Model Railroader

It would probably be best to contact MR and ask them. Be prepared to send a few sample photos.

I personally don't bother to buy Great Model Railroads because it's way too expensive here in Canada for my tastes (around $10.00 + 1.50 tax).

From past issues and personal contacts, it seems that MR at times commissions photographers to shoot layouts for GMR, which usually have greater coverage than articles in MR. An issue of GMR I saw a few years ago featured many layouts photographed by Lou Sassi and a few other regular contributors whose names I cannot recall at this time.

Good luck!

Bob Boudreau Canada

Expect this in Novemeber!

Submission Guidelines - MODEL RAILROADER .... this should answer any questions you might have.

This may be true, Bob, but I get the impression that guys like Lou Sassi go out on their own, shoot a layout, then submit it for either an article or GMR.

I have a good friend whose layout was in GMR (Seth Puffer, "Puffer Bridge Lines," GMR 2002). He'd submitted an article about his layout and had it published in 1995 (May, I think) when Andy had requested articles about smaller layouts. They re-contacted him to do the GMR article.

-Gerry Leone

I met Lou several years ago at an NMRA/NER convention, and I believe he told me that MR was commissioning him to shoot layouts for them. A modeler in Ontario whom I know was visited by Lou to shoot his layout for GMR. He was told that Lou was in the area shooting other layouts as well. My friend's layout was supposed to appear in the next GMR, but didn't. It didn't make the next one and he was becoming frustrated, so he asked me if I'd shoot some photos for an article. It was a very large portable layout like a modular one, and he brought it to our area twice. I did shoot the layout, but wasn't happy with the results, as the photos were taken in the show arena after the event and weren't lighted well enough. Anyway his layout finally did appear in MR itself with Lou's photos not too long after, so he was finally pleased.

From what I recall, Lou Sassi is or was a carpenter whose work was seasonal, so he had lots of time to travel around for MR shooting layouts for them.

In another different line, I do know of a modeler who was paid by MR to assemble several FSM kits for reviews in MR. I don't know if they supplied the kits for free, but I imagine so.

Cheers,

Bob Boudreau Canada

"Railfan"

I thought he was a school bus driver.

-- Cheers Roger T.

of the Great Eastern Railway

Many years ago my room-mate at the time did some structure reviews for MR. The "payment" was they sent him TWO kits. One he built, did the review and returned the finished model to Kalmbach, the other was his to keep.

One I recall in particular he did was the Campbell "Seebolt & Sons".

Don

-- snipped-for-privacy@prodigy.net

snipped-for-privacy@yahoogroups.com moderator: snipped-for-privacy@yahoogroups.com co-moderator: snipped-for-privacy@Yahoogroups.com

I actually approached Jim Hediger about this myself. He told me that MR buys the kit, pays the modeler for his/her time to assemble the model, and then pays for the review itself. However, he also told me that they have a fairly closed "stable" of reviewers, and that they haven't done many structure reviews lately because so many cars and locos are coming out.