End Of a Era.

[teejay]

....and probably not even 20 years from now , Don ......more like 5

My wife's son came over for dinner the other day ....he and his wife have 2 sons , ages 3 and 6 . Both have tablets . They spotted my chess set and asked about it . They new nothing about the game so I moved the men around for them and they followed suit . They were looking a little bored after 5 minutes of this so I gave them a computer disc chess game and they brightened right up ...told them to take it home and give it a try . So much for hands on chess !!

T

[Charlie B]

I always looked forward to the ads in Model Railroader, and RMC to keep up to date on new items and look for good buys. Advertizers have, for the most part, found they get more bang for the buck with their web sites, so much so that many are not advertizing in the paper versions of the magazines, and the ads are what pays their overhead. Times are changing, and although we may not all be happy with the changes, I see a lot of improvement in a lot of things since the advent of the internet and instant critiquing of dealers and products.
I also enjoy being able to see great pictures posted by folks that were not name worthy enough to have their work printed in the paper and ink media.
Charlie

[Sumpter250]

I fully understand: "great pictures posted by folks that were not name worthy enough to have their work printed in the paper and ink media."
I quickly got tired of submitting pictures to the "paper and ink media".

[eightyeightfan1]

It is sad that print maybe become a thing that kids in the near future will learn at school on their tablets on the "History web page". But like Captain Picard in Star Trek, there will always be someone that embraces printed medium, instead of something that is flashing from an LED screen. Even someday, tablets, and smart phones maybe come "things from the past". I can only assume(you know what they say about that) based on the way we listen to music. From records(for you younger member, black discs of plastic with music recorded in grooves), to reel to reel tape, to 8track, to cassette, to CD's, to now digital.

The thing is, it isn't just our model railroader magazines that are taking the hit financially, and by technology, it's all types of magazines that are getting hit.

As fast as technology is moving, what's next?
But if us older folks don't keep up, we will be left behind.

To keep with the topic, I never really subscribed to either of those magazines. I may have picked one up at show, or a flea market, but never really read them.

[Sumpter250]

I remember "The Saturday Evening Post" and "Life"

Alistair Maclean's "The Guns of Navarone" was published as a 'serial' , in the Saturday Evening Post, somewhere in the late Fifties?. I remember reading that story, one issue at a time, and the long ....wait.... between issues.
A friend, who had introduced me to Tolkien's writings with "The Hobbit", handed me a Paperback of "The Lord of The Rings" Trilogy. I read that, non-stop, from Saturday afternoon at about 4:30 PM, to Sunday night at about 10:30 PM.
Try that with a laptop :o
Yeah kids, I am "older than the Grinch", and I will remember more from reading the written word, than I could ever possibly remember from reading it on a computer screen.
OK, It was a bit of a pain, reading a story, cut into stone tablets ! I do believe that is where the 'term', "Heavy Reading", might have originated.

[Mike Kieran]

It didn't surprise me that Carstens went under. I remember a cartoon in Mad Magazine when someone was reminiscing about when comic books cost less than a dime and the other person reminisced that he remembered when comic books were thicker than a dime.
Sadly, I remember both of these points.

Publications, in general, have been getting smaller. Advertisers are going with their own web pages or through word of mouth on the forums. I remember when Athearn was the biggest advertiser in the Walthers catalog. Now they aren't carried by Walthers catalog. There's a reason why The Magic of Model Railroading is taking up a large section of the catalog and has only just appeared within the last 10 years(?).

Pretty soon, the Walthers Catalog will be a thing of the past. It's a matter of adjusting to the times and the market. While I always liked reading Railroad Model Craftsman and Railfan & Railroad, their focus in recent years has pushed towards the more higher skilled model railroaders in our hobby, which is the minority of the total population within the hobby. The hobby's focus is more geared toward DCC and the RTR crowd.

Add in the fact that the population of model railroaders is also smaller than it was in years past (less clubs, less hobby shops, and less rail publications). Not everyone has the space for layouts, nor the time. Technology is merely replacing the medium of information, but the information is being shared exponentially. The only thing that will slow down the information shared online is the cost of bandwidth, internet access, and servers.

I'm very curious to see how Joe Fugate's website, Model Railroad Hobbyist, works out down the road since he relies on advertiser revenue for operating costs. By going online, he cuts out the costs and effort of working/dealing with the printers.

[railohio]

Add in the fact that the population of model railroaders is also smaller than it was in years past (less clubs, less hobby shops, and less rail publications).

Source?

[MountainMan]

Only Death and Taxes last forever.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

I was also pretty unhappy to hear Carstens went under. Though I never subscribed, RMC seemed to be the only magazine with articles I could really get into. In fact, they published a lot of NJ Transit related articles, as well as good articles on modeling specific prototypes.

Model Railroader doesn't really seem to carry the same kinds of articles, though Model Railroad Hobbyist does occaisionally.


As useful as the internet is for research, its not always 100% useful. Sure, If I ask a small technical question, I'll get an answer. But if I ask about how to super-detail a given engine, or about modeling a particular structure, I suspect forum responses would not be as useful. Most people don't maintain lists of detail parts for specific engines, nor do they have the scale drawings that these magazines tended to print.

Using the internet requires that you know where to start and what to look for. The difference between something useful and something irrelevant can be as simple as spelling (Instead of NJ Transit, one might type New Jersey Transit, or just NJT, and get totally different results). It can be very frustrating if you don't find a friendly expert.


While a magazine can't tailor an answer to a specific question like an internet forum can, it will usually at least include indepth, well researched information and tends to be slightly more helpful.

[Mike Kieran]

Add in the fact that the population of model railroaders is also smaller than it was in years past (less clubs, less hobby shops, and less rail publications).

Source?

I can't remember which editorial I read in the hobby magazines, but they included data from market research. I have to research where it was. The bottom line is that there are more hobbies out there to share the market than there were 30 years ago.

[Sumpter250]

Only Death and Taxes last forever.

Partially true Taxes last FOREVER - - - - - -with reincarnation, DEATH is repetitive.

[ezdays]

Only Death and Taxes last forever.

Partially true Taxes last FOREVER - - - - - -with reincarnation, DEATH is repetitive.

Not to cause a controversy, but that hitch in my left hip (uh, really my sacroiliac says the doctor ) seems to last forever, so add that to the list....

[Brakie]

Partially true Taxes last FOREVER - - - - - -with reincarnation, DEATH is repetitive.

We can add my lower back pain due to arthritis around Lumbar disks 4/5 to that list..
-----------------------------------------------------

reincarnation
-----------------
Yes,know it all to well.

In my first life I was a buffalo and was shot by Buffalo Bill.

In my second life I was a horse and had to pull a wagon.

In this life I was born a common working man working to make others richer then they already are..

:o

[Russ Bellinis]

Re: End Of a Era.

"I was also pretty unhappy to hear Carstens went under. Though I never subscribed, RMC seemed to be the only magazine with articles I could really get into. In fact, they published a lot of NJ Transit related articles, as well as good articles on modeling specific prototypes.

Model Railroader doesn't really seem to carry the same kinds of articles, though Model Railroad Hobbyist does occaisionally.


As useful as the internet is for research, its not always 100% useful. Sure, If I ask a small technical question, I'll get an answer. But if I ask about how to super-detail a given engine, or about modeling a particular structure, I suspect forum responses would not be as useful. Most people don't maintain lists of detail parts for specific engines, nor do they have the scale drawings that these magazines tended to print."

There is probably not a New Jersey Transit historical society, but if there is join it. Also is there a Yahoo Group focused on either the NJT, or commuter lines in general? If so, join. I belong to the Santa Fe Historical & Modeling Society as well as a Santa Fe Yahoo Group. I receive emails from about 4 or 5 Yahoo Groups. Much of the email traffic is not of interest to me, but it is easy to delete. If I have a question about any subject covered by the various Yahoo Groups, I can ask that group, and typically get an answer right away from folks on the group.

For instance, recently a member who is detailing a P2K Alco PA for Santa Fe wanted to know if there was a kit for the correct Leslie 5 chime horn. He had found kits for the Nathan 5 chime horn, but not the Leslie. Another member responded with the part number and manufacturer of the kit. When the o.p. mentioned that the horns all faced forward on the Leslie 5 chime and the Santa Fe had two facing the rear, the one who had given the information came back to tell the o.p. what size drill to open up the holes and that the kit was made to allow the horns to be mounted in either direction to match the prototype.

Just a word of warning. Yahoo has been susceptible to hacking in the past. I don't use a Yahoo email account and I am careful about what I open from Yahoo. I also keep an up to date ativirus and firewall on my computer.

[Charlie B]

I belong to several yahoo groups and in fact I own one with 75 members. The only hacking I am aware of comes from someone getting a phishing email asking them to log on to their account. They look close, but normally the spelling is bad, and the link is a false address. Your advise advise works for the entire internet.
Charlie