Trackside Magazine

How many people use their local library service? I’m with Kent and we get a free e magazine service through the press reader app. We get access to SR, HR, Railway mag, rail express, railways illustrated, model rail, BRM and Hornby mag all free of charge. Haven’t paid for any of them for years and I wouldn’t as I can read most of them in an hour.

Worth checking out as you’re already paying for the service if you pay council tax.

Trackside isn’t available but I have taken up a reasonably good value subscription online with them on another platform to give it a go. I think it’s going in the right direction but seems to suffer from premature headlines a la SR so we’ll see.

I’ve given up on paper copies as I realised how much paper I was putting into recycling whereas at least this way I can refer back when I need to without taking up space.

 

We all like cheap (or free!) stuff, but have you considered how much it costs to produce the content that you enjoy. If publications cannot make any money, then there will be no publication.

(Not having a dig at southyorkshireman, just making a general comment).

 

Actually yes I have. I imagine that that 1) the advertising revenue is a big part of it and 2) the libraries service must be paying something for it I don't imagine the publishers are giving it away. And a few of those titles I would happily live without if I had to pay for them...

 

The libraries pay for the service though, just as they used to in the days of paper magazines. If the publishers didn't consider the price paid worthwhile, they wouldn't go on the platform.

(Perusing a full suite of magazines in the WHSmith reading room, on the other hand ...)

Tom

 

Magazines are really struggling to survive at the moment it seems. I keep reading about titles that are closing down or have ceased publication over the last couple of years. Earlier this year one of the magazines that my Dad bought, Pro Cycling, closed down. It was a great, well produced Magazine but it seems that they couldn't survive on subscriptions alone as shop sales had fallen dramatically due to the pandemic.
At the weekend I discovered that our local Sainsburys supermarket had culled their extensive Magazine section down to about a quarter of it's previous size with most of the remaining titles being TV listings magazines. With many WHSmiths shops having already closed during the pandemic I can see things getting a lot worse for the Magazine publishing industry. Subscription rates have also shot up recently.

 

I hvent bought a copy of Railway Modeller for years, but bought one last week from New Street WHSmiths on the station and was stunned to find it was over 5 quid to buy!

 

Being both a Procyling and SR subscriber, in terms of quality of content during the pandemic I am rather surprised at which one bit the dust, albeit admittedly procycling was a good bit more expensive that SR (rather reflected in the paper used and quality of reproduction). I suspect niche magazines such as these were always going to struggle.

The supermarkets have stocked next to nothing for ages, albeit Cycling Weekly still seems to soldier on on the shelves.

 

A bit of thread drift but I am not sure how long Cycling Weekly will soldier on to be honest. We try to get this for my Dad each week but we haven't had much luck lately.
My Dad used to buy it in our local WHSmiths but since this closed last year we have had to try other places. The supply at Sainsburys is very erratic (one week it is there, the next it isn't and last week it's allocated position in the shelves had been removed completely in the magazine cull) so we tried to order it at our local newsagent but the magazine distribution company have never sent one issue to the newsagent and said that they had problems with delivery drivers. A bit of a bizarre excuse as everything else we have ordered there manages to arrive. When talking to the staff of the nearest WHSmiths about Cycling Weekly recently they told us they now only get two copies delivered to them a week and that is when it actually gets delivered to them. It doesn't sound like things are in a good way with CW and it's distributors at the moment.

 

New issue is out in shops now (pictured below) although I am still waiting for my subscription copy to arrive.
So far all of my TS magazines have arrived late and I wondered if anyone else on the forum has had the same experience as I received an email last week about problems with the delayed delivery of subscription issues which is apparently going to be sorted out from the next issue out in June.

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Yep, same for me.

Hope it pitches up before we go away next week !


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Yesterday I received an email from Trackside apologising for the delayed deliveries over the last few months, and informing me they were going to start using 1st class postage which they expect to improve delivery times.*

* Good luck with that as I expect our home post deliveries every 2-3 days instead of daily is not going to change any time soon. I rely on Royal Mail for the InterRail stuff and have never know such a bad year for post being delayed or going completely missing.

 

Most of my issues have arrived on the Saturday after its published, although I had one turn up a few weeks late at one point.

 

I get mine by email so received it a few days ago and have had a quick flick through it. Looks good, lots of articles and information. I never check when due and when received as I am glad to receive it anytime!

 

Mine has now arrived.


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My first subscription copy (June), turned up with Friday's post, I've also had the apology email about delivery suggesting first class from July.
Well produced, good selection of articles, only negative is whatever printing ink they are using doesn't smell very nice, suggest the binding resin is probably vegetable oil based, bit like bank notes. Good colours and probably good longer term stability, but not required in a magazine.

 

I have ordered individual copies of Trackside - these do take an ages to arrive. My June one has not yet turned up. I have rung to query this and the person I spoke to was very helpful. I feel that the problem is with the mail house that they are using. In my experience 2nd class post does not take weeks to arrive.

 

New issue (pictured below) is out according to the TS website. No sign of it in the post yet though.....

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Arrived this morning.

 

My copy also arrived today.

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