I got this idea today while reading "Steam Railway," a British news magazine containing news stories re the preserved steam railways in the UK. In the UK, of course, there are dozens of preserved railways operating so it's easy to fill its pages (for example, I just read about another new-build -- they're working on building a brand new 2-6-2 tank engine at the Severn Valley Railway!
). There are actually a few heritage railway magazines like Steam Railway.
I was thinking that I'd be interested in reading about similar events happening in Canada, although I realize that we'd have about 1/10 of the news. For example, our Canadian preserved heritage railway magazine could contain news article about the steam and diesel engines at the South Simcoe Railway in Tottenham, news at the Halton County Radial Railway (streetcar museum) or the recent batch of news of Toronto's John Street Roundhouse being turned into a railway heritage centre. Late one night, I quickly posted a batch of recent heritage railway news on this forum (<!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1034">viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1034</a><!-- l -->), so it would be neat to stay up-to-date on what's happening locally.
There are also good steam/diesel railways in Manitoba, Alberta, B.C. and Quebec (the last I heard, the latter [Quebec] steam railway was closed and engine being offered for sale). There are also cool Canadian railway museums across the country and several in Ontario.
I'm a designer of a Christian magazine, so I have an idea of what the magazine industry is like (VERY hard to start a new one!!), so I'm totally saying this tongue-in-cheek.
I realize that the Canadian Railway Modeller magazine and the U.S. TRAINS covers some Canadian heritage railway news but I'm thinking that there may be enough news to fill (say) a quarterly magazine. I also realize that there are a couple CNR and CPR heritage magazines out there that fill this void. I just thought it would be a cool idea to have a general, all-Canadian heritage railway news magazine. It could cover actual operating railways as well as museums ... and possibly some current mainline news?
Any thoughts/feedback or suggestions? I think I have a half-baked idea here just not sure what to do with it!
Rob
Well, not being Canadian.......I think it's a great idea! (It would be a great idea even if I was Canadian!!)
sgtcarl1 Wrote:Well, not being Canadian.......I think it's a great idea! (It would be a great idea even if I was Canadian!!)
Thanks! I was trying to keep this sort of "local" but I realize you could make a good case to create a "North American" heritage railway magazine. Then you could easily fill its pages MONTHLY with preserved railway news. You could have article on the Strasburng Railroad, Steamtown USA, the big event this July at Owosso, Mich., etc., etc.
Just wondering, is there already such a magazine? The first one that comes to my mind is TRAINS but maybe there's another one?
Rob
Rob: check Branchline published by the Bytown Railway Society. They come out 10 or 11 times a year and cover the Canadian railway scene. (Same group that publishes the Trackside Guide).
BR60103 Wrote:Rob: check Branchline published by the Bytown Railway Society. They come out 10 or 11 times a year and cover the Canadian railway scene. (Same group that publishes the Trackside Guide).
Thanks, David. I think I'll certainly look into getting a copy of Branchline then. I've heard of it but don't think I've seen many copies. Cheers, Rob
I think TRAINS magazine probably one of the best North American preserved railroad magazines.
I just picked up the May issue and it's awesome! Lots of heritage railway news, including some Canadian news (about a steam railway in Alberta) and a great article on what we can learn from the British railway preservation scene.
There is also an insert booklet listing all or most of the heritage railways and museums in both the U.S. and Canada. Yikes, there are even a few small-town railroad museums not too far from me that I didn't know about!
So I'll have to get busy and visit them.
Rob
That would be a great idea!
Too much of Canada's heritage is either being allowed to rot or is being lost.
This would be a great way to help in preserving some of Canada's heritage. For example: The Mimico station (recently moved) was nearly demolished. The property owner had sheared off the face of the building and built a huge fence up against the building. The picture taken below was taken in 1998 and is of the face that was sheared off the building. My wife and I have more but this is one of them. Fortunately, a group were able to get together and raised the funds necessary to move the structure. I haven't heard anything else and will be checking into it.
MadModeler Wrote:That would be a great idea!
Too much of Canada's heritage is either being allowed to rot or is being lost.
This would be a great way to help in preserving some of Canada's heritage. For example: The Mimico station (recently moved) was nearly demolished. The property owner had sheared off the face of the building and built a huge fence up against the building. The picture taken below was taken in 1998 and is of the face that was sheared off the building. My wife and I have more but this is one of them. Fortunately, a group were able to get together and raised the funds necessary to move the structure. I haven't heard anything else and will be checking into it.
Thanks ... and good point about so much Canadian railway history being lost. At least they are making a great effort at Toronto's former CPR roundhouse to preserve railway history in the Toronto region (<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.trha.ca">www.trha.ca</a><!-- w -->) -- I see this as a very exciting development.
I'd really like to start a Canadian heritage railway magazine but it would be a daunting project -- maybe a one-off book would be simpler?!
Thanks, Rob
Why don't you try something electronic? Blog, website, etc. There are a number of good examples already of specific areas - Old Time Trains is one that comes to mind. But that's more history than heritage, so to speak.
With a blog or website, there's little to no investment, at least in the initial stages. One of my favourite (non-train, although they have some pages devoted) is <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.forgotten-ny.com">www.forgotten-ny.com</a><!-- w -->. Started as a guy with a camera. He recently progressed to a book, but keeps the site going. He even has contributors now. Very informative and well presented.
Andrew
MasonJar Wrote:Why don't you try something electronic? Blog, website, etc. There are a number of good examples already of specific areas - Old Time Trains is one that comes to mind. But that's more history than heritage, so to speak.
With a blog or website, there's little to no investment, at least in the initial stages. One of my favourite (non-train, although they have some pages devoted) is <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.forgotten-ny.com">http://www.forgotten-ny.com</a><!-- m -->. Started as a guy with a camera. He recently progressed to a book, but keeps the site going. He even has contributors now. Very informative and well presented.
Andrew
Thanks, Andrew -- that's an interesting idea and may be the way to go, especially these days.
Rob
Robert HAve a look at "Charles Cooper's Railway Pages"
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.railwaypages.com/">http://www.railwaypages.com/</a><!-- m -->
or "Old Time Trains"
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/index.html">http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/index.html</a><!-- m -->
Two very good Canadian heritage train sites.
I hope you've got deep pockets, very deep pockets. That said, where do I send my resume for the editor's position?
railohio Wrote:I hope you've got deep pockets, very deep pockets. That said, where do I send my resume for the editor's position?
Actually, my pockets are very shallow! This was simply an idea that I had. I think if I were to actually start such a magazine, I'd have a nervous breakdown!
I know how much work goes into a magazine, as I work as a designer for a bi-monthly one (6x/year) and that take at least 5 full-time staff plus a batch of freelance writers.
Still, I think this (a Cdn heritage railway magazine) is a good idea that could certainly fill a void. And, while I like designing and layout out magazine articles, I'm certainly not a businessman!
Rob
Well, it looks like someone has beat me to this !
I just picked up my copy of the PREMIERE issue of Railfan Canada (see <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.railfancanada.ca">www.railfancanada.ca</a><!-- w -->). This issue has a cover story on the CPR Hudson, Empress (I just bought an excellent DVD set on this loco called "Monster Steam" -- it's awesome, especially the second DVD which shows the Empress travelling through a lot of awesome B.C. and Alberta scenery
).
At any rate, this is billed as a "photographic journal" and does contain a lot of news and articles from the current Canadian RR scene as well as heritage railways. From what I've seen so far, it looks great !
Rob