would guess that an issue is not valuable because of it's age alone, but because of the particular articles contained in the magazine. An issue with an article on a famous well known railroad modelist will command some interest. Otherwise, what you have are just really old magazines.

Part of the problem is that there have been so many improvements in techniques these days, articles back then have little value to the modern railroader today.

Might be kinda fun to go thru those old issues.

Put some feelers out, you never know, might be someone out there looking for something. Perhaps try listing some on ebay.

Good luck

While I like to read the old magazines, it is frustrating to want an item, only to find out you can't get it and the place has been closed many years. Still, there is some valuable information.

Scan them to digital. Keep the digital archive in a firebox.

The information and ads, etc, is priceless. I don't think there is much cash value.

The answer is...not a whole lot. Here are a few ACTUAL eBay sales:

20 from 1976-77 $20.

12 from 1957 $8.50

9 from 1936 $25.

28 from the 1940s-60s $20.

5 from 1941 $10.

Purchasing the Model Railroader magazine digital archive would probably cost less.

Rusty

I believe I am complete in hard copy back to around 1952, when my dad started buying it. I still have them, but I have almost convinced myself to recycle them. 

The old paper drives my allergies nuts when I look at them.

I also have the entire electronic set of them which Kalmbach sells, along with "Trains". 

Regards,

GNNPNUT

The complete 1st year or 5 of MR bound in book form used to sell for decent money years ago.  Almost any issue after that becomes something that you have difficulty in even giving away.  Having cleared out several estates now, we just put them all in a box with a sign "Free" and hope that they go away.  Almost everythnig printed in the past 50 years has no more intrinsic value that recyclable paper, but the informational value can be very real.

There are some magazines however that do hold some value - Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette tends to be one at the top of the list.  I've routinely sold year sets of these for $20 and up depending on age and condition. 

I've been looking for some RMC issues from the early 50's (RMC is not available electronically and it appears may never be....), the handful the Traction & Models that I am missing, and the several handfuls of Trolley Talk that not in my library. Problem is that some folks seem to think that these were printed on sheets of gold.  Eventually reality arrives.

If you have the "time".  You can scroll through the old magazines cut out the articles you want and scan them (if you have a scanner) to a PDF file. Rather than keeping piles of old paper.

Seems like "paper" is not worth much at all any more what with the digital archives.  I have 4 of the Greenberg volumes of catalog reproductions (1932-1972).  I've seen them posted on E Bay and usually go without any takers.

Ok, So I'll will scan them and keep the file in firebox.  Thanks for the help.

I have old ones with articles on things I'd like to build...there are a LOT more articles

on structures and steam in the old ones....most of the recent MR/RMC issues are just not very interesting to me, and I should pitch.  I found an HO kit existed for a creosote plant in one from out of the past, and now have an O scale scratchbuilt model of such a plant, after a lot of research and help from several people on this site. Thanks!!  Someone sells a lot of back issues of many of them and I got in a couple of their lists and ordered a few mags from it, but you almost have to flip through them and hope for something of interest.

I was stunned to read that, Madison. I don't think I have ever known anybody who had gone through something like that. Would you tell us more about that experience, if it is not uncomfortabe for you to do so?

FrankM.

I gave away all of my Model RRs and recently did the same to my 20+ years of OGR. At local shows I have seen little interest and low prices on old Mag's. To me, not worth trying to sell.

Wow, Madison I am glad your ok that is quite the story.

Material things as you know can be replaced. Your best bet as you said might be to scan the articles or magazines you like digitally and keep that hardware in a firebox or on the "CLOUD" or in a portable hard drive. Keeping your "important to you" documents  in a couple different places, "redundancy" does work.

If it's the fire I'm thinking of, you must be talking about the infamous Cedar fire of 2003.  One of the largest wildfires in California history.

Started by a hunter who got lost and thought he'd start a small fire to alert rescuers.   Well, being that it was still dry season at the time with strong Santa Ana winds, after 280,000 acres & 2,800 buildings burned along with 15 people killed, I'd say he got attention all right.   

I lived in La Mesa at the time, and it was snowing ashes everywhere.

Ahh, that would have been my second guess.  I remember that one as well, and that year was another bad one for wildfires.  That one was attributed to SDG&E's power lines sparking some dry brush, along with some of the other fires that went on around that same time.

Madison, When you wrote, "...if I talked about it all, it would be monotonous," you were very far from being that. I was mesmerized by what you said and began picturing in my imagination what it all may have looked like. Yet, only you know how it felt, and smelled, and looked, and sounded, at the very least. I urge you to write it all down, not all here, perhaps, but in a good sturdy journal (and yes, with backup) because it is already an important story since it is told from your perspective and age.

And if my fellow forumites, here, will indulge me further, let me urge you to continue telling us more, if I may suggest it. I am sure I am not the ony one interested in what you have to say about those days.

Take it from a high school English teacher (retired,) you have much to tell, and it is very far from "monotonous," for sure.

FrankM.

Check prices at http://railpub.com/ 

They might be interested in purchasing your items too.

Add Railpub to your list of internet Favorites.

Well, That was most of the story, The house just east of us burned so much, the only thing left was the chimney, and even that was scorched.  My friends Grandmothers house had roses all around and every single one burned but the flames never touched her house.  The eye doctor, who had the house on the hill where the flames came through, burned her house and now every year, on the fires anniversary to Christmas, she puts up this star...

Here are a few photos of the book...

front cover of the September 1934 magazine

 The now unknown infamous logo of the Rocky Mountain Route.  Center right. 

I don't know how to start a new post.  I wanted to ask the same question about the 1987 Classic Toy Trains magazines.  Any value? Dick