From the Dome Car: Train 3 Track 6 (November-December 1993)













Every now and then, Morgan used the Dome Car to vent. Like this time, when he once again vented about advertisers who didn’t pay their bills on time—or at all. Non-payment of invoices was a problem because he only published an issue when the previous issue was fully paid for. Since this led to lateness for subscribers, he wanted them to know where the blame for the tardiness lay. 

This policy illustrated a fact of life for Morgan: Publishing CRM never made him rich. For him, the magazine was certainly a way to make a living, but it was much more than that: It was a personal passion project and came from a sense of service to model railroaders in Canada. Since the non-payment of invoices led to tardy delivery of issues, he wanted to be up-front with readers about it. It might have also been a way to shame those who weren’t paying on time! 

It has always been one of the goals of CANADIAN RAILWAY MODELLER magazine to provide Canadian model train hobby shops and some book stores with a product that would appeal to their customers, both for its content and quality and to provide advertisers—at very reasonable rates—with a medium in which to market their products to a selective Canadian audience who want to know what is available and where they can purchase it. 

CRM has produced 18 issues to date. That's a lot of magazines for a small Canadian publishing house! Each issue takes hours of preparation and a dedication from many who feel it is a magazine worthy of their support. And it keeps showing up. But there are some serious problems. 

It is unacceptable that the failure by a number of our customers to remit their payment of invoices within a reasonable amount of time is occurring—some on a regular basis. It is causing unnecessary strain and delay on our ability to produce this magazine. It's been our public policy to state that the next issue doesn't get printed until the previous issue has been paid for in full. With that in mind, our readers will be happy to know that we have taken some serious steps to meet this challenge. 

We're blessed with the strength of every end purchaser of CANADIAN RAILWAY MODELLER magazine behind us. There aren't many magazines around that would dare bring this subject to a public forum, but, on behalf of our readers, I have the courage, the determination and the will to do whatever is necessary to bring each issue of CRM to a successful conclusion. Which really means working on the next issue! To those who do respect their commitments, we express our sincere thanks. It is through our strengths that we serve our readers. 

On to other news. It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of Wentworth D. Folkins, one of Canada's premier steam locomotive painting artists. Wentworth's life was dedicated to the brush and canvas, creating over 350 railroad and railway paintings as well as others relating to steamships and Great Lakes vessels. His locomotive paintings are among the finest produced in the world and many adorn the living rooms and offices of our readers, to be sure. His book, The Great Days of Canadian Steam, published by Hounslow Press and available through Heritage Art Editions, contains 50 of his finely detailed and technically accurate steam locomotive paintings. 

As a true Canadian historian, Went (as he was known) wrote a portion of the railway history of our country as seen through the eyes of an artist. I was very fortunate to have met him a few years ago and I know he will be missed by his friends, associates and his family. 

Now for some good news! With this issue we are announcing our first Subscription Sweepstakes Offer that will run until March 31, 1994. Together with a seven-issue subscription for the price of six, we have some great prizes along with a $150.00 Grand Prize for someone at any hobby shop listed in our Hobby Shop Directory in Train 3 Track 6 or Train 4 Track 1. Use the Official Subscription Sweepstakes Entry Form from this issue to subscribe or renew for one year (6 issues) on or before March 31, 1994 and receive a seventh issue as a bonus. 

And, in cooperation with H&D Hobby Distributing of Calgary, Alberta, we will award three great prizes that will help you become a better modeller. There is no purchase necessary to be eligible for prizes and only one entry per person please. Prize draws will be made from all entries received by Mr. Randy Nelson, Business Manager at our printer's firm, Kildonan Printing Ltd on March 31, 1994 at 2 p.m. Our sincere thanks to H&D Hobby Distributing for their participation in this event. Full details are printed in this issue of CRM. 

News Flash: We have discovered from our subscribers in the southern Ontario region that some received magazines with duplicate pages. If you received a copy of Train 3 Track 5 with an obvious page collation error, get back to us and we'll replace the issue immediately. It seems that an undetermined number of issues were machine collated incorrectly during the bindery process. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our readers. Store-bought copies are unaffected. 

Well folks, Debbie will be after me if I run this column much longer so we'll say so long for now and see you in the next issue. Hmm ... that's the first issue of our fourth year isn't it?


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From the Dome Car: Train 3 Track 1 (August-September 1992)

Image
  It’s sounding like a broken record by now: Morgan defending the tardiness of the magazine. Sure sounds like model railroaders had high expectations for getting CRM on time! Through it all, he manages to keep his cool, although I know the criticism weighed on him—he was doing his best at something he had never done before and with many things beyond his control. Like he said in the Dome Car below, it’s significant there’s any Canadian model railway magazine at all.   I've had some interesting mail lately outlining concerns regarding the type of letters we publish from our readers and about CRM publishing late.   To those few questioning our tardiness, I suggest they read some of our past editorials and letters on this matter of being 'behind'. In reality, we aren't behind. Prior to Train 1, Track 1, our Premier Issue, there wasn't a four-colour, glossy, Canadian content, model train magazine published exclusively for those that model Canadian roads! And, it...
Read more

From the Dome Car: Train 2 Track 3 (Sept.-Oct. 1991)

Image
This From the Dome Car begins on a sad note with the death of a friend who helped Morgan found the magazine. And a post office disruption caused headaches; for the entire time CRM was published, the post office was a source of many headaches — and one or two migraines! It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of a founding member of Canadian Railway Modeller magazine. Ron Ayers, who's exceptional skill and eye for both photographic detail and business practices, passed away on September 10, 1991 after a brief battle with cancer. Ron was instrumental in helping me from the initial planning stages of CRM and gave of his all while he had his health. I have vivid memories of the times we spent together, and the excitement we both felt during the early stages of developing the photographic aspect of the publication. Although Ron was not a modeller or a railfanner, he displayed a never-ending interest in CRM and was always available when things needed to be done or talk...
Read more

From the Dome Car: Train 2 Track 4 (Nov.-Dec. 1991)

Image
Morgan gives a shout out to manufacturers who are starting to bring out more Canadian models. He also reminds readers who are anxiously awaiting their next issue that publishing a magazine—almost single-handedly—is hard. There’s the first mention of the roster cards, which would become another product he produced. And he’s looking forward to attending train shows, something that was always a highlight for him. Maybe that's where some of you met him!   As another issue of CRM is distributed by Canada Post, the next one is being put together post haste! We've received a few telephone calls asking: "Where  is my latest copy of CRM?" Hold on folks, it's headed your way. We knew when we started the magazine that it wasn't going to be a 'cake walk' and the  vast majority of our readers, distributors and advertisers are very understanding—for which we are very grateful.   I read in the paper this morning that CN is going ahead with a new $150 million tunnel a...
Read more