An introduction to Trains.com for Model Railroader users, hosted by David Popp
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Welcome to Trains.com, the new home for Model Railroader online and for all the content we publish on model trains. In this video, Trains.com Executive Producer David Popp talks about how to log-in to the new Trains.com website so you can get the most out of a Model Railroader subscription AND what more MR readers will receive if they become Trains.com Unlimited members.
As always, if you have additional questions, feel free to send a note to: Questions@Trains.com
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It’s May now and this is still terrible.
Worst rollout of a website I have seen in all the years since the ARPANET become the internet!
“Steve Sweeney says:
April 19, 2021 at 2:27 pm
Hi, Everyone.
We’ve read your comments and have heard your concerns. There’s still work that needs to be done on Trains.com. We know that.”
Really? I hadn’t noticed what a disaster this is. It took me a week to figure out how ta access what I am entitled to through my MR plus Archive subscription. I still am having trouble with accessing what I have paid for with my MRVP subscription.
Since you have dumped Zinio, that means that I will not be able to access the last four issues of my current MR subscription if I decide to bail to RMC. NOT NICE, Kalmbach Publishing.
Not to mention that the first response to these questions and complaints to a MONTH to be published here (First question dated 3/18/21, ONLY response, partially quoted above dated 4//19/21.
One very frustrated and upset LONG time subscriber!!!
I am really rather tired of “you ” trying to get me to pay for what I used to get with a subscription. Don’t send my “stuff” or newsletters I can’t open with out having to have some sort of trains.com account. I don’t want one I am not interested in the other train stuff. It is getting to the point where after reading MRR for over sixty years, I am ready to drop it all the “stuff” and just go over to Model Railroad Craftsman.
Are you folks ok? In our area several have not received the current MR Issue and the next is almost due. Called customer service last week and they said they were sending a replacement which has not arrived yet. Have not moved in seven years.
Patience is wearing thin. Even the weekly newsletters that you send me are often blocked as I’m told that I’ve reached my limits for the month. I’m told that I need to sign in, but my name is at the top showing that I am signed in.
John
Hi, Everyone.
We’ve read your comments and have heard your concerns. There’s still work that needs to be done on Trains.com. We know that.
We are moving diligently to improve things and make sure our website offers the best experience possible to you — our loyal readers and viewers.
We ask for your continued patience during this time and that you look forward, as we do, to a vibrant Trains.com that will be unlike anything in the world of rail hobbies.
— The Eds.
The webpage is difficult to navigate and the information that I find interesting is hard to find. Moreover, even if I now pay for a subscription/membership, a “free trial” pops up all the time. This is a giant step backwards MR staff! I miss the tidy, informative and enjoyable MRV Plus.
After having subscribed to Trains.com for some weeks I must admit that I am very disappointed. The webpage is difficult to navigate and the information that I find interesting is hard to find. Moreover, even if I now pay for a subscription/membership, a “free trial” pops up all the time. This is a giant step backwards MR staff! I miss the tidy, informative and enjoyable MRV Plus.
Further, this site will not let me watch the videos to which I had access on MRVP. I get the “You have reached your 8 article limit” message on the first attempt.
Thoroughly confusing – new videos are apparently no longer posted to MRVP, and this (MR) site is hard to navigate. I do not understand the difference between “Subscribers” and “Members”, and it is not explained well anywhere.
I see no replies from Kalmbach on any of the comments above.
Frankly, this has not been handled well. This is a step backwards from the well-managed MRVP offering.
Best news Carstens Publishing has had in a very long time!
James White
I too am quite frustrated with this poorly designed and communicated change. I paid for both a print and digital subscription to MR, and now it appears I’m not going to get the remaining digital issues I’m owed unless I fork over more money for a Trains.com subscription. If that’s truly the case, please refund me for the digital issues you are not going to provide. It’s also frustrating that there are no answers on this “customer service” page. Quite disappointed in Kalmbach.
I totally agree with you and no feedback from Kalmbach customer service.
I too am disappointed with the new format. Nothing makes any sense. Why are the Cody’s Office and other instructional video segments together in one place? Now ALL of Kalmbach’s train oriented sites jumbled together when you search for just a specific item such as building a structure. What does an article on a full scale train have to do with that??? Guys, if you just wanted to charge more for the content, just say so. The old format was very organized and you could go directly to the information you needed instead of each episode scattered about the universe! If the other sites were losing subscribers, just adjust those sites. Don’t have the model train guys bail out the classic train users. Going from $2.99 a month to $6.99 a month would be a bargain, if only the content wasn’t as big of a mess as a blender full of Legos!!
I realize this goes in the recycle bin, but thanks for letting me give my two cents.
Jesse Brinson
Are you charging MR customers and making them change to Trains.com? I am only interested in the Model Railroader. If I wanted to get other magazines, I would order them. Does this mean you are making the Model Railroader “digital only” and changing the name of the site to Trains.com?? I may have to cancel after my current subscription expires. I like having my magazine and reading it while I hold it in my lap. Or, why couldn’t you make Model Railroader changing things up and making the BIG news? I don’t want Trains.com information mixed in with the Model Railroader information with a whole lot of real train information. That is not my interest. I just want model railroading information. Change it back! More workbench videos. More electronics videos. More scenery videos.
George Pendergraft
My experience has been that the entire site is rather fragile. You must clear your browsing history each time you seek. And, I still seem to get the error message: you have reached you 8 article limit, even though the webpage indicates I am signed in. David, I find the experience irritating. Regards, Andy Chandler
I have much the same questions as almost all the comments that have already been posted. I hope some answers come soon.
I still have a few months left on my MRVP subscriptions. Why is this not carried over to the new site. I see new videos that are normally MRVP but are locked…
I see a whole lot of questions above and absolutely no answers. These are all questions and comments I have too. It looks to me that Trains.com is not ready for prime time, and it also does not offer a good value. You are selling way too much sizzle and very little steak, more like poor-grade hamburger.
Does subscription to Trains.com means that I no longer pay for my MR (digital) and MRVP subscriptions?
My question too!
UPDATE TO EARLIER COMMENT
Never mind. We found the Workshop Webcam using the search tool.
Also the “Search…” text box is working. It just has a long response time after pressing the “Enter” key or using the mouse left click on the magnifying glass icon.
I subscribe to MR (plus archive & MRVP) and Trains. I have absolutely NO interest in Classic trains, tinplate or Garden railroads. On my browser I have bookmarked MR, MRVP and Trains for direct access. I want to keep that and not have to navigate from a Trains.com site. So far, I find the new Trains and MR websites confusing, filled with lots of pictures where I prefer just text & extra keystrokes needed to pull up a subject where previously I had direct access, e.g., MR Archives. Hopefully some of this will recede with more use, Initial reaction – a major step backward for the user, expected benefits for Kalmbach. A pox on your house (for now).
I need to add the following to my previous comment: I have been subscribing to MR (digital) and MRVP for a long time, and those subscriptions run for a while into the future (not sure how much longer–which is another issue). How would my existing subscriptions be rolled over into a new trains.com subscription?
I’ve subscribed to MR (digital version) and MVRP for several years, and that provides me with everything I need/want. What happens if I just stay with that?
If I do go for the new subscription, what is the extra cost over my existing MR + MRVP subscriptions?
It isn’t clear to me that I’ll be getting more than I’ve been getting. I used to subscribe to Trains magazine and Classic Trains magazine, but I discovered that I couldn’t keep up, so I dropped them.
I just signed up for MRVP how is this different? Are MRVP and trains.com different?
Why isn’t there a tab for me to re view my account? It would help me decide whether or not to ha ge my subscription
Oops – I mis-spelled his name! But when I search for “Westcott” I still get a mishmash. I just want to find articles, in MR only, that he wrote or was mentioned in. In other words, can you please provide the functionality that was in the old Digital Archives? Or if it there and I’m just not seeing it, some instructions?
I used the old archives to search for articles by author. I just got onto the new archives and can’t figure out how to search. Is there any kind of user help for this? There is a simple search box but when I put in “Wescott”, for example, it shows me stuff that’s not in MR at all, and also says “you have 5 views remaining” which I don’t understand since I’ve paid for the MR and the Digital Archive subscriptions.
Finally!! Signed up for my “free trial” (like I need it lol). Looking forward to the all-time digital archives for all 5 mags! 🙂
I am totally confused on what you are selling and how it all works. Tried your offer to access on-line web site to read Model Railroader. This was to be free, but app wanted to charge me? Called customer service for help and cost of trains.com. They could not answer my questions. While you are trying to digitize, the actual Model Railroader is getting less than 60 pages. Your competition is at 100, where you once were. Draw me a better picture of how and at what cost this all is.
I just paid $106 for all access and now I can’t access much without paying for another subscription !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m only interested in Model Railroader…………………What’s up with this ?????
Where does one find the Workshop Webcam?
Also the “Search…” text box doesn’t seem to be working. It just doesn’t respond to pressing the “Enter” key or using the mouse left click on the magnifying glass icon.
Is MRVP gone?