What makes a good railway history periodical? Lots of photos, good writing, interesting subject matter, or is it something else? One of my weaknesses are railroad books and magazines, which I've amassed a large collection of over the years. Here are some of the standouts as far as periodicals.

1. First and Fastest - This is a publican of the Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. They really do a good job on a quarterly magazine devoted mainly to the electric railroads in the Chicago area. In addition to history, they do segments on preservation, and current events regarding the CTA, Metra, South Shore, etc.

2. Colorado Rail Annuals - While more books than anything else, the people at the Colorado Railroad Museum have done a good job in proving a forum for good history on the railroads of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West.

3. CERA Bulletins - Also more of books than anything else, but CERA, like the Colorado Railroad Museum above, provides a forum for books to be published. Besides being good reads, they are also handy reference material for information such as rosters.

4. Classic Trains - About 10 years ago, someone gave me a collection of Trains magazines from the 1950s and 1960s. I enjoyed reading these more than I did the modern version (apologies to JimWrinn). The editors of Classic Trains have done a good job of producing a modern magazine which focuses on various subjects of railroad history. While more directed toward general interest railroad readers, they cover a good swath of American railroad history. I also enjoy the occasional "Classics Today" feature which discusses a historical subject, such as mail by rail, in the modern world.

5. Journal of Railroad History - I think this is the name of the R&LHS publication. It's a good-quality publication that puts many stuffy academic journals on history to shame. While somewhat less fan-oriented, the subject matter tends to focus on subjects such as management, labor issues, and engineering. I've been a big fan of this publication for several years now.

6. Locomotive and Railway Publication - Alas, it has been quite some time since L&RP graced newsstands at your local hobby shop or museum. I stumbled across a bound, full set of the magazines at a book sale at the University of Louisville Library. Luckily, someone donated two full runs of the issue. Thankfully, RYPN picks up where this issue left off.

So, that's my list. Any other suggestions on good periodical-type railway history publications?

Although it ceased publication years ago, I would nominate Railroading (and its predecessors) by William S. Young as being among the best; it was an exceptionally well written magazine which I still enjoy reading, and it remains a useful reference. It is hard to find, but if you like steam, railroad history, short lines, and early tourist railroad news, it can't be beat.

Alan Maples

We were pretty proud of Locomotive & Railway Preservation. Though it was not without faults, most of the issues still look pretty classy. I would second anything put out by William S. Young for periodicals. For newsletters, Aaron Isaacs, of Minnesota Transportation Museum's (or its present name) Minnegazette is a hard writer/editor to beat. He also edits the ARM newsletter, and does very well.

Wilkinsd,

You have mentioned some good ones there.

Let me mention some of the museum publications that do a good job also.

For the electric side there is the Seashore Trolley Museum's Dispatch, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum's Trolley Fare and the Orange Empire Railway Museum's Gazette.

On the Steam side there is the Mid Continent Railway Museum's Gazette, the
Colorado Railroad Museum's Iron Horse News and the best with a lot of color is the Illinois Railway Museum's Rail and Wire. IRM is so large that the magazine covers both steam and electric topics quite well.

Ted Miles

Wilkinsd,

You have mentioned some good ones there.

Let me mention some of the museum publications that do a good job also.

For the electric side there is the Seashore Trolley Museum's Dispatch, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum's Trolley Fare and the Orange Empire Railway Museum's Gazette.

On the Steam side there is the Mid Continent Railway Museum's Gazette, the
Colorado Railroad Museum's Iron Horse News and the best with a lot of color is the Illinois Railway Museum's Rail and Wire. IRM is so large that the magazine covers both steam and electric topics quite well.

Ted Miles

New York Central System Historical Society "Central Headlight" for us NYCS fans. Full of history and wonderful photographs.

Thanks for the IRM plug, Ted. Decades ago I served a stint as editor where Rail & Wire was more of a mimeographed newsletter, and members still refer to it as 'the newsletter'. While it still cover topics on the Museum site, it has evolved into more of a magazine with a lot of photos and historical content, mainly relating to pieces in the collection, including structures. Yes, steam and electric, but also diesel, MOW equipment, and trolley coaches.

As a historical footnote I believe the title Rail & Wire was the company magazine for the TMER&T sytem in Wisconsin.

Bob Kutella

That was definitely my all time favorite Railway Preservation mag. "Eleanor P." was indeed a classy lady, and had some great info in every issue. A few of the articles seemed to stretch the definition of "railway preservation" a bit, but were interesting none the less.

One of the "is that really preservation" articles that comes to mind covered the Boeing LRV's and listed all the faults and problems with them. When I got done reading about problems with doors and motors and controllers etc etc, I was left wondering "What did work right on those cars? Maybe the seats?"

Far more useful to preservationists were real hands on articles on things like boilers and putting roofs on wood cars. Written by the folks who were actually doing that kind of work, the articles not only explained the concept and theory, they often had practical hands on advice on things like how to rebuild a tender. I've never seen that kind of info in print anywhere else, at least not on a regular basis. No longer having that resource available was a real loss. Yes, this place helps fill the gap, and the interaction is much better, but having the articles and photos was realy nice too.

I don't know if it could have ever made it financially or not, but the loss of it and Passenger Train Journal, another favorite of mine, still has me holding a bit of a grudge against the Pentrex folks. Why buy them both just to kill them off? But maybe I don't know the whole story...