What railway magazines are you interested in?

[es373]

So after some confusion, this is the final poll.

If you buy rail mags, which ones do you buy/show an interest in?


Technical industry railway magazines

General interest railway magazines

Heritage railway magazines

Railway modelling magazines



POLL IS MULTIPLE CHOICE!

 

[Temple Meads]

I just buy The Raillway Magazine, thats got everything I need to know

 

[yorkie]

I think I now prefer Todays Railways. This would come under "General interest".

Modern Railways is too rail-industry-oriented these days, IMO. However Informed Sources is good, if that was incorporated into Todays Railways, and take Barry Doe's ticketing articles from Rail and put them in Todays Railways too, then that would be the perfect combination for me.

 

[Greenback]

I also find the articles in Today's Railways interesting. Recently, there has been too much of a focus on politics in RAIL in my opinion. TR has become the sort of general interest magazine that RAIL was in the late 1990's and early 2000's.

I lost a lot of interest in Modern Railways when they became too technical and industry focused in the late 1990's. Losing Barry Doe didn't help them either!

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I think I now prefer Todays Railways. This would come under "General interest".

Modern Railways is too rail-industry-oriented these days, IMO. However Informed Sources is good, if that was incorporated into Todays Railways, and take Barry Doe's ticketing articles from Rail and put them in Todays Railways too, then that would be the perfect combination for me.

I'd go for that, all RAIL is now is HS2, HS2 and a bit more HS2. It's beginning to take the mick a bit; it's a big issue, for sure, but they go way to over the top. Barry Doe remains as good as ever though, but I do prefer TRUK's timetable review.

 

[Schnellzug]

Best of all is Today's Railways Europe, I think, which can be a real eye-opener, not least in revealing that the grass is not necessarily always Greener. For the UK, Railway Magazine covers most things, although there does seem to be a tendency for political Opinion to sneak in everywhere these days, which is, as others have remarked, why I gave up on RAIL long before HS2, when a good 40% of every issue was pages & pages of opinion from either Neither Harris, or Wolmar, or Barry Doe (who, while I'd agree that he can provide some useful information, I'm afraid is too keen to share his Opinions with us, whether we want to know them or not.)

Modern Railways, too, became so stuffed with acronyms and jargon and political satire that I got the feeling they were desperate to be invited onto Have I Got News For You.

 

[HST Power]

The only railway related magazines I read concern the modern era of the railway and the industrial developments surrounding it. I've never been interested in the steam railway; neither the freight division.

I fully agree with some of the posts in this thread concerning HS2. Its being milked, big time. To be honest, I wish they'd just go off and build the stupid thing, so long as they stop talking about it! There comes a time when the story is covered so much you just get fed up, and the continued debate over pros and cons becomes plain annoying. I passed that point a long time ago.

About 90% of the time I go for Modern Railways.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Modern Railways is the only railway magazine I subscribe to these days.

 

[matt]

I read the Railway Magazine which I subscribe to and Steam Railway which my Dad subscribes to.

 

[T163R]

I read and subscribe to Modern Railways.

 

[WestCoast]

I've never really found a rail magazine I've not been able to put down. I have a subscription to an aviation magazine, which I really like. I just haven't been able to find one like that for the railways. I occasionally buy Modern Railways, I am not sure why though!

Having said that, I must try Today's Railways.

Best of all is Today's Railways Europe, I think, which can be a real eye-opener, not least in revealing that the grass is not necessarily always Greener..

I must get hold of that, I've not seen that before! I have read a magazine called Bahn Extra, which covers mainland Europe, but I'd prefer something in English.

 

[AlterEgo]

I read Modern Railways, Rail, and Today's Railways, but I don't pay for them...

 

[ainsworth74]

Modern Railways and Rail for me. But I'm starting to reconsider Rail is does seem to be getting a bit bogged down by HS2 debate, might try Today's Railways and see what I think of that instead.

 

[NIMBUS]

The only one that I regularly read and subscribe to is "Modern Railways". For the past ten years or so I might read "The Railway Magazine", "Rail Express" or "Traction" in WH Smith's (but I don't go out of my way to do so). Other than that I download "Railway Herald" every week.

 

[jonesy3001]

the railway herald and tramway monthly and you can read them both online.

 

[Whistler40145]

I mainly read Railways Illustrated, occasionally I will read Today's Railways, Traction & RAIL.

 

[Bedpan]

I have bought (and kept) pretty well every issue of Railway Magazine since February 1964 - I did stop for a few months after steam finished in 1968 though. I always read Railway Herald, and if I want to buy anything extra its usually Today's Railways.

 

[WL113]

RAIL is far too political now. It is really NR's magazine, nothing like what it was in the 80s. Rail Enthusiast was a decent read.

 

[Greenback]

RAIl was certainly geared more towards enthusiasts in the 1980's. I think it went too far in the direction in around 1992-1993, until Nigel Harris took over as editor. I returned to it in 1998 when I found a good balance of articles for someone like myself with a more general interest in railways.

I still read RAIL, but I have found recently that there is too much coverage of HS2, plus also there is too much emphasis on news, which I have usually found ou tvia the web, and infrastructure which doesn't interest me so much.

In contrast, Today's Railways seems to provide longer and more interesting articles, along with good coverage of Irish and Northern Irish railway matters, which I really enjoy.

 

[Bill EWS]

I bought the Modern Railways magazine for many, many years but gave up after railway privatisation as it changed the magazine totally. I don't even glance through the pages in the newsagents now. Shame, it was a great railway magazine.

I don't buy any railway magazine today but enjoy the online weekly and monthly ones, though they do tend to spend a lot of time on the preserved railways, but then on the mainline, once you have seen one Class 66 or the proverbial plastic & aluminium E/DMU, you have seen them all. My interest tends to go to the changes to track, signaling stations etc.

 

[Greenback]

I bought the Modern Railways magazine for many, many years but gave up after railway privatisation as it changed the magazine totally. I don't even glance through the pages in the newsagents now. Shame, it was a great railway magazine.

I don't buy any railway magazine today but enjoy the online weekly and monthly ones, though they do tend to spend a lot of time on the preserved railways, but then on the mainline, once you have seen one Class 66 or the proverbial plastic & aluminium E/DMU, you have seen them all. My interest tends to go to the changes to track, signaling stations etc.

I agree. I have a collection of Modern Railways magazines from the 1980's and early 1990's, when it was the best magazine around in my opinion.

There has been a decline since 1996, but it does remain very good on technical issues thanks to Roger Ford.

 

[Buttsy]

Modern Railways and Traction are my 2.

 

[Rugd1022]

I usually buy British Railways Illustrated (aka 'BRILL', always something interesting to read and a good reference scourse of quality photos), GWR Journal, Model Railway Journal, Model Rail, occasionally Traction and Rail Express, often buy Steam World or Steam Railway.

 

[EM2]

I always buy Model Rail, Hornby Magazine and Railway Modeller. Gave up on British Railway Modelling about two years ago.
I'll flick through Model Railway Journal, Continental Modeller and Model Railroader and will buy them if there's something useful.
Tend to scan the covers of the prototype interest mags, but very very rarely buy them.

 

[tirphil]

Read Railnews when it gets delivered to the messroom. Don't bother with any others although if a cover story catches my attention whilst in a newsagents I may buy it.

 

[185]

I did used to read Rail religiously, as did many traincrew and railway staff, but my concern was due to 'lack of news' - a lot of stories were being repeated over and over again, and with them featuring advertising and hosting industry dinners for the train operating companies, the editor has become increasingly frightened of being seen to be critical of train companies, who are often up to no good, leaving them with a one-sided, biased publication.

The only one in there who still has my respect (despite me coming from a traincrew background, where many of us hate him due to the headaches he causes) is Barry S. Doe - who has genuinely not changed since the dawn of time.

The rest of the journalistic team are far to close to the train companies, and are becoming more and more like Railnews, which has lost touch with reality due to advertising revenue from Train Companies.

 

[Schnellzug]

I did used to read Rail religiously, as did many traincrew and railway staff, but my concern was due to 'lack of news' - a lot of stories were being repeated over and over again, and with them featuring advertising and hosting industry dinners for the train operating companies, the editor has become increasingly frightened of being seen to be critical of train companies, who are often up to no good, leaving them with a one-sided, biased publication.

The only one in there who still has my respect (despite me coming from a traincrew background, where many of us hate him due to the headaches he causes) is Barry S. Doe - who has genuinely not changed since the dawn of time.

The rest of the journalistic team are far to close to the train companies, and are becoming more and more like Railnews, which has lost touch with reality due to advertising revenue from Train Companies.

Oh, that's very true. I well remember the coverage of Virgin's 'Operation Princess' that was literally just promotional pieces for Virgin. One thing I remember, said "Passengers [to paraphrase slightly] squeezed into overcrowded Voyagers might look wistfully at the carriages in the sidings at Derby, but these slow moving relics of an earlier age have no place in the bright shiny Voyager future". Impartial?

 

[Greenback]

I share those feelings with 185 and Schnelzug. Many 'interviews' with senior figures in the industry are little more than press releases for whichever organisation they come from.

Dare I suggest that Mr Harris might have become a little stale after 16 or so years at the helm? He did a lot of good things at the beginning of his reign to turn around what had become a failing title. Having done so, he seems very concerned with promoting the rail industry at all costs, and does indeed seem scared to alienate people within the industry, or to leave the magazine open to criticism from them for being negative towards the rail establishment.

 

[ACE1888]

Currently buy each issue of RAIL EXPRESS, RAILWAYS ILLUSTRATED and Traction, Railway Magazine and Hornby Magazine for modelling, but not every issue for the last two.
Read RAIL/Rail 'Enthusiast' from the start (1981) for around 20 years, but then (for me) it went completely 'away' from the 'enthusiast' angle and became a 'Workers journal'...real shame as I thought it changed Railway press coverage for the better.

 

[Whistler40145]

I agree that RAIL is far too Political. I begin to wonder if that is why Pip Dunn left to form Railways Illustrated?