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Home Railway Journal

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 12:41 pm
by mattmason
I wanted to update you on the status of The Home Railway Journal. I do not know what is going on with the Website, but will look into that. I did not take it down.

The magazine has been dormant for far too long, without a current issue produced in over a year. There are a few reasons for that, most of them personal and generally for the positive, but none of them satisfactory for the amount of delay.

I have been on your side of the equation and have had three magazines I subscribed to that just went belly up with a balance left on my subscription. That won't happen here. I have an obligation to you and am ingrained into the hobby of live steam and have to show my face at meets, something I don't want to do in complete embarrassment.

Because of this, I have been exploring options to move the magazine to a new publisher or join with a company that can help handle the day-to-day operations.

There are two requirements I have for anyone who will take the magazine over or join me:
• The material is kept in print and not moved to a digital format.
• That the number of all remaining issues due to every subscriber be honored in full.

I know I have not been able to bring the timely delivery you deserve. I am trying to fix that to ensure delivery of HRJ material.

I hope to have a final announcement very shortly.

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 1:56 pm
by Pontiacguy1
Good luck with the magazine. I always looked forward to it coming in the mail, and enjoyed the articles.

I also despise the digital magazines.... I can't read them in bed or on the toilet, or lay them out on my workbench while I'm building something!

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 2:26 pm
by LivingLegend
Digital magazines have their pluses when it comes to archiving ones library.... Takes up far less space than print mags. But, I'd still rather have a hard copy in my hand to read.... It's a hassle taking a computer to the can!

On the other hand, it would be nice if a digital copy, in annual volumes, was made available for those who have either lost, missed, or damaged an issue (of any publication). Or, for those who have only begun buying a magazine and would like to have a complete or previous issues.

It would be nice if old issue sets of Live Steam, Modeltec, etc. would be scanned and made available digitally. Lots of useful information in them.... But not accessible to the those new to the hobby because of unavailability or being out of print. Or else make only the articles and columns available and leave out the scans in a digital copy. Old ads are interesting from the historical point of view.... But it's not the information most would be interested in.

Back issues of Model Railroader were made available on DVD... All issues from it's first in 1934 to 2010. Trains magazine has done the same. The computer magazine Maximum PC makes a digital copy available for free three months after the issues newsstand date.

LL

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:05 pm
by mattmason
LL,

I have made digital copies available for those who didn't get on board early and the back issues were sold out. I plan that will continue either under me or a new person.

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:03 pm
by Dwight Ennis
Pontiacguy1 wrote:I also despise the digital magazines.... I can't read them in bed or on the toilet, or lay them out on my workbench while I'm building something!
Digital copies are becoming more practical with the widespread availability of tablet computers. While still in their toddler stages, they are becoming more versatile and powerful every day. :)

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:28 pm
by Goose
I don't like the digital version either and would like to get a paper version.

I subscribed a long time for the 7+ Narrow Gauger, later 7+ Railroader, but let my subscription slip, because they swithched to digital. I prefer to sit in my living room in the evening in front of the TV and read the magazines.
With a digital version, that would not work :cry:

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 5:01 pm
by hwboivin3
That's why there should be both paper and digital. I have thousands of magazines. After a while they are not easy to manage.

I've been scanning them myself in my spare time. I'm up to 5 yrs of Live Steam scanned, next is Modeltec.

H

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 5:33 pm
by cbrew
the cool thing about digital copies,
they arrive almost instantly, you can read then on a computer, tablet or smart phone.
and with a click of a button you can have your know color copy to have on the can or shop and you dont have to worry if it gets dirty from grease, etc. just print off another.

just the opinion of a software developer :)
Matt, its good to hear from you on this matter.

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 6:02 pm
by H&NERY
Great magazine, I like the fact that it tends to focus on the smaller scales, 7 1/2 and below, I am a 3 1/2 gauger myself. I feel it is a better magazine than Live Steam & Outdoor Railroading, although that is a good publication. I also like the fact that is is all train related. Hope things get ironed out.

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:08 pm
by Mudhop
Glad to hear from you on this Matt. I always enjoyed the magazine as I am only railroad interested. You have had some great articles (like the safety valves). I hope you can work it out and would like to continue getting it. As to digital, I like them better as cbrew said, you can just print the article or pages you need and if they get dirty, no problem.

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 11:50 am
by Benjamin Maggi
cbrew wrote:the cool thing about digital copies, they arrive almost instantly, you can read then on a computer, tablet or smart phone. and with a click of a button you can have your know color copy to have on the can or shop and you dont have to worry if it gets dirty from grease, etc. just print off another. .
I respectfully disagree. There is nothing more comforting to me to walking over to my shelf of magazines, picking out one based on an interesting article described on the cover, and sitting on my comfy couch with my basset next to me to read it. I stare at a computer screen all day long- I want to hold the paper in my hands, enjoy the images in full size, and not have to print it out to enjoy it.

I would probably drop my subscription if it went digital.

Just my 2 cents.

Re: Home Railway Journal

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:59 pm
by WJH
I used to love going to Babbages and looking at all the pc games on the shelves. But you know what? Things change for good reasons. Bye bye film, and bye bye print media. The cost of print makes small magazines a poor business.