ABB125
Established Member
I have created a poll to see what magazines forum members read. Apologies if I have missed any off, if it's possible I will add more. You may choose more than one. Note that the poll is for regular, "news and features"-type magazines, so Modern Locomotives Illustrated doesn't count (and neither does Today's Railways Europe, because that's not about the UK).
Please comment on the magazines you read: why do you read a particular magazine? could it be improved? etc
I will start:
I read Today's Railways UK and Modern Railways, both of which I would recommend. I have attached some pictures of both for you to look at.
Modern Railways is aimed primarily at people who work in the railway industry (which is quite obvious from the adverts and regular features about industry conferences/trade events etc), but also has some interesting features for enthusiasts. Personally I think the formatting is a bit outdated and bland, and quite a few pages give the impression of being slightly "washed out" (an over-exposed image for those unfamiliar with the term), and some of the pictures they use are of rather poor quality, sometimes even blurry (although that may be printing issues). I also think that some of the writing is a bit too informal (such as the subtitle in picture 2 about the new EMR bi-modes: ..."more grunt on diesel than GWR and LNER"...).
However, they do have a lot of columnists who's articles (have I used the apostrophe correctly, or should it be "whose"?) are enjoyable and worth reading (although I will admit to glazing over slightly when Roger Ford starts writing about signalling procurement and similar gripping topics...). For readers who have an interest in GWR, LNER and Scotrail, you're in luck, as Modern Railways does too! (But I don't know why.)
Today's Railways is much more of an enthusiast's magazine, but it has the best news section that I'm aware of and beats Modern Railways on that. I much prefer the formatting, which has been subtly updated since Robert Pritchard became editor. Good quality paper, printing and photographs are notable. Feature articles are (almost always) informative and interesting, and there is good separation of fact and opinion. For example, in the latest edition there is an article about Northern's new trains, followed by a page of the author's opinion on them. As a Sheffield-based magazine, there is plenty of North-stuff inside.
The rolling stock news section is one of the best I know of; there's a heritage rail section (that seems to have news about every railway in the country except the GWSR), and a railtour section, so most enthusiasts' tastes' are covered.
Please comment on the magazines you read: why do you read a particular magazine? could it be improved? etc
I will start:
I read Today's Railways UK and Modern Railways, both of which I would recommend. I have attached some pictures of both for you to look at.
Modern Railways is aimed primarily at people who work in the railway industry (which is quite obvious from the adverts and regular features about industry conferences/trade events etc), but also has some interesting features for enthusiasts. Personally I think the formatting is a bit outdated and bland, and quite a few pages give the impression of being slightly "washed out" (an over-exposed image for those unfamiliar with the term), and some of the pictures they use are of rather poor quality, sometimes even blurry (although that may be printing issues). I also think that some of the writing is a bit too informal (such as the subtitle in picture 2 about the new EMR bi-modes: ..."more grunt on diesel than GWR and LNER"...).
However, they do have a lot of columnists who's articles (have I used the apostrophe correctly, or should it be "whose"?) are enjoyable and worth reading (although I will admit to glazing over slightly when Roger Ford starts writing about signalling procurement and similar gripping topics...). For readers who have an interest in GWR, LNER and Scotrail, you're in luck, as Modern Railways does too! (But I don't know why.)
Today's Railways is much more of an enthusiast's magazine, but it has the best news section that I'm aware of and beats Modern Railways on that. I much prefer the formatting, which has been subtly updated since Robert Pritchard became editor. Good quality paper, printing and photographs are notable. Feature articles are (almost always) informative and interesting, and there is good separation of fact and opinion. For example, in the latest edition there is an article about Northern's new trains, followed by a page of the author's opinion on them. As a Sheffield-based magazine, there is plenty of North-stuff inside.
The rolling stock news section is one of the best I know of; there's a heritage rail section (that seems to have news about every railway in the country except the GWSR), and a railtour section, so most enthusiasts' tastes' are covered.
