Trains Magazine
Jason Paul Togyer
Publishing Company). According to the PR fluff on the back, Trains
magazine has a new editor (Kevin P. Keefe), and a new format. The ad
continued on that the layout of the magazine has been redesigned. In
addition, the red square "Trains" logo on the front, used in various
permutations since l940, is out, replaced by a non-descript TRAINS in
block letters.
If this is true, is J. David Ingles out? What possessed Kalmbach to
monkey around with a format that's been very successful for over 50
years? What's the word on this "new-look" Trains (i.e. thumbs up or
thumbs down)?
I hope that Trains hasn't changed too much. It has a long tradition as
the Cadillac of railfan magazines. The high quality and familiar feel
was one of the reasons that I recently renewed my subscription for
another year, and Kalmbach just cashed the check!
--Jason Togyer
Carnegie Tech
Pittsburgh, Pa
The Bucs are goin' all the way, all the way, all the way...
Joseph Brennan
(Jason Paul Togyer) writes:
[new "Trains" editor and changes coming...]
>If this is true, is J. David Ingles out? What possessed Kalmbach to
>monkey around with a format that's been very successful for over 50
>years? What's the word on this "new-look" Trains (i.e. thumbs up or
>thumbs down)?
A friend and I were just discussing how boring "Trains" has become
over the last few years since long-time editor Morgan died. Neither
of us could quite put our fingers on it, but we were both losing
interest in it. Ingles remains in some other job title.
The editorial in the current issue says somewhat vague things, but
shorter articles and more newsy content seem to be among them. Sounds
like it might be more like the English "The Railway Magazine", if
you've seen that, but that's just my guess.
--Joe Brennan
Jon Roma
>If this is true, is J. David Ingles out? What possessed Kalmbach to
>monkey around with a format that's been very successful for over 50
>years? What's the word on this "new-look" Trains (i.e. thumbs up or
>thumbs down)?
The story I heard from a fairly reliable source is that Kalmbach management
was displeased with _Trains_ magazine's stagnant circulation numbers. While
long-time staffer J. David Ingles remains on the publication team as senior
editor, Kalmbach evidently felt the magazine had better potential for growth
in someone else's hands.
The personnel changes took place in late spring but were not announced to
the readership until the October issue of _Trains_ that hit the newsstands
early this month. The most sweeping format changes will take place with the
January, 1993 issue.
Joseph Brennan <bre...@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> Brennan) writes:
>A friend and I were just discussing how boring "Trains" has become
>over the last few years since long-time editor Morgan died. Neither
>of us could quite put our fingers on it, but we were both losing
>interest in it.
Yeah, I've had pretty much the same disappointing feelings about _Trains_
over the last few years. While the magazine remains interesting, it has
seldom been captivating. It's still a good magazine, but it's faded
a bit. I hate to sound corny but I think some of the magazine died with
Morgan.
Jason Paul Togyer <jt...@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>I hope that Trains hasn't changed too much. It has a long tradition as
>the Cadillac of railfan magazines. The high quality and familiar feel
>was one of the reasons that I recently renewed my subscription for
>another year, and Kalmbach just cashed the check!
_Trains_ is about the oldest railfan magazine around and is deservedly one
of the renowned names in the field. However, in my opinion it has failed
to keep up with the many fine new railroad magazines that have appeared in
the last few years. It's not a matter of _Trains_ losing quality but of
lagging behind the others. With the increased interest in railroading and
railfanning in recent years, _Trains_ shouldn't be losing its position as
``THE magazine of railroading'' to the many upstart railroad magazines now
available.
The fact of the matter is that, in many respects, _Trains_ is being blown
away by the competition. For example, compare the poor reproduction quality
of many of the photos in Trains when compared with some of the sharp
publications like _Railpace_ or _Passenger Train Journal_, to name just
two. Also, consider the timeliness of news items in these smaller
magazines as compared with the very dated news in _Trains_. IMHO, many of
the articles in _Trains_ lately have been either plain boring or seem to
lack the insight I've come to expect from _Trains_.
Despite these shortcomings, _Trains_ still has the broadest coverage of
railroading. I'm hoping the coming changes will retain this depth but
bring back some of the luster lost in the past few years.
--
Jon Roma
Computing and Communications Services Office,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Internet: ro...@uiuc.edu UUCP: uunet!uiucuxc!uiuc.edu!roma
Chuck Weinstock
This is a general followup to various articles about the editorial change at
Trains.
As a long-time fan of Trains, I would like to respond to some of the comments
that have been appearing about the recent editorial change.
First of all, you should all know that a reliable source informs me that J.
David Ingles was moved to Senior Editor in Spring, but at that time the
publisher had no candidate to replace him as Editor. Some weeks of looking
turned up no qualified and interested candidate. After the move was made,
Kevin Keefe applied and was ultimately selected.
Regarding graphics, etc: comparing the publication of Trains to the
publication of a more limited interest magazine such as Passenger Train
Journal is comparing a big corporation to a tiny operation. Trains must live
within the confines of the Kalmbach publishing empire. That means that they
are dependent on central services for publication whereas a small operation
such as PTJ is not. For instance, if the Kalmbach Art Department, through its
vendors, dictates photo reproduction quality company wide (and I'm not saying
it does) Trains has to abide by it. It is a truth that smaller companies can
usually be quicker on their feet.
Those of us who read the postal circulation statements published yearly in
magazines know that Trains' circulation is at an all time high. Although
Trains is a special interest magazine, magazines like Pacific Railroad News,
Passenger Train Journal, CTC Board, and Railpace are even more special
interest. Trains takes an industry-wide perspective. If you read between the
lines of Russ Larson's editorial, you'll see that they hope that Trains is
about to become even broader in its appeal in an attempt to attract those
interested in railroading beyond those who already read the magazine. The
other magazines have much more limited appeal (that is, to ''hard-core'' fans
who are i nterested in the specific subjects covered.) I bet if you add the
total circulation of Railfan & Railroad, and the four major specialty
magazines, and subtract duplicate readers, you still won't equal Trains'
circulation of around 100,000!
So continue to buy your PRN, CTC, Railpace, and even (yecch) PTJ. But realize
that you are a minority of "hard-core" railfans and that there are lots of
others out there who are not as hard-core but never-the-less are interested in
railroading. Trains appears to be hoping that it can attract additional ones
beyond the ones that they already have attracted.
Chuck Weinstock wein...@sei.cmu.edu
Software Engineering Institute (412) 268-7719
Carnegie Mellon University (412) 268-5758 (Fax)
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Tim Trebing
>
>The fact of the matter is that, in many respects, _Trains_ is being blown
>away by the competition. For example, compare the poor reproduction quality
>of many of the photos in Trains when compared with some of the sharp
>publications like _Railpace_ or _Passenger Train Journal_, to name just
>two. Also, consider the timeliness of news items in these smaller
>magazines as compared with the very dated news in _Trains_. IMHO, many of
>the articles in _Trains_ lately have been either plain boring or seem to
>lack the insight I've come to expect from _Trains_.
Personally, I think that as far as interesting and timely articles and
information, I find myself turning to Railfan & Railroad Magazine more and
more. R&R seems to have articles about major activities that I want to read
about (NRHS conventions, Special Rail Celebrations, etc.) quickly and very
in-depth. The magazine also has good articles that are not quite as timely,
such as a look at a particular aspect of railroading.
In addition, R&R has two sections that I check regularly, that being the
"Timetable" which lists upcoming special activites with addresses to write to
for more information, and "Railnews" a 2-3 page sections which covers late
breaking news, not so in depth, usually a picture and a paragraph or two on
each subject. However, if something happens in the world of railroads, that
is usually the first place that I see it.
o o o o o o o . . . ____________________________ ______=======_T____
o ______ |tre...@en.ecn.purdue.edu | | Computer and |
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