Large Scale Central

What are you looking for in Garden Railway Magazine?

General Discussion
#61

No Mike, I’m just aware of my limitations. Plus, if I weren’t, I’ve found they also show up quite well from 10" away, and/or with a flash. Most of the guys have become quite adept at politely overlooking my inevitable boogers, and blobs. And I thank them for that :D…I simply need to get me a “put it back on” tool, and hire someone else to sand and paint :wink:

A ‘class’ or group build would be interesting, but what? I suggested a steam portable farm engine a while back (for sawmill power, derelict in a fencerow, etc), but nobody seemed too interested at the time. — It’d probably have to be not only something of general interest to the group, but something that could either be scale generic, or adaptable - Otherwise you limit your class to just the 1:20(POINT3!!!) guys, the 1:29 guys etc… (an important consideration if you use ‘off the shelf’ castings, or decide to sell ‘kits’)… And even if I’m not building along, I might have a few photos in my “someday” files to aid the builders.

#62
Bob McCown said:
On the subject of "Master Class", is there enough of an interest from both a writer, and a reader, for something similar here? A detailed "Build it" type of class, maybe twice a year?
I think you're about to find that, much like Garden Railways, you'll be very hard pressed to get agreement on what to build. Rolling stock? Some want NG, others SG. Locomotives? Some want steam, others diesel. And even those that want steam - some want logging, others mainline.

When Dave Fletcher did the Masterclass over at the other site he had done a LOT of work first, including setting up some manufacturing so folks could purchase a motor block, for instance.

All the same, even though I never built any of his locomotives, I sure learned a lot from following along.

BTW, it would probably be a good idea to start this up as a new topic; it’s kind of lost here.

#63

Well maybe start with a building or structure that is generic to all the scales. One would only have to adapt the dimensions to their own scale. For that matter the author could give all measurements in 1:1.

#64

The point that Bruce is making----make this another thread----, how quickly could you get that across in a magazine ?.
Don’t get me wrong , I buy magazines , mainly for the adverts and for the odd new technique that someone has come up with .
But the big problem with mags is that feedback is very selective and slow . Selective in that if it goes against the Editor’s particular preference , you might as well not bother , also , the editors can completely change the sense of something because they change what you have written to fit their own ideas . It has happened to me . Very annoying , especially when another reader writes in and asks what the flip you’re on about . And slow ? It takes at least two issues to get a word in . So , as I said , good for adverts and the odd article .
It is difficult to see how a magazine can compete with the speed of the internet , and the cost of them is against them too .
Sad to say , it’s mainly the old loyal readers who keep them going .

Mike

#65
Bob McCown said:
On the subject of "Master Class", is there enough of an interest from both a writer, and a reader, for something similar here? A detailed "Build it" type of class, maybe twice a year?
I'd be very interested in a detailed build it type class. Not necessarily a "Master" class, but what specifically someone does to make it more realistic, say like Bruce's or Jon's ladders on a boxcar or how Randy did the siding on his station. It may not be a typical building I would build, but the techniques used are helpful. This is strictly from a "readers" perspective. The what, the why and the how.............;)
#66
Mike Morgan said:
People should also ask themselves why the same authors keep popping up with articles . Other authors not in"the club"?
I doubt that magazine publishers can afford to keep out quality material simply because the author isn't in some elite group. The real reason you see so many of the same authors is because there are very few people willing to write, fewer still who write well, and then those remaining get narrowed down even further by the quality of their photography.

Some magazines have higher standards than others, but that’s a creative/marketing choice which has nothing to do with personalities.

#67
Ray Dunakin said:
Mike Morgan said:
People should also ask themselves why the same authors keep popping up with articles . Other authors not in"the club"?
The real reason you see so many of the same authors is because there are very few people willing to write
The only piece I ever submitted to Garden Railways was published. And I was paid for it as well. I'm hardly the member of any "club". Nor am I a polished writer or a proffesional photographer. I wish more of you would submit articles, especially you Diesel boys. You might be pleasantly surprised ;) Ralph
#68

Wish list:
1 - A listing of operating public garden RRs – such as the Palm Desert Living Desert gigantic garden RR in Palm Desert, Calif. (sure, a shameless plug).
2 - A listing of the clubs with only a name and e-mail or website noted – save the paper and meet the objection by Kalmbach to having a listing. The name would give the city/state.
Wendell

#69

what do they pay for stories?

#70

That, I couldn’t tell you. Mine was a small submission for their “If I’d Only Known” feature.
It was a paragraph or two with a couple of pictures. Took me 5 minutes to throw together.
They pay $75 for “If I’d Only Known”. The check was nice, but I was “pumped” just to have something published in a magazine :slight_smile:
Ralph

#71
Wendell Hanks said:
Wish list: 1 - A listing of operating public garden RRs -- such as the Palm Desert Living Desert gigantic garden RR in Palm Desert, Calif. (sure, a shameless plug). 2 - A listing of the clubs with only a name and e-mail or website noted -- save the paper and meet the objection by Kalmbach to having a listing. The name would give the city/state. Wendell
They have both, or they used to, online at least. It was part of the GR website features, along with a list of clubs, groups, and also LS hobby shops.

The website has changed alot, not always for the better in some respects. Its a bit harder to navigate now. Some things that used to be promenant are now kinda buried with other stuff taking promenance. Overall its not bad, but the lack of forum participation is probably the biggest detriment. I think I can count the active users on two hands.

#72
Wendell Hanks said:
Wish list: 1 - A listing of operating public garden RRs -- such as the Palm Desert Living Desert gigantic garden RR in Palm Desert, Calif. (sure, a shameless plug). 2 - A listing of the clubs with only a name and e-mail or website noted -- save the paper and meet the objection by Kalmbach to having a listing. The name would give the city/state. Wendell
In addition to Victor's reply, Mark Horovitz addressed the club list question in the Letters section of the February, 2012 issue:

"The decision to remove the club list from the pages of the magazine was not an easy one. We have a limited number of pages to fill in each issue and the club list was simply growing too large. Reluctantly, we removed it from the magazine. However, it is still maintained on our website. Go to www.gardenrailways.com, click on the “For Beginners” tab near the top of the page, and scroll down to “Find a club.”

“We also have a “Club news” section in our “Notes & news” column. This is there for the benefit of any club who is doing something newsworthy or for new clubs to announce their existance and contact information. Unfortunately, it is rarely used.”

According to this, you can get publicity by sending club activity announcements to GR.

Happy RRing,

Jerry