Which Magazine is Better?

@Hot Water posted:

Well there you go!!!!!!   Why not subscribe to the the magazine that supports this forum, which is absolutely the best O Gauge Forum on the internet, and where you have been participating and getting so many answers? To answer your subject title; OGR! Period.

Thanks, I plan on subscribing to OGR first and then CTT when money prohibits.

@Trainmaster04 posted:

Thanks, I plan on subscribing to OGR first and then CTT when money prohibits.

Just my personal opinion,,,,,,,I wouldn't bother with CTT, unless you are into the really old Lionel "collector stuff". In my opinion, OGR is more about MODELING.

@phrankenstign posted:

I always felt CTT had a bigger percentage of their concentration on the "TOY" aspect of the hobby, while OGRs coverage leaned more towards the "SCALE" side of the hobby where they originated.  (For those who don't know, the magazine was originally entitled "O Scale Railroading" for over 100 issues.  It then changed its name and scope to what it is now---"O Gauge Railroading" magazine.)

 

I've subscribed to both magazines over the years, although I'm not a subscriber at this time.

Many times I just buy whichever magazine has articles that interest me more as I peruse through them at the store.  Sometimes I've bought one, but not the other.  Sometimes I've bought them both.  Sometimes neither interested me enough to earn a sale.

I agree with phrankenstein. I subscribe to both for different reasons. CTT for the toy train aspect and O Gauge for the scale and layout articles. Depends on where you interests are. Both do reviews CTT started out as a mostly Lionel Postwar magazine with a lot of repair articles and like stated above O Gauge was a Scale magazine.

@RickO posted:

I'm not sure about magazines but I can tell you for a fact that RC cola is better than Coke or Pepsi.

Coke is a bit to carmaly,  Pepsi is a bit too sweet.

Especially with a Moon Pie!  😉

Curt

Just like the age-old dilemma of Ginger or Mary Ann.  The correct answer is "both".

Old story here: Choose the one that best suits YOUR needs! End of story! Must admit though it was a little "cheeky" to ask that question on the forum sponsored by the OGR magazine!

@Tinplate Art posted:

Old story here: Choose the one that best suits YOUR needs! End of story! Must admit though it was a little "cheeky" to ask that question on the OGR Forum!

I will admit that I was not trying to show any cheekiness when I made the post but instead was just asking a general question. Thanks for your input!

I guess I meant that more humorously than it came out! NO offense intended! :-)

Pepsi cola hits the spot. 12 full oz's that's a lot, twice as much for a nickel too, Pepsi Cola is the drink for you. Sorry, but I am a COKE drinker.

I find this amazing.

This is like going to the Chevy dealer and asking them what they think of Fords.

@eddie g posted:

Pepsi cola hits the spot. 12 full oz's that's a lot, twice as much for a nickel too, Pepsi Cola is the drink for you. Sorry, but I am a COKE drinker.

Another heathen. All cola epicures know that Dr. Pepper is best

Rich, We've been hold up in our homes too long. Me over 2 months now. We are all slowly going crazy.

Rich, it sounds like a silly put on to me. Don

This question has been asked and answered, by me..repeat...l dropped two because they no longer met my needs....MR was into modern diesels and electronics and no longer the construction articles l cared about, CTT was into the nuances of Lionel l didn't care about...l want new and different, but of steam era.  As noted above, NG&SLG addresses the short/branch lines l try to model in 3 rail, OGR addresses a much broader spectrum of three rail, and into two rail that sometimes l can use.  Fly before you buy.  Read a couple of each before subscribing.  I have picked up RMC occasionally because it seems closer to what MR once was.   Oh, as a kid l drank enough RC to float a freight car...and haven't even seen it in a store in years..

@juniata guy posted:

Especially with a Moon Pie!  😉

Curt

Yes what is an RC Cola without the Moon Pie/ Absolutely the best, shame that here in PA I cant find either must be a Southern thing. Breaking out of jail next week and heading to GA maybe I can find mea RC Cola and Moon Pie there.

Personalty I give high respect for this post to be  continuing ..  some company's pay 100's of thousand of dollars to know  . why or why not .. or which one that a person prefers...  daniel

@Allan Miller posted:

Yeah, John, I saw it a while ago and just couldn't help but smile. I can't be of much help to folks who have a problem determining their own reading preferences, particularly when they want advice related to two publications that compete at some level with the publication that sponsors this forum. I could just close/delete the thread, but perhaps my partner--the other Alan in the organization--might want to check it out first. He's the main honcho.

I'm glad that Alan and you haven't deleted the thread. It shows that you're confident in the value of your product and that your subscribers will show their support by pointing out your product's superior virtues. Well done.

I subscribed to both.  OGR provides more layout details than CTT.  I received the latest CTT last week which was only 64 pages cover to cover. Sad to see both magazines dwindling in size, just a reflection of the state of our hobby. So what can we do, subscribe to both, read them then pass them along to your local barber shop, library or your local doctors office. 

In my opinion OGR and this forum can't be beat.

@Hot Water posted:

Just my personal opinion,,,,,,,I wouldn't bother with CTT, unless you are into the really old Lionel "collector stuff". In my opinion, OGR is more about MODELING.

I agree with a hot Water, I subscribe to both, but I don’t know how many more Lionel dealer layout articles or a recap of what was new in 1952 I can consume...well befor I was born.....and I am not young.

@RJT posted:

Yes what is an RC Cola without the Moon Pie/ Absolutely the best, shame that here in PA I cant find either must be a Southern thing. Breaking out of jail next week and heading to GA maybe I can find mea RC Cola and Moon Pie there.

Rick:

A few years ago; I had a colleague from Sweden with me to attend a meeting at a production site just outside Mobile. While waiting in the airport for our flight back to Atlanta, I introduced him to Moon Pies.  He liked them so much that when he got back home to Stockholm, he emailed me for the address of the company that bakes Moon Pies.  He ended up ordering a case of the chocolate and another of the vanilla. 

Couldn’t get RC Cola shipped to Sweden though.

Curt

@Tinplate Art posted:

I guess I meant that more humorously than it came out! NO offense intended! :-)

None taken.

@juniata guy posted:

Rick:

A few years ago; I had a colleague from Sweden with me to attend a meeting at a production site just outside Mobile. While waiting in the airport for our flight back to Atlanta, I introduced him to Moon Pies.  He liked them so much that when he got back home to Stockholm, he emailed me for the address of the company that bakes Moon Pies.  He ended up ordering a case of the chocolate and another of the vanilla. 

Couldn’t get RC Cola shipped to Sweden though.

Curt

 

I guess you can say that instead of the Southern serves the South the Southern serves Sweeden! Cheers, y'all!

@RickO posted:

I'm not sure about magazines but I can tell you for a fact that RC cola is better than Coke or Pepsi. Coke is a bit to carmaly,  Pepsi is a bit too sweet.

They still brew that stuff??

First, let me state that I am primarily a scale "three-railer" running on only two rails, the third "rail" is about sixteen feet above and over the center of the track; in other words a trolley modeller. When I would visit a friend up north, I would read both as he subscribes to both. I am also a member of several model train forums, each good in their own way. So, to continue, I recently decided to subscribe to both the print and digital OGR magazine for two years, I will decide which I like better then and continue that one. Why OGR? Well, CTT, although an interesting casual read, did not really do anything for me as I have no real interest in the older "toy" trains. OGR, on the other hand, does . In run 311 there is a photo of a trolley (derailed, see if you can find it!) that is the same model as one that I started with. All-in-all, with what you have posted, I think that OGR will be the best for you. Oh, and welcome to hobby.

@Rich Melvin posted:

I find this amazing.

This is like going to the Chevy dealer and asking them what they think of Fords.

You do realize the OP is 16 yrs old right?   If so, it's perfectly understandable why he posited the question.

-Greg

@Greg Houser posted:

You do realize the OP is 16 yrs old right?   If so, it's perfectly understandable why he posited the question.

-Greg

Thanks for standing up for me and being understanding. Yes, thinking back this has not been one of my brightest threads. As they say, hindsight is 20 20 and I want to say sorry to the faculty of OGR if I have caused any problems. Truly I am sorry and if you want to end this thread then by all means. Thanks for not doing it by this point. Oh well, I am just glad that the thread was not taken over, some of you guys enjoyed it, and the discussion of trains flourished.

@Hot Water posted:

Well there you go!!!!!!   Why not subscribe to the the magazine that supports this forum, which is absolutely the best O Gauge Forum on the internet, and where you have been participating and getting so many answers? To answer your subject title; OGR! Period.

Boom. Here is the answer.

Honestly, my first opinion (and likely that of many others) was "how can you ask that question here?" However, asked honestly, and not to start some "us vs them" battle (as definitely seems the case), the answer to "how can you ask that question here?" should be "why not?" OGR certainly isn't going to lose any readership over it, and it allows many of their readers to express why it's THEIR choice. As someone else previously mentioned, many companies spend tons of dollars for this sort of insight into their customer base, and here it's being provided free of charge.

Different people get different things out of the hobby. What may be fascinating to one reader may be of no interest to another. Some folks just run out and buy whatever strikes their fancy from a manufacturer's new catalog, many of which may never see time out of their box, while others spend countless hours modifying things, building structures, wiring trackwork, etc... Some own nothing made this century, and delight in the ozone-laced air of their aged machines. Each takes away what THEY find enjoyable, and the hobby is big enough to encompass all of them. 

Much good guidance has already been giving by others over what aspects of the hobby are covered more in-depth by each magazine, but Panico's Brick Oven Pizza in New Brunswick, NJ has both some excellent thin-crust pizza AND RC Cola on tap! 

I enjoy both Magazines, Full Stop.  However, the OGR digital subscription is by far the best value,  Its bonus section provides additional pictures and content that is not included in the print edition, plus you have access to the entire back history of every OGR published.  Lots of great content to read and learn from.  

If you are having difficulty purchasing 2 subscriptions....ouch.  It only gets more costly from there.  I have both and will transfer the rest of one of them to you.  I think I have 1 or 2 years on it.  Send me your email and purchase the other subscription.  FYI, my success in acquisition , design  and execution is based on these magazines and forum.  Tall buildings is my preference.  Hint.

Seriously?

I have scripts to both and pick up tips and tricks from both they are priceless investments for our hobby.

@New Haven Joe posted:

If you are going to continue using this forum, I suggest that you subscribe to the magazine that makes the forum possible - OGR.   This forum is the best thing in the O gauge/scale train world and should be supported by the people who use it.  NH Joe

I totally agree with New Haven Joe. Arnold

Again, thanks everyone for posting y'all's comments! Also, it is official, I subscribed to OGR last night and can't wait to get the first issues! 

@Bryant Dunivan 111417 Thanks for the offer but no thanks. I appreciate the offer very much. I will say the only reason why I am in the "hole" is that I do not have a lot of "loose" change outside of me saving to pay for a pre-order from Lionel.

Everyone thanks again and, again, sorry to the faculty of OGR if I have offended y'all or caused any problems.

I no longer get either, but one thing is for sure, this forum is FAR more active and informative.

I find value in both CTT and OGR, and if it wasn't for Kalmbach and CTT back in the late '80s, I don't know if this hobby and OGR would have had the boost that have helped rocket them to success. I do miss the old Myron Biggar days of OGR, and honestly I treasure my issues from that era. It was an era of optimism and transition straddling the old and new eras of O gauge trains--and you heard a lot less about zinc pest and failing circuit boards!

CTT is more to my interest but I take both in paper form.

I don't think it's a question of which magazine is better.  O Gauge Railroading, Classic Toy Trains, and O Scale Trains all serve different niches.

George

"What magazine should I subscribe to?"... posted to a forum hosted entirely by the magazine O Gauge Railroading.

Seriously? Do you really need to ask?

Let's look at the facts, m'am, just the facts:

Seeing as you're using THIS forum that's generously being financed by OGR for ALL of us to use, paid subscribers or not... and seeing as you're active in O gauge model railroading and you want a quality magazine to read...

You've found it: OGR!!

No brainer.

Andre