Eastern Railroad Discussion > 70 Years of Trains Magazine on DVD-ROM - Any good?

Is the 70 Years of Trains Magazine on DVD-ROM any good? 

Was was the journalistic format the same in the 1940s and 50s or did it change over time?

I am interested in articles about railroads and related topics that existed before the 1980s.


Thanks,

​PS: I also posted this in the Western Forum.

In a nutshell, yes, worth it...

Did the format change? Oh yes, David P. Morgan's penmenship is not seen these days...with all do respect to the current staff they have, you can't really replace what he did.

CG Tower

JoeBlow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is the 70 Years of Trains Magazine on DVD-ROM any
> good? 
>
> Was was the journalistic format the same in the
> 1940s and 50s or did it change over time?
>
> I am interested in articles about railroads and
> related topics that existed before the 1980s.
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> ​PS: I also posted this in the Western Forum.

As a resource, it is well worth it, and I'm glad I have it.  The format is kind of maddening to use though , and I found the search feature basically worthless, so it helps to know what issue you are looking for.  The page which shows all of the issue covers helps somewhat.  That all being said, I continue my quest to get every issue in hard copy, as I much prefer to have the real thing in my hands.  This mission was helped tremendously by another local rail ran that gave me over 100 back issues, some dating back to 1943 this past winter,  and the 143 back issues I bought from the Marion Union Station Museum last month.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/15 05:19 by junctiontower.

junctiontower Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As a resource, it is well worth it, and I'm
> glad I have it.  The format is kind of maddening
> to use though , and I found the search feature
> basically worthless, so it helps to know what
> issue you are looking for.  The page which shows
> all of the issue covers helps somewhat.  That all
> being said, I continue my quest to get every issue
> in hard copy, as I much prefer to have the real
> thing in my hands.  This mission was helped
> tremendously by another local rail ran that gave
> me over 100 back issues, some dating back to
> 1943 this past winter,  and the 143 back
> issues I bought from the Marion Union Station
> Museum last month.

Nice to see I wasn't the only one wanting to collect every print issue.  I had a substantial collection from the 70's & 80's that got taken out in a minor flood back in the 90's.  Anyway. over a period of about 3 years I collected every issue.  I recall paying $100 for the November 1940 issue and it is in excellent condition.  I bought a second issue of the same month/year for $75 on Ebay and sold it for $110 a few years ago.  I found the issuess I needed mostly on Ebay.  Some from the 60's aren't that great (minor rips/tears, some writing) so I am always looking.  But, I do have them all.  Seems to be a pre November 1940 issue out there I can't find that wasn't a public, or was a limited, release.

I'm with you as far as having a hard copy in my hands while reading them.  Personal preference I guess.  I bought the DVD also, but you are right, the format is maddening.

Good luck in your searching. 

In my case, the supplied propriatary Adobe reader stopped working when I updated a MacBook Pro from OSX ver. 9 (Mavericks) to OSX ver. 11 (El Capitan).  No fix offered by Trains nor Adobe.  And I'm not alone it seems.

daniel

You're not alone on the Mac and I don't think it will ever get fixed. Also while Windows users report still having luck using it, I think they'll be left behind also., There have already been updates to fix bugs.

I went with the All-Access on the MR site and get everything for $2.70 a month. Not a bad price. Just one less burger a month!

MyDepot mentionsa tgetting he All Access Pass for MR for $2.50 a month.... I had no idea what he meant by 'MR;.  Aha! Google said Model Railroader...Oh OK but I shouldn't have to resort to Google (esp on Mobile).


The Google link led to this info.:
http://www.kalmbach.com/mrafaq
Q : What is the Model Railroader All-Time Digital Archive?
A : MR All-Time Digital Archive is a complete, web-based collection of all issues from 1934 – present. Customers access the Archive via ModelRailroader.com.

Q : How is the Archive different from the 75-year DVD collection?
A : The Archive uses current, cloud-based technology and is available anytime.
A : The Archive is usable on any device with an Internet connection – Computer, smartphone, tablet etc.
A: The Archive includes an app that a customer can use to view issues offline. The app is available in the iTunes and Google Play stores.
A : The Archive is always up to date with the latest issue.

Q : Will Model Railroader release an update to the 75-year DVD?
A : No, due to technology concerns, Model Railroader will not release any 75-year DVD supplements.  

----------------
I winder if Trains & Classic Trains will move that way?

nydepot Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You're not alone on the Mac and I don't think it
> will ever get fixed. Also while Windows users
> report still having luck using it, I think they'll
> be left behind also., There have already been
> updates to fix bugs.
>
> I went with the All-Access on the MR site and get
> everything for $2.70 a month. Not a bad price.
> Just one less burger a month!

So, the question becomes, will they go with this format for Trains and Classic Trains magazines?  If so, when?
10 bucks or so a month for all three magazines, I'd gladly be in.

j. Regan

I infer the files on the DVD-ROM cannot be opened by the standard Adobe Acrobat product or by any other off-the-shelf PDF reader. Is this true?

ctillnc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I infer the files on the DVD-ROM cannot be opened
> by the standard Adobe Acrobat product or by any
> other off-the-shelf PDF reader. Is this true?

Yes.  PDF files are locked and cannot be opened without the embedded Adobe Reader included on the DVD.  Ford (and I'm sure other car makers that use Helm Inc. to publish their service manuals) does the same thing with their service manual data in electronic form. 

d.

Then what they're selling is basically a 5-year to 10-year license to read their magazines.

ctillnc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Then what they're selling is basically a 5-year to
> 10-year license to read their magazines.

In my case, not even 5 years. 

d.

CGTower Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In a nutshell, yes, worth it...
>
> Did the format change? Oh yes, David P. Morgan's
> penmenship is not seen these days...with all do
> respect to the current staff they have, you can't
> really replace what he did.
>
> CG Tower
>

I know for sure that Junctiontower and I " do respect " David P. Morgan's
pensmanship.
A good thread; and I'm glad to see you guys paying it forward.

Thanks

Mark

Fort Wayne

251F Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ctillnc Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I infer the files on the DVD-ROM cannot be
> opened
> > by the standard Adobe Acrobat product or by any
> > other off-the-shelf PDF reader. Is this true?
>
> Yes.  PDF files are locked and cannot be opened
> without the embedded Adobe Reader included on the
> DVD.  Ford (and I'm sure other car makers that
> use Helm Inc. to publish their service manuals)
> does the same thing with their service manual data
> in electronic form. 
>
> d.

The internet generally has solutions to these problems.

http://www.wikihow.com/Unlock-a-Secure-PDF-File

If the PDF files have actually been encrypted, none of those approaches will work unless you have the password that the files were encrypted with. Only a brute-force attack on the encryption would work, and that's infeasible for a single user assuming the password was sufficiently strong. You could try looking through the binary of the PDF executable on the DVD-ROM to find the key, but surely they weren't that stupid.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/15 08:22 by ctillnc.

mbrotzman Wrote:
>
> The internet generally has solutions to these
> problems.
>
> http://www.wikihow.com/Unlock-a-Secure-PDF-File

The first 2 suggestions assume the user has Adobe Acrobat Pro, a $370 proposition in the lastest form from Amazon.  The remainder seem like a lot fiddling using some sort of third party application and all the baggage that brings along.  Most appear to be Windows based.  Doesn't do a Mac user much good.

d.

If I may add to this conversation. I own a Mac pro and the BEST software that I have used is a program called 'Parallels". You can run just about ANY operating system on a Mac with an Intel processor. So, I can use this to read Windows based programs. Well worth the $59.95 price. My apologies for my discussion on a non-rail topic. Now, BACK TO THE TRAINS!!

I an running Windows 10 Pro on my computer. At first after the upgrade to Windows 10, I could not read the Trains DVD, but after I upgraded my Adobe Acrobat Reader to the newest Adobe Acrobat Reader DC version I am able to access the content on the Trains Magazine DVD. The upgrade is free on the Adobe website.

https://get.adobe.com/reader/

All the material written by David P. Morgan is magnificent. His magazine overflowed with contemporary history. Trains has been quite worthless since he left us. Although Don Phillips' column in this era is quite good.

PoconoFlyer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> All the material written by David P. Morgan is
> magnificent. His magazine overflowed with
> contemporary history. Trains has been quite
> worthless since he left us. Although Don Phillips'
> column in this era is quite good.

Many of DPM's and Dr Hastings' work was collected in a series of books over the years.  The Mohawk which refused to Abdicate, Steam over the Prairies. These and others regularly show up at train shows, etc