--- In STMFC@..., timboconnor@c... wrote:

I would love to have my complete collection of MR's Trains MM's and other
magazines on my hard-drive... Considering how much weight and shelf space
it costs me, I would be happy to pay $500 to $1000 to achieve it (we're talking
about over 2,000 magazines). Back in the 1960's my father tried to save space
by photocopying articles -- now I have about 200 lbs of photocopies too!! It
saves me a huge amount of time to be able to search my hard drive for data.
With the Google desktop being able to index PDF files, this would work wonders
for finding exactly what I need with fewer chances of mistakes or omissions. I
can scan pages myself but you can imagine how many hours it would take to
scan 100,000+ pages -- not to mention how many scanners I'd burn up in the
process.

And while we're at it, I'd sure like a complete set of Railway Ages, and National
Geographics, on disk.

Man, if I could get rid of the magazines I could add a whole new section to the
shelf layout!

Here's what I do - I search the old magazines for articles on freight cars that I think are
worth saving. BTW: many of those old articles are poorly researched, have drawings that
are riddled with errors, and their photo quality is marginal at best. I then throw away the
rest of the magazine. Why keep the ancient ads, the irrelevent editorials, and the articles
on building layouts on a 4x8-foot sheet of plywood??????? The amount of useless paper
goes way down in a hurry!!!!!

Note: I do not do that with the Railway Ages in my collection. It's not necessary.

Pat Wider