Trains Mag seems to be covering more industry news then ever before were it was mostly a railfan magazine. They seem to know that railfans are also older and have investment portfolios. I see Railway Age the most around the railroad shops and yards....But I must admit that Progressive Railroading is hard to find but when I do see it its in a MOW or enginnering office.
Some news is repeated; some news is covered differently; some information appears in one but not the others. I like to read all three.
Also, nothing wrong with railroad people also being railfans. It only occasionally interferes with work.
Yes all do a good job....But finding Prgressive Railroading can be hard. Used to be Case Western and all the major enginnering colleges had it and I could find a copy at the shop.....Its great to have a paper copy rather then electronic versions of the news...No batterys
Say What??
marc6850Say What??
He, she, or it is a spammer. They are selling stuff to cheat on tests, I think.
Actually, I find Trains to be a more honest source of news and analysis. Railway Age and Progressive Railroading a basically PR avenues for railroads and suppliers. Ther is no critical thinking or ever any criticism of teh industry, just fawning praise. But that is the function fo most trade publications, so it isn't surprising.
Convince your local library, community college & university to carry RAIL magazines & journals---
Set up a train layout at your local science centre or museum.
Get young people, students and laid off auto engineers exposed to RAILWAY TECHNOLOGY.
There is one sure-fire way to ensure that the local library, community college, or university carries rail publications. PAY ENOUGH TAXES THAT THEY CAN AFFORD TO SUBSCRIBE.
An alternative is to talk to the head librarian and offer to pay for a subscription, as I have done.
And a good alternative it is.
Don't the renewal forms we receive have a space to recommend "colleagues" for free subscriptions? What would happen if we recommended our local or educatiuonal library?
Don't the renewal forms we receive have a space to recommend "colleagues" for free subscriptions? What would happen if we recommended our local or educational library?
No one has appointed me either the defender or the critic for PR or RA, but I may have some light to shed on this discussion. First, the trade publications rely for advertising support on companies that supply the industry. If they publish stories that are too critical of the railroads, suppliers fear they will "get in trouble" with those railroads - customers. So, there always is a degree of dynamic tension between the publisher and editor over just how edgy the editorial product can be. After all, it doesn't matter how good your journalism is if you don't remain in business. That said, the editors of PR and RA, for the most part, do a decent job of covering the railroad industry. Sometimes they may be more subtle than some readers might like, but on the whole, they produce honest publications. Perhaps if their business model had them relying on subscription revenue for their income instead of supplier advertising, they would be a bit edgier in their coverage. But we subsribers do not pay the freight, so to speak, and what we get is the best that can be expected.
Trains sure must have changed in the last year or so. I found it to be little more than a collection of photographs of locomotives and trains, and so I let my subsciption lapse.
We also monitor the AASHTO (American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officers) and AAR Smart Briefs web sites. The AASHTO contains daily doses of the Federal Register's STB decisions.
JML
WBTRR