Have you ever checked out MRH?

[chuck geiger]

I get an email up-date from Model Railroad Hobbyist
once in a while. I think it's a pretty cool web site
and e-magazine. Wondered what the asshats
thought?

http://modelrailroadhobbyist.com

[conrail98]

It's regular reading for me when it comes out, which will be monthly starting in January. Lot's of good articles, I just wish they had a "mobile" version of the PDF so I could read it on the commute,

Phil

[lashedup]

I think Joe Fugate's contributions to model railroading have been great. He's done a lot of very nice stuff and the quality of his work is very good. MRH is likewise a great effort, but I honestly can't stand the PDF delivery method. Downloading a PDF is clunky, time consuming and really doesn't make a lot of sense for an Internet-style publication. I know they are trying to bridge the gap between print and web (both in delivery and layout and in advertising rate cards) with this style of delivery. It also provides a bridge for the long-term model railroaders out there that grew up on the magazines.

The thing is that Joe could make an outstanding online publication that gives a solid layout like a magazine combined with delivery, speed and accessibility of a typical website. Laying out MRH print-style is a lot of extra work, requires the reader to wait and download it, requires the right PDF reader and adds an extra layer that just isn't necessary.

Now that I've said that, I don't want to take anything away from the time, expense and great effort Joe and Co. put forth to put MRH together. It requires a buttload of work and those guys are doing a nice job with it. I hope they continue to expand, gain readership and revenues so they can continue to flush it out over time.

-jamie

[conrail98]

Jamie, there is an online reader as well, http://issuu.com/mr-hobbyist/docs/mrh-2010-nov-dec-ol?viewMode=presentation&mode=embed,

Phil

[chuck geiger]

I agree Fugate, Comstock and Kempenski are all top notch. Joe's SP
layout is one of the best layouts in the Country. I also love the
fact he must off pissed of Kalmbach, they haven't featured his layout
in Model Railroader (except a piece on his "mushroom concept").

They also need more N scale. BTW: Looks like they are monetizing
it well.

[JDouglasFisher]

Read it religiously (especially since the print rags aren't that great these days)

As for the PDF format, I think its convenient. I just plug in my thumb drive, download it from any computer anywhere, and when I get home, I can read it in my own time.

J,.

[Mr. G]

I love MRH.  The articles get me excited about the hobby in a way that MR hasn't in years.  I even find myself clicking on lots of the ads because the magazine is really good about getting me thinking about the hobby with a renewed enthusiasm.  It's great.  There are articles about design, construction, and most importantly, modern railroading.  Sure, the N scale coverage could be better, but they don't ignore it.  I never miss an issue.

[Brakie]

Seems to be a nice e-magazine but,I have no interest in reading it.

I'll stick with NSR,NS,MR,Trains,Classic Trains and Railfan-which by the way is enough magazine reading..

[wm3798]

I get it, down load and look at it when I can.  The main problem with it is that it doesn't carry over to my favorite reading venue... And even if I had a laptop and WiFi throughout the house, I wouldn't be able to use it for toilet paper when I'm done.  Terry Thompson's editorials were always very handy for that...

[DKS]

I get it, down load and look at it when I can.  The main problem with it is that it doesn't carry over to my favorite reading venue... And even if I had a laptop and WiFi throughout the house, I wouldn't be able to use it for toilet paper when I'm done.  Terry Thompson's editorials were always very handy for that...

This raises an interesting point about modeling information delivery. How do most modelers get their information? What are the pros and cons of the different media?

Myself, I feel PDF is the ugly stepchild of media formats. It has the look of print, but the immediacy and economy of an electronic format. The idea behind the PDF was to marry print and electronic formats for two purposes: printing and archiving. Actually reading from them "live" is awkward at best--computers were never designed for consuming large amounts of reading material. Magazines are probably consumed in a more linear style than electronic media, which is almost entirely non-linear. And most print articles are too long and involved for typical web topics, which are more like tidbits. So, how do we deliver full articles electronically? Create a format for the Kindle? How many modelers are going to spring for the cost of yet another media delivery mechanism?

[Dave V]

... I wouldn't be able to use it for toilet paper when I'm done.  Terry Thompson's editorials were always very handy for that...

LOL

[tom mann]

Terry Thompson's editorials were always very handy for that...

They all followed this formula:

<introduction:  "Welcome to this month's issue...">
<recap:  "In this issue, we have the following articles...">
<close:  "see you next month">

[Dave V]

Terry was all about buying choo choos and taking them out of the box.  Now that's moe-delling!!!

[Bob Bufkin]

Gotta admit I prefer paper reading but there are times that having a video on the computer explains things better than words and a photo. 

[Brakie]

Gotta admit I prefer paper reading but there are times that having a video on the computer explains things better than words and a photo. 

Indeed..I seen several how to videos that was very useful.

I still like the "Reality Reduced" videos.