30 Years of Garden Railways is apon us with the next issue and I say CONGRATULATIONS! Some hobbyists love it some not so much but most of us as newbies have spent many hours pawing over this great magazine for tips, ideas and to drool over the latest equipment. After 6+ years in the hobby and subscribing I’m looking forward to the next issue.
I ran a diesel train today and along with it the LGB 20th Anniversary boxcar.
Was there a 10th year? Will there be a 30th year? Anyways CONGRATS GR.
We have finally let our subscription expire, after being subscribers since 1996. Have just found the issues coming in and never being even opened. Model Railroader and the Gazette gets read every month, but GR didn’t make the cut.
I am still a subscriber, but I am finding it more and more difficult every year to re-new. I wish there was another magazine out there. I usually read through it in about a night, it has gotten so thin.
I know how you feel about it, Ric…I find it hard to find any real excitement in the magazine. After viewing endless track plans, that only lend themselves to Roundy-Roundy, and more and more stuff being only available on their web pages; the magazine for me is not much use at over $7 a copy.
It is of course a Garden Railway magazine, and is more directed at animation in the garden, than to any Model Railroad, that happens to be in the out-of-doors.
Operations around here are more popular, than animation in the garden.
Over a lengthily period of time, and in a non-scientific way; I have used the telephone, and the internet, to try to contact many of those whose railways have been featured in newsletters, and in the magazine…
The very unofficial result has been rather disappointing. A very great number of the “Beautiful” garden pikes, have been shut down. The owners grew tired of their short trip into the hobby. They seemed to not develop the hobby as a lifelong interest, but as a passing fad. Some only built their pikes to try to attract their grand children, not as a hobby or interest for themselves, to share with the youngsters, which in most cases doomed the pike from the start.
There is of course the part of the hobby which is devoted to Collectors, some who actually buy stuff, at rather large prices, only to never open the packages, just putting them on the shelf. This is fine, in some cases, because it helps the manufacturers sell product, but also tends to inflate the market price for others with lower incomes, who just want to “Play with their toys”…er…operate their equipment at an affordable price.
I think, from a few observations lately, not only is the LS part of the hobby dying, but the magazine is on a short list for discontinuance.
There still is a seemingly Very Successful cousin to the magazine, which comes out of England. While not directed at North American interests, it still offers great ideas and help, for anyone running a railroad in the out-of-doors…anywhere.
Model Railroad Magazine has great articles, that can be applied to the hobby in any scale. Along with the NG&SLG; a hobbiest still has lots to read on a cold Winter night, in front of a warm fire.
I just renewed my subscription this past year when I got back into the hobby. I used to get it years ago when it was a actual magazine, not like the pamphlet size piece it is today but… I do still enjoy seeing it in my mailbox every other month.
Do I wish it had more articles, more pictures, more of everything…yes, but seeing how it is the only thing out there devoted to large scale garden railroading I will take it.
I happen to be one of the roundy roundy types, I don’t do operations and I also consider myself somewhat of a collector as I have much more large scale trains that will just sit in there boxes on my shelf then I ever will actually operate on my railway… but again, I am okay with that.
I like collecting and looking at new pieces that come available, even if I will never use them. I also enjoy watching people operate trains on point to point railways, I would just rather sit back and relax with a beverage and watch a train come by my way every once in a while.
Hell, I just drove over 8 hours this past weekend to get to a train show that had hardly no large scale trains at all at it… but I still came away with a neat light fixture that I will be adding to my railway!
Maybe some people just need to take a break from the hobby to be able to enjoy it again, I had to step away from it for almost 8-years, and at the moment I get very excited for anything I get to do with my railway and collection… even changing out couplers on cars and locomotives is exciting again, well almost! :-)_
I can agree with your sediments, Fred and Vince. I would say I’m probably in the middle. I am building my layout to feature operations if I want to, or I can just let’em run if I want to.
I have a subscription also, and I really cant compare it to the past since I’ve only been in this scale for about 3 years. I do enjoy the articles and try to find any nuggets of info that I can use on my layout.
I can imagine if I had been in this scale for as long as Fred has, not to sound insulting Fred!!, I could see where it would kind of seem, “Seen that, got the T-shirt” kind of thing. You can only lay track in so many different ways or things such as that.
Its too bad that those that have been featured in GR are often torn down. I have hope that there will always been some that will be interested in putting trains in their garden, and perhaps there will be at least 2 or 3 that will get bit by the “bug”.
It started getting repetitious 10 years ago, when I dropped my subscription.
Outdoor Railroader was far better, but ran out of garden railway ideas, and became Finescaler, then vanished.
the Narrow Gauge Gazette is the only mag I receive now, unfortunately.
I have been buying Garden Railways, from local book stands, since 2006 when I first started in large scale railroading. I prefer the book stand to digital: it keeps my supplier in business plus I buy other railroad magazines as well. But I have found that GR does not have anywhere near the interest for me now that it once did. Many articles do seem to be a repetition of pics of garden railroads, some far larger than many could either achieve because of cost or space. Some people may well be deterred from the hobby by this.
As someone in the UK, the adverts are not important to me although I know quite a few modelers from here do buy from Stateside dealers; less now since the exchange rate is less favourable.
I have not bought the last two issues of GR - although I did glance through them when on the book stands.
Truthfully two other Kalmbach publications are far more interesting to me and they are Classic Trains and Trains. The former tells me a lot about the steam/diesel change over era which interests me very much. I also buy the Classic Trains special editions.
I do not buy the UK garden railroad magazine.
I stop taking GR long time ago, seems like it got to be more advertising then reading.
Just gave away about 15 years of magazines. You can fine just as much on the net.
I’d like to be supporting them, as we need a good general magazine in LS like MR is for the smaller scales, but GR just isnt it, at least not to me. Without getting on a soapbox, the LS community on the whole accepts more in the way of discrepancies and irregularities with our trains than other scales, and, for me, a magazine that helps promote that isn’t my cuppa.
I buy it (perhaps) twice a year if there is something that I find really interesting, it is mostly the gardening aspects that interest.
The rest doesn’t have much (anything?) in common with what we try to model — the RhB in the upper Albula Valley.
The general articles have difficulty keeping up with what one can find on the Internet and in other magazines.
@ Alan
Same here, Trains and Classic Trains. I have subscriptions for both and in my opinion they are way more bang for the buck for those who are interested in the Real Thing. Having grown up with (almost) strictly electrics and modeling that, too, they are a great help to learn about the inner workings of NA steamers and diesels.
Still subscribe. Part of the thing with GR for me is the lack of alternate layouts, indoor, micro, etc, stuff the gazette seams to find in droves, and a deliberate fixation of F*ing huge layouts.
If you just read the articles on the layouts that get published the “current” definition of a “small” garden layout is somewhere around 30’ square, Really ??? 900 sq feet is small? Thats bigger than my two car garage and attached studio.
I managed to build several truly small layout in 10’ x 20’ with spurs and sidings and all that stuff, I dont have anywhere near 30’x30’ in my yard even if I did have permit to build, I find the continued obsession with 8’ dia everything continues to hurt more than help the hobby especially in the magazine, as that gives newbies the impression they have to “go large” to even play.
Back when I first started getting GR in 1999, I can recall almost every other issue containing truly small compact 10x20, 15, x 15, 8 x 30 foot layouts, layouts that used R1 R2 and 6.5’ dia as the ruling curve, it made the garden layout idea MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE, but somewhere about 6 years ago that began to change, today the current “standard” is 8’ to 10’ or 12’ dia rules the roost, as long as the emphasis remains “go large or go home” we WILL continue to see a stagnant or declining interest in Garden Railroading because it automatically excludes folks with smaller yards or areas to work with. Its a shame because thats were the most potential market lies, not in the rural folks with have an acre to spare.This is something the British mag never forgot, as most yards there are tiny.
I am told that GR lives and breathes by the articles it receives, I inquired about submitting an article on my pizza but was emailed rather bluntly that quote “They already have a long list of articles for long time to come” so… Meh! I still plan to eventually send it in, but I dont feel any particular hurry to do it.
Fred Mills said:
The very unofficial result has been rather disappointing. A very great number of the “Beautiful” garden pikes, have been shut down. The owners grew tired of their short trip into the hobby. They seemed to not develop the hobby as a lifelong interest, but as a passing fad. Some only built their pikes to try to attract their grand children, not as a hobby or interest for themselves, to share with the youngsters, which in most cases doomed the pike from the start.
I’ve notice many layouts I run into on the internet no longer exist. Seems like it would be
neat to collect links/photos to “abandoned” garden railroads.
When you manage to contact the original builder do you ask why they demolished their
LS layout and whether they are still involved in some way? I suspect moving and maintenance are the big reasons for giving up. I see individuals dedicating tremendous
resources into building the largest layout they can without much thought for ongoing
maintenance. Maybe sites like this can help folks avoid making the same mistake.
I’m just getting back into this so if anyone is planning to recycle their old GR
magazines let me know.
Over the years I have subscribed to most of the magazines mentioned my favorite being AWNUTS (always whimsical not usually to scale) unfortunately it only lasted a few years. I still have the tee shirt. Currently I only get Steam in the Garden when they decide to send it.
I will still obtain Garden Railways occupationally to check prices and for new idea but it has largely been replaced by the internet. Given the high cost of production and distribution the future for printed magazines is not very positive.
Vic Smith said:
…
I am told that GR lives and breathes by the articles it receives, I inquired about submitting an article on my pizza but was emailed rather bluntly that quote “They already have a long list of articles for long time to come” so… Meh! I still plan to eventually send it in, but I dont feel any particular hurry to do it.
If that’s the case then there should be more and more editorial content as the ad content is shrinking. It would be a very nice development, but I’m not holding my breath!
Thanks, all, for sharing your memories and reviews.
I have seen some nice videos at youtube from GR, and, as a newbie, i may pick up some used copies of the magazine on ebay – but the troubles with this magazine are not endemic to the LS railroading hobby.
As a long time professional in the magazine publishing business, i can tell you with certainty that all paper-print magazines of every type, in every venue of human interest, are failing.
It is my opinion that any magazine, no matter what its nominal topic, editorial policies, or the length of its previous publication and profitability in print, will soon fail if it cannot make the transition to hosting articles on the web and via mobile apps, making all back issues available digitally, interlocking online articles with online advertisement revenue, and hosting free video production components on youtube to draw new subscribers. A look at The New Yorker will demonstrate the breadth of the problem.
I still subscribe but I have to think about it more and more. Mainly for the reqason above. I agree with Vic. I have older GR magazines from the early 90’s. Its amazing how much better it was. Smaller layouts, neat projects, more pages and less advertising. Now its all about big layouts. I find I go through the magazine in an hour and skip a lot of the articles now.
Since getting into live steam I have found GR really lacks in that department. On average they devote one page to live steam. I just joined the 16mm society and found it to be a much better publication. It does not seem so comercialized, deals with live steam more and I enjoy what it has to offer. Im also into the smaller railways that offer lots of charm, like the railways in the UK. Last year I tried the electronic edition of Garden Rail and found it to be a decent magazine and has more live steam. The price tag is what keeps me from getting it again. I also like Annuals. It has some great rail history mixed with modeling. Steam In The Garden is anotherone I get. It is a good magazine for those into Live Steam and I think it is getting better each year. I never got into the Gazettes. Mainly because it does not deal with large scale so much.
catherine yronwode said:
…
It is my opinion that any magazine, no matter what its nominal topic, editorial policies, or the length of its previous publication and profitability in print, will soon fail if it cannot make the transition to hosting articles on the web and via mobile apps, making all back issues available digitally, interlocking online articles with online advertisement revenue, and hosting free video production components on youtube to draw new subscribers. A look at The New Yorker will demonstrate the breadth of the problem.
In order to maximize revenue GR tries to restrict some interesting stuff to their subscribers. Which is not the way to attract more buyers and/or subscribers, but I could be all wrong, what do I know!
I think that there’s a few problems:
The first is how can you compete with the internet? Sure, we don’t have nearly as many people here as those who subscribe to GR, but look at the amount of the content we have just at this site.
The second is also related. Take a look at the October issue table of contents and tell me what would interest you? http://grw.trains.com/en/Magazine/Current%20Issue.aspx For me, not much at all. Oh, I might read the articles, but only because I happen to be going through the magazine, not because I’m excited about any of those topics. But, there’s no reason for me to keep the magazine after I’ve read through it. No reference material, no neat ideas.
Now, contrast that with just the Modeling Forum here - over 20 different topics that have been updated this month alone.
Not into modeling? Over 15 new comments in Rolling Stock.
Live steam gets about half a page every two months in GR, but we have at least 6 topics updated this month alone.
Want to know something about what’s going on with some manufacturers? Yeah, that’s covered here as well. 
We have a LOT of articles here that provide all sorts of information and all are still available - just take a look at some of the most viewed ones. Interesting AND useful. Need to build a stub switch? The article is right there for your perusal. Many date back to 2000 and are still available - and still timely.
Got a question? Pop into a forum, post your question, and get almost instant replies. One of our newest members (Catherine) had a question about a depot on ebay and less than FOUR hours later had all the answers she neeed. How does a magazine compete with that?
I’m subscribed to GR through 2014 or so. But last time I submitted an article for publication I was told they already had too much of my stuff. (I suspect that it had nothing at all with my criticism of the contest at the ECLSTS as the timing would just be way too coincidental!)
So, they apparently have LOTS of articles waiting to be published as soon as they have enough room, but apparently there’s just not enough room to publish articles that are interesting?
Anyway, I don’t see a renewal in my future.
I’d much rather come here everyday and find something new much more often than once every two months. Plus, there’s a LOT more topics that interest me here than there are in the GR table of contents.
Thanks, Bob!
I just subscribed and the bill came in the mail today
I subscribe for a year every couple of years. The renewal rate is too high, so I wait until they get around to sending me a discount offer.
I certainly think there is room for improvement, but I sure would hate to see it go away!
Ralph