New LEGO Train Magazine - A Proposal

[LoneBrickerSG]

Lego standards can be a pain the neck - its always out of any scale...

I think that means it is basically its own. Our biggest common denominator is 6-wide track (not to shake my nose at you narrow-gaugers). I'd argue that makes 'L-gauge" atleast applicable to design concepts commonly applied to scale model railroads.

Edited May 14, 2016 by LoneBrickerSG

[Cale]

Has anyone reached out to Joe Meno to see if he would be interested in one "Train!" article in each issue of BrickJournal?

Instead of us starting a whole new magazine, maybe we could tag along in an existing one, first. Baby steps, you know.

Yes. I've talked to Joe about this a while ago and he would be willing to run a regular train article in Brickjournal. He has previously stayed away from running too much train stuff so as not to step on the toes of RAILBRICKS.

Reboot it using the old name and change the format as needed. It's OK to make money. Do what you gotta do to provide a service people will enjoy. Make a full time business out of it like Joe Meno did if you can. Sell ads, charge for subscriptions, and pay authors and photographers for their contributions. If you need a copy editor I'd be happy to help out with that.

Personally I didn't download RailBricks regularly because I kept forgetting to check for new issues. I'd be happy to pay a reasonable fee to receive a print magazine, as I do with BrickJournal, but online only is probably more financially viable in this day and age.

Bill

The problem with rebooting and using the RAILBRICKS name boils down to ownership. Jeramy Spurgeon is one of the original creators, and is the owner of the RB name. Though he's not been active in the hobby for a few years he has had been happy and supportive with the RB name being carried on and used for the magazine in it's current, free, format. However transitioning to a for profit model, or profiting off RB in any way, raises issues. It is after all Jeramy's baby and he would not want to see his creation used for profit by some one else. Any new profit venture would need buy the rights to the RAILBRICKS name from Jeramy, if he would be willing to sell.

Cale

Edited May 17, 2016 by Cale

[Cale]

At the NMRA 2014 national train show the president of NMRA came over and complemented me on my very nice trains, thanked me (and by extension the other lego builders on display) for bringing our "toys" (his words... which is true... but no less toys than any of the other layouts at the show). I asked about making L-guage formal, to which he said NMRA is a liaison organization between he manufacturers and the modelers. Since there is only a single manufacturer it just does not make sense. In that regard he was probably right, there is little they could do for us that we do not already have (could you imagine the likes of TLG sitting down with Athearn, Walthers, etc.?). Especially since our manufacturer of choice probably is not interested in coming to that table.

RailBricks was great fun, but also took a lot of work to produce. The thing that I think really did us in was in the span of 3 years the contributors collectively had something like two dozen kids. Nothing gets in the way of playing with your toys like having to share your toys with some munchkin who has no appreciation for SNOT.

One of the things we really need is the focal point that was RailBricks.org I would really love a goto site that housed train only instructions, LDD files, and LDraw files. Toss in the various reference archives from ILTCO and new content. Probably curate it to keep the quality top notch (and spammers out)

Hey stranger! Good to have you roaming around these parts (and Mr. Ward as well). And with an excellent idea to boot.

After my own experiences, and the experiences of others similar to Benn's regarding NMRA, I am of the educated opinion that NMRA needs us a lot more than we need them. LEGO Trains are a gateway to the greater model train world, but NMRA members continue to dismiss it. Their aging membership is dwindling and desperately try to bring in the younger generation.

They should be embracing LEGO trains as a viable medium for model trains, a medium much more versatile, and uniquely reconfigurable, than "real" model trains. Get the kids hooked on LEGO Model training and maybe, just maybe, they'll branch out.

But they bring in LEGO trains as a way to bring children into the show, as if in the hope that when the kids see the "real" trains, they'll somehow be drawn away from the colorful plastic blocks. Yeah, right.

On the other side, what can NMRA offer us? We already have a solid communication channel, several in fact, with LEGO. There's no need for another liason. And our Bricks don't just come from train sets, so we really don't need LEGO to expand their train offerings to thirty different types of boxcars.

TBRR is blessed to have local NMRA members who recognize the value of LEGO trains in their future, the regional Texas folks actively lobby for us. But I just don't see any benefit. Sure it's nice to be recognized, but LEGO train builders have more in common with the 1/8th scale live steam modelers than any Z, N, HO, G, or other guage club.

--Tony

My experience with the NMRA is that they really just don't know what to make of us and our hobby. A few years ago I looked into trying to earn their Master Model Railroader achievement through my LEGO train modeling. http://www.nmra.org/master-model-railroader I met with several NMRA members and talked to them about the LEGO hobby. One of the big problems between our hobby and the NMRA is that the NMRA has developed a very exacting set of standards for scale model railroading. We on the other hand, even those of us who build larger than 6 wide and go all out on making authentic models, are not an exacting, and 100% true to scale hobby. The NMRA people I met with talked about over scale handrails (3mm tubing) on engines along with other scale discrepancies, and painting and weathering models. We LEGO builders don't care about those things, we know the scale of our model is off, we know the color may not be exact, and we don't want to dirty up our bricks with weathering. We know that we are playing with a toy, we accept that, and we have fun. For me, to try and turn a LEGO model into a 100% true to scale model would remove most of the LEGO spirit and go against the LEGO system of play. It would no longer be what many of us love about LEGO modeling. The NMRA has a hard time coming to grips with that because that is not why they are about. We probably have more in common with the National Toy Train Collectors Association than we do with the NMRA.

Cale

[Rotundus]

... For me, to try and turn a LEGO model into a 100% true to scale model would remove most of the LEGO spirit and go against the LEGO system of play. It would no longer be what many of us love about LEGO modeling. ...

Cale

Right on! Personally, if I wanted a perfect scale model I would have stuck with kit-bashing in HO. LEGO is an entirely different experience, with it's own set of challenges to overcome. That's what drew me to LEGO in the first place.

It was RailBricks Magazine (& the Emerald Night), that got me to look at LEGO as a serious modeling medium. We deserve that kind of a quality publication for our hobby. We hobbyists must face the fact that RB may never rise again. It sounds like there are more than enough hurdles for that not to happen. I think we should look beyond that and concentrate our efforts on having, and supporting, a flagship magazine to carry our L-gauge (and related scales) banner.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Rotundus

[xboxtravis7992]

Agreed, weathering and scale modeling is for my HO stuff; not my Lego!

[pirzyk]

Agreed, weathering and scale modeling is for my HO stuff; not my Lego!

Does it count if we build purposely with really old brick to get that dilapidated look? :)

[mjotrainbrain]

I think anything that keeps Railbricks going in some form or another is a great idea, and I am willing to support it by buying issues or whatever the case may be. It will just be very exciting to see some kind of a return.

[pirzyk]

Does anyone know why railbricks went dark and will the old content be available somewhere (else)? Or is the reason it is down related to this proposal?

[Russell844]

I fully support the idea of a new magazine and would subscribe pay or free, digital or print. I would volunteer wherever I could.

Russell

President, BayLTC

[zephyr1934]

Does anyone know why railbricks went dark and will the old content be available somewhere (else)? Or is the reason it is down related to this proposal?

Last I heard is that the required bandwidth to serve the demand had grown too large, combined with the need for a major overhaul of the site, and spammers that needed to be eradicated, etc.. Hopefully it is not gone for good as it remains an invaluable archive of great ideas. I think there is an interest to share the content if a viable new server arises. I do have copies of all of the editions, so at the very least if a potential new host arises for the content I could check to make sure there are no barriers to reposting the magazine issues elsewhere.

[pirzyk]

Last I heard is that the required bandwidth to serve the demand had grown too large, combined with the need for a major overhaul of the site, and spammers that needed to be eradicated, etc.. Hopefully it is not gone for good as it remains an invaluable archive of great ideas. I think there is an interest to share the content if a viable new server arises. I do have copies of all of the editions, so at the very least if a potential new host arises for the content I could check to make sure there are no barriers to reposting the magazine issues elsewhere.

I too have copies of the issues. It would be good to get the site back up or have a new site hosting some of the content. Wonder if we could get agreement/approval for a site like l-gauge.org.

Until then, we still have the wayback machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20160306175606/http://railbricks.com/magazine

[zephyr1934]

Until then, we still have the wayback machine: https://web.archive....ks.com/magazine

Holly pistons Batman! It's all there! I didn't know that the wayback also grabbed files but it looks like it did.

[jrathfon]

Got them ALL now! Was missing 2-3! Still having all the models as a reference would be great as well. Don't feel the need to necessarily download them all though.

[Prospector1]

The railbricks team produced an excellent magazine and I thank them for there efforts. I kept looking for issue 16 and until I came across this forum had no idea it was no more. I would pay for a dedicated brick rail magazine subscription, as long as it's reasonably priced here in Australia. It could have Lego train shows(from all over the world), upcoming as well as pictures from the event; reviews of Lego train related products released(genuine as well as 3rd party such as Big Bens wheels etc), including fixes to any problems and upgrades; MOC's with and without instructions, (including some from slightly less experienced builders, track and other Lego train part modifications; and maybe a short reader comment section- but not a full reply forum. Relevant advertising would be welcome to help keep subscription costs down.

[fred67]

Don't believe I've thrown my 2 cents here; Railbricks was quite good, very high quality, and much appreciated.  I would subscribe to a print magazine if it were available.  Life changes subtly over time, I find I'm more interested in trains, and less interested in other themes.  I set up my annual Christmas layout - the only one that I generally make during the year, and ran some trains I haven't run in over a decade on it, and really want to spend more time on "L-Gauge," which, for the record, would be a decent name for a magazine since other gauges have a similar magazines.

[mjotrainbrain]

So are there any updates to this, as in is a new magazine coming, or has any more thought at least been put into this?

[Fenestra]

Yeah I just downloaded all the old RailBricks and would love to see something similar!

[TaltosVT]

On 12/7/2016 at 0:34 PM, mjotrainbrain said:

So are there any updates to this, as in is a new magazine coming, or has any more thought at least been put into this?

There has been a lot of thought and analysis put into this.  I want to thank everyone for their comments and suggestions.

Unfortunately, even with the excitement shown here, there's not enough of a market for me to create a self-sustaining magazine given the costs and logistics, especially for world-wide printed distribution.  My wife and I also just had our fifth daughter (yeah, five girls), so my time is even more limited than it was.

There are some other ideas being thrown around, but they are not being driven by me, so I can't really speak to them in any detail, especially since they are just ideas at the moment.

This definitely shouldn't stop anyone else in the hobby from pursuing a similar idea if they have the time, passion and connections.  While I'd love to kick off a magazine again, it's just not possible for me at this time.

-Elroy (Former Editor of RAILBRICKS)

[Capparezza]

@TaltosVT RB magazine is awesome. Thanks a lot for all those inspirations, hints and instructions! I would have bought them all as print issues if I had not been in my Dark Ages back then

I'm wondering why to keep the idea of a printed magazine? I am just guessing, but I think a webzine would be sufficient for most of us. This would do away with a lot of additional costs you'd otherwise need to stem. The downside to this would be that you also need to keep the price down, as people are not willing to pay the full price for a digital product. But maybe this approach would be more feasable in economical terms?