What to do with old model railway magazines?

[BRX]

I've got about 50-70 model railway magazines from the 1990s that I don't have the space to keep... no takers on the local freecycle groups, doesn't look like they would sell on ebay - any suggestions as to anywhere they would be appreciated or are they destined for the recycling bin?

 

[Cowley]

I've got about 50-70 model railway magazines from the 1990s that I don't have the space to keep... no takers on the local freecycle groups, doesn't look like they would sell on ebay - any suggestions as to anywhere they would be appreciated or are they destined for the recycling bin?

I’ve just had a clear out and passed a load onto a friend who’s young son really loves looking at them.
Other than that I’d ask your local preserved railway if they want them or just recycle them if there’s no takers.

 

[BRX]

Other than that I’d ask your local preserved railway if they want them or just recycle them if there’s no takers.

Haven't really got one handy to me unfortunately!

 

[cav1975]

You could try this, but the magazines sell very slowly

http://magazineexchange.co.uk/cw/

 

[Cowley]

Bah. Let em go to the recycling.
The damn things just end up sitting there making you feel guilty. You’ve read them and enjoyed them at the time.
Let em go man. Let em go...

 

[Spartacus]

Unless you know a kid who’d enjoy looking at the pictures you really are best off recycling them. Railways being what they are collectors probably have their own already and preserved line bookshops are usually inundated with books nobody really wants (ironically obscure subject ones being more in demand than another dozen books about something popular like A4s), never mind magazines, though I know a few restoration groups with boxes of mags, but I reckon they’d go straight in the bin if they had anything better to take their place.

 

[plarailfan]

Best to give them to a charity shop and although they probably won't sell many in there themselves, the charity shops all have a network of organisations and traders that take their unsold goods to auctions, car boot sales and other outlets for low value items.

 

[PUFFINGBILLY]

I have two sources for passing on my railway & model railway magazines;
1. A young man with learning difficulties who works in the café of a garden centre that is linked to metal & woodwork workshops for young people with learning or mobility issues. He spotted me reading a model railway magazine & started to tell me about his mum who helps him with his Lego train set.
2. A patient at the hospice I volunteer at mentioned his 50 year old son suffering with dementia who is supremely skilled in the creation & running of a model railway in a shed. This is the home of my ex-Model Railway Journals that feature the best of fine scale modelling. The reaction of the sons father when I turned up with a couple of MRJ nearly had me in tears.
The above came about purely by chance so I take no credit, but perhaps there might be similar opportunities in your area. Please try rather than dump them.

 

[Solidsneek]

I was gonna say I'd take them off you dude!

 

[Ladder23]

Shame because there is many I’d love to see and read but simply can’t get old off - without getting ripped off!

 

[yorkie]

Sometimes people give them away at forum meets; at the York pub meet this week we were struggling to find homes for them all.

Preserved railways often sell them, as do some 2nd hand book shops (e.g. the one at Weymss Bay station; I was passing through recently but unable to get any as they weren't able to accept modern payment methods and I rarely carry cash)

 

[BRX]

I was gonna say I'd take them off you dude!

Shame because there is many I’d love to see and read but simply can’t get old off - without getting ripped off!

Anyone reading this who's interested in taking them off my hands - drop me a PM. They are still here.

 

[AnthonyRail]

Anyone reading this who's interested in taking them off my hands - drop me a PM. They are still here.

Where are you located

 

[BRX]

Where are you located

South London. But willing to post if not too expensive.

 

[Ladder23]

I never did check back on this! Still have many?

 

[BRX]

I never did check back on this! Still have many?

I do yes.

 

[Mike Hodgson]

I have dropped off some of mine at Weybourne on the North Norfolk Railway in the past, and last time I was at the Bluebell, they had a parcels van or two selling mags that had been donated. I dare say they would accept them if you are able to deliver them.

 

[raetiamann]

My prefered option is to remove the articles I want to retain, which are then filed away. The unwanted then goes into recycling. I reckon I keep ~5% of the magazines.

 

[Cowley]

My prefered option is to remove the articles I want to retain, which are then filed away. The unwanted then goes into recycling. I reckon I keep ~5% of the magazines.

That’s a really good idea. I keep the odd railway modelling magazine because it’s got a couple of pages on say, making realistic water, creating trees cheaply etc.
I might follow your lead and cut those articles out to file at some point though. Something to do of a winters evening...

 

[DJ_K666]

I'll be doing a scrapbook soon with all the articles I want to keep. Most of my Hornby magazines are at my mum's though. I'll do a separate one for the Operation Build It stuff though.

 

[BRX]

Still trying to get shot of these. Any takers (I'll post them to you)?

 

[Cowley]

Still trying to get shot of these. Any takers (I'll post them to you)?

It doesn’t look like there’s any takers @BRX.
My personal feeling is that things have probably moved on quite a bit since you bought those magazines.
They’d probably be worth an afternoon flicking through but after that you’d just have 60 odd magazines sitting around that you didn’t have room for?
I say this as someone that’s just got rid of a massive load of the things recently because I’ve realised that if I want to know anything I can probably just look it up online nowadays.

It did feel awful throwing loads of magazines that I’d enjoyed reading at the time into the recycling bin, but I just forced myself to do it in the end because staring at them was making me feel weirdly guilty for some reason, and at that point it all becomes a bit silly.

 

[BRX]

I expect you're right @Cowley .