C W Burfle posted:... the cost of printing books with all those color plates was getting too expensive to continue publishing new guides. ...
I've heard this from other sources (outside of train publications) as well.
E-books or a subscriber-based web site database would be the way to go, at least for modern production stuff . Both could be easily revised and updated and would be easily searchable. Books are best left to pre-war, postwar, and out-of-business companies, as these are less likely to need revised and updated often (except for prices) if they are properly researched, compiled, and edited before publication. Online catalogs are OK, but they don't tell you what products actually made it to market and which were cancelled.
I think people into operating as opposed to collecting still want the information contained in these types of guides, but they want them for different reasons. Although I do a little collecting, I am mostly an operator, and I am always stumbling on modern production items that I haven't noticed before and that strike my fancy. A properly indexed guide would help in finding road names of interest and/or engines and rolling stock types of interest. Prices are not as much of a concern, but they can be helpful in cases where limited production and high demand might mean we would likely have to pay more for something we want.
Andy
