Just got an email that the magazine’s last issue will be Fall 2020 and that it will fold somewhat into Model Railroader. Sad news but hardly unexpected …
Folded into MR? In other words MR might have 1 article about GR a year.
Sign of the times, hate to see an old friend go!
Very sad to hear. I have been a subscriber for over 20 years. Thanks for sharing.
Dear Subscriber,
For more than 35 years, Garden Railways has been the leading magazine devoted to the hobby of outdoor model railroading. While we remain committed to serving garden railroaders, we regret to announce that we are discontinuing publication of Garden Railways magazine. Fall 2020 will be the final issue. However, the Garden Railways brand will live on in the pages of Model Railroader and online, where our dedicated audience of garden railroaders will continue to find seasonal news, tips and advice from the world’s greatest model railroading experts.
As a subscriber to Garden Railways, you may have one or more issues of your subscription remaining. You will receive Model Railroader magazine for the remainder of your subscription, starting with the November issue. If you’re already a Model Railroader magazine subscriber, your current Model Railroader subscription will be extended for as many issues remaining on your Garden Railways subscription.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact customer support at [email protected], or by phone at 877-246-4898. Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 903-636-1125.
We thank all our subscribers for their support and loyalty over the years, and we look forward to continuing to serve you through the pages of Model Railroader.
The Garden Railways and Model Railroader Teams
Thanks Sean, I just got the email as well. I’m surprised they pulled the plug so quickly after reducing issues to quarterly.
I’d had my complaints about the magazine in the past, but I’ve always looked forward to the next issue, and it’s sad to see it go.
Oh my, I cannot say I am surprised, there is so little support for LS anymore they probably just do not have enough advertising revenue to support the magazine anymore. When I first got an issue in the early 2000s there were dozens of hobby shops advertising Trainworld, St Aubins, San-Val, Gold Coast, Ridgeroad, etc etc etc, now its down to really just Trainworld and a couple smaller ads. You cannot publish if you don’t have the revenue and we have seen since the recession a steady constant erosion of active participants in LS, Marklin/LGB has focused on Europe, Bachmann has been withering on the vine for a decade, Aristo dead and buried, HLW embargoed, USA ???, Piko has been the only bright spot, but even they cannot carry the entire industry. I am sad that this is happening just as I finished my own layout, but this decline is also why I have been hoarding LS stuff since the recession, the fear that one day I will find the hobby completely unsupported anymore. If the Gazette goes under as well I will really freak out. This is going to be a sad fall.
PS Anyone got Garden Rails subscription info ???
On Friday last, I received a reminder to renew my subscription. Irony, much?
Sean McGillicuddy said:
Dear Subscriber,
For more than 35 years, Garden Railways has been the leading magazine devoted to the hobby of outdoor model railroading. While we remain committed to serving garden railroaders, we regret to announce that we are discontinuing publication of Garden Railways magazine. Fall 2020 will be the final issue. However, the Garden Railways brand will live on in the pages of Model Railroader and online, where our dedicated audience of garden railroaders will continue to find seasonal news, tips and advice from the world’s greatest model railroading experts.
As a subscriber to Garden Railways, you may have one or more issues of your subscription remaining. You will receive Model Railroader magazine for the remainder of your subscription, starting with the November issue. If you’re already a Model Railroader magazine subscriber, your current Model Railroader subscription will be extended for as many issues remaining on your Garden Railways subscription.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact customer support at [email protected], or by phone at 877-246-4898. Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 903-636-1125.
We thank all our subscribers for their support and loyalty over the years, and we look forward to continuing to serve you through the pages of Model Railroader.
The Garden Railways and Model Railroader Teams
Well, it’s a shame, but I’m sure not surprised. I am actually surprised that other magazines can even stay in business anymore. Way back when, I probably had about 10 subscriptions going at a time, now, none. I blame the web, as it is much easier to get information much more quickly through forums such as this one. Thank you, Bob, for continuing this service!
Along with other posts here. I am not surprised that GR has fallen by the wayside. I read GR for a few years (2005 - 2013) but eventually most of what I read I already knew and what I did not know - and there is lots - I was able to find out from large scale fora such as LSC. Liked GR, when I bought it, as it dealt in the main with American railroads and products. I never bought the eurocentric UK alternative. I guess the decline in large scale interest has hastened its demise and I suspect many sw this coming when Marc Horovitz ceased editorship.
Same e-mail and not surprised although it is interesting as I know model railroading as a whole has experienced growth due to COVID-19 “stay at home and start a new hobby” orders
-Dan
Vic Smith said:
We have seen since the recession a steady constant erosion of active participants in LS, Marklin/LGB has focused on Europe, Bachmann has been withering on the vine for a decade, Aristo dead and buried, HLW embargoed, USA ???, Piko has been the only bright spot, but even they cannot carry the entire industry.
I would add USA Trains as a bright spot. Unless there’s something going on behind the scenes that I’m unaware of, USAT is releasing new product all the time and plans are in place to release more soon. To the best of my knowledge, they still have their heads above water.
I’m also surprised that Garden Railways has thrown in the towel so soon after they made adjustments to staff and publishing output. A sign of the times is right.
Vic Smith said:
PS Anyone got Garden Rails subscription info ???
I had the digital version for a year. It’s a good magazine but mainly deals with UK based modeling etc. Very little American. The hard copy is expensive for us in the US. I would look at the 16mm Association instead. It’s a good quality magazine although it’s only produced 4 times a year, where Garden Rail is monthly.
Its sad to the magazine go, I still enjoyed it. It’s nice to flip through pages and not be on a computer. The hobby has gotten expensive and harder to really find what one wants for a decent price. Maybe this will force people to start kitbashing again or building from scratch.
Social media hasn’t helped either. So much info out there with almost instant response. Why would people pay when they have this as well as the 100 FB pages devote to our hobby.
I’m sorry to see this happen, but am not suprised. I wonder if Nancy will run my gardening tip before they close their shop.
I am not surprised. They were pushing hard to recapture lapsed subscribers, me being one of them, by giving a free issue earlier this year.
Seems like it has been happening for a long time. First the big publisher gobbled up the independent magazine, and the beautiful and unique covers were gone. Then the suits at the big publisher decided that everybody HAD to work from Waukesha, WI, and Mark Horovitz was gone. (Mark WAS the magazine - personal opinion.) So this latest news is really no surprise. The new staff seemed nice, but Garden Railways was not a part of their souls like it was for Mark. Perhaps something new will come along in a few years to take its place. Hope it manages to stay independent.
Climbing down from soap box, David Meashey
Steve Featherkile said:
On Friday last, I received a reminder to renew my subscription. Irony, much?
You’d better hurry!
And I just renewed. Sigh
This is really sad. As I said on the GR FaceBook page, the magazine made my foray into this hobby possible, so, yes, I am indebted to it for the journey it launched. It was my only physical touchpoint for several years to this hobby, and I met my late mentor, Tom Trigg, through its forum who got us up and running, and later, Bill Barnwell, who got me over my fear of knives, paints, and e-Bay via its forum.
Hobbies need a “journal,” and this was - love it or loathe it - ours. It was a way to share the hobby with co-workers in the office or seatmates on the plane. It was, for us, a source of numerous ideas for “What next?” which allowed me to come here and plot out our various undertakings. For me, it is just easier to see it in print first before going to the web with questions.
At any rate, echoing earlier posts. thanks, Bob, for taking the deck and the conn on this website and providing the connective tissue to keep us moving forward.
Onipa’a (Stand firm)!
Eric
I went to the 1st Garden Railway Convention, can’t remember the year in Denver at a small college, but Mark Horovitz was there along with around 30 other people or so. It was a small group for sure, but we all had a good time and enjoyed talking about things that could happen in a new adventure like G Scale. We went to Mark’s home and his garden railway was out by the street in front of his home, it was a circle of LGB track and the little engine went round and round as we talked about what this could lead to in the future. We also visited two other layouts that were larger in the Denver area at that time. Mark had his startup magazine there and it was printed and stapled together, it was the first copies I had seen of the magazine, I did subscribe to it at that time. Well I guess the hobby has come a long way since then, sorry to see the magazine go, but for myself I don’t subscribe to magazines anymore, as the internet has taken over and most articles published in magazines is old stuff by the time you get the magazine in the mail. Just the way life goes these days.
trainman