Next Stop for this train - Model Railroader Magazine
Written: Jan 26 '04
Product Rating:
Pros: News, information, tips, tricks and how-to on everything model railroad
Cons: subscription price
The Bottom Line: Useful as both a monthly guide to the world of model railroading and as a reference guide, Model Railroader is arguably the best magazine for model railroad enthusiasts
Looking to get the lowdown on the Model Railroading world? Model Railroader is the preeminent magazine for Model Railroaders everywhere.
Have you progressed to a model railroad beyond the little train that goes around the Christmas Tree? If you have, chances are that Model Railroader will be an excellent resource and guide for your endeavors.
The Details
Published 12 times a year, Model Railroader is a monthly look into the world of model railroading that includes just about every scale of model railroad you can imagine and offers information that runs the gambit from track ideas to scenery suggestions. Additionally Model Railroader provides an excellent resource for people looking for various pieces of equipment, scenery material and other model railroading products with the extensive advertisements and the shopping directory it provides.
A one-year, 12 issue subscription will cost you $39.95 directly from the publisher. An issue on the newsstand will cost you $4.95.
Each issue is about 130 to 140 pages in size and about 2/3 of that is made up of magazine articles, stories and departments. The remaining 1/3 is made up of advertisements.
The magazine is broken down into two main sections, the Features and the Departments.
The Features section includes the cover page stories along with other major stories and articles. Each main feature is about 4 to 5 pages in length and includes photographs in addition to the story. The photographs are of excellent quality and make you want to start photographing your own model railroad (believe me, I tried). Some stories in the Features section in past issues include detailing equipment, how to use your computer with your model railroad and how to build inexpensive trees for your layout.
The Departments section includes the Editor’s column, letters to the Editor, short product reviews, quick how-to’s on various model railroad designs, a quick review of the latest news in the model railroading world, an upcoming events guide, an index to all the advertisers in the issue and finally, a look back at previous topics in Model Railroader from years past.
Is it worth it?
Anyone with a model railroad or interested in model railroading would be well served by either picking up an occasional issue of Model Railroader or having their own subscription. The 12-month subscription price is a bit high, but cheaper rates can be found through discount magazine subscription services on the internet.
I’m not as involved in the model railroading world as I once was, but my younger Brother is and he gets the subscription that I had let lapse when I was still living at home. So when I get to go home, I always pick up some of his issues to take back home with me to catch up on what I’ve been missing (and dream about a future home where I could build a really big model railroad).
Not only does the magazine keep me yearning for the days when I can have my own model railroad again, it keeps me updated with what is happening in the model railroading world and gives me some ideas to help my Brother along with his layout (and I have to wonder, why he got an entire corner of the basement when I had to work in the crawlspace). The articles are informative and useful and each magazine proves to be an excellent reference document. I’ve still got my issues from the early 90’s and going back and looking at them, the information now is just as helpful as it was back then.
Final Thoughts
Useful as both a monthly guide to the world of model railroading and as a reference guide, Model Railroader is arguably the best magazine for model railroad enthusiasts. The subscription price is a bit high, but unlike many other high-priced products, you get what you pay for with Model Railroader, and that is a well written and thoroughly enjoyable magazine that will be both useful today and tomorrow.
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