As many of you know, my primary hobby is Model Railroading. While my professional life revolves around technology, my first love has been the trains. There are some changes occurring in model railroading that are quite shocking to the technological unaware.
What most of you don't know is that Model Railroading is quite a large industry. Some say that there are millions of people around the world that 'play with trains' at least once a year. Personally, I don't subscribe to that number as I suspect that the number mentioned includes all of those that pull out a train set to go around the Christmas tree and I don't consider that a person involved in the hobby.
Regardless, there are several magazines dedicated to the hobby. The mainstays are Model Railroader and Railroad Model Craftsman. Both of these have been around for at least 75 years. There are also several 'hard core' model railroad magazines such as Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette, Mainline Modeler. Then there are the magazines that are trying to vie for the general public but aren't quite hard core. These include Model Railroading and Railroad Model Journal. Lastly there are numerous magazines dedicated to a specific scale such as Sn3 or to a specific railroad such as the Southern Pacific.
The problem is that both Mainline Modeler and Model Railroading have closed there doors in the last couple of months. I don't quite have the details on Model Railroading but I can tell you that Mainline Modeler has been on the shelves since January 1980. I own every issue.
I suspect that the real issue is that these magazines could not afford the drop in readership like the other magazines. I suspect that the Internet is severely cutting into their sales. Why would I purchase a magazine when I can get more information on a specific prototype on the web? I also have access to many modelers web sites where I can see their layouts and there is a surprising amount to modeling tips on the Internet.
BTW, if you have read this far and so not know what REAL model railroading is like go here and check things out. Specifically, check out the Craftsman Corner Forum.
Is there a solution to this problem? Is it even a problem? I'm sure it feels like a problem to those personally involved. I think it is just the evolution of the industry.
Kalmbach, the largest producer of these magazines, has started to produce a lot of 'special issue' magazines and annual magazines. I think this is their answer. By producing a magazine of higher value, I suspect that they feel more people will be inclined to purchase it.
As sad as it is to see these guys go, I think that we will be seeing more magazines fall in the future.
The real tragedy is the fact that when these magazines go, it becomes harder to attract the first time model railroaders. When you are first starting out, these magazines were the perfect vehicle to finding out just how exciting this hobby can be. It is so much more than running the train around the Christmas tree or even setting up some track on the living room floor.
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Posted by swfields at November 30, 2006 10:49 PM | TrackBack