Those of you who have attended our meetups will know that for some time now we have been working on something new and special behind the scenes. Something that we’re now finally able to publicly launch – London Reconnections Magazine.
Nothing changes online
Before talking a bit more about what we’ve launched, I feel it’s important to make something very clear – nothing is changing about how we run the site. Our commitment to writing good, independent transport commentary, history and analysis online remains the same. As does our commitment to making everything available online for free.
For the last year, though, we have been working on a way to address a couple of potential challenges LR faces and we feel this is it.
Fit for the future
As all good transport planners know, it is important to look beyond the now to what risks your infrastructure faces in future. And right now LR has a rather large single point of failure – me.
That failure point exists because our commitment to keeping the site advert free means that all the associated costs of running it are currently shouldered by myself – everything from site and image hosting, to backup and security services, to image licensing, to research materials, and a whole bunch of other things.
As we’ve grown over the last nine years – there are now over one hundred thousand of you who read this site in an average month – those costs have also grown. They’ll also continue to grow, as our goal is to ensure that this site always presents its information in the most professional and accessible way possible, and to make sure it is backed up for future generations.
There are also “hidden” costs like web development which are locked up in my person, as I’m a web professional as well as a journalist.
None of those things are a problem for LR now. I’m immensely proud of what we have created here and remain as committed to LR today – if not more so – than when we launched. But if I were run over by a Routemaster tomorrow then LR might die too, and that cannot happen.
A way to support us and get something in return
And so the idea of LR Magazine was born. A way of enabling people to support this website financially whilst getting something in return.
Buy a subscription to LR magazine and not only will you help us build up a financial framework that’ll keep this site going from strength to strength, but you will also get an absolutely gorgeous, perfect bound magazine in return.
Indeed even if the print subscription is out of your price range, then you can subscribe to the DRM-free PDF digital version (print subscribers also get the digital version for free).
What you get
Published every other month, LR Magazine represents a combination of two types of content:
- “Best of the web” articles drawn from previous months or the archive.
- A number of timed exclusives – articles that have yet to appear on the site.
Those timed exclusives are our way of saying “thank you” for your support. They’ll never be articles that are time-sensitive, of course, as those should always run on the site as soon as they are ready. They will, however, be interesting.
This month, for example, we launch with an “Exit Interview” with Sir Peter Hendy, a history of roads and their relationship to the capital and a look at how TfL’s strategy on devolution is evolving.
All these articles will run on the site in September, in addition to our regular content – meaning we’ll be publishing more content, for free online going forward not less. But anyone who buys or subscribes will get to read them first.
It also, finally means that we have something to offer people and companies who don’t want to read articles like ours online. I asked our magazine designer to create a transport magazine that people would be happy to be caught reading on the Tube, or give to their friends or have in their office. As the images here (and in the shop) show, she has delivered this and more.
Oh, and if you’re a regular commentor and subscribe using the same email address under which you comment, you’ll also get a little star next to your name – a little bit silly, we know, but another small way for us to thank you for your support.
Sponsor an issue
It’s not just readers who can benefit from the magazine either. In each issue we’ll be offering a limited number of spaces for those whose products or roles is relevant to both transport in general and the contents of the issue in particular to advertise. This helps us cover things like distribution and keep the cover price as low as possible whilst not compromising on quality.
In this regard, our thanks go out to Transport for London, Crossrail and asset management specialists Gaist who have all supported us with Issue One. That such high profile organisations were keen to feature shows just how well thought of we are, and how highly they think of our readers. Anyone looking to be involved in future can email us at [email protected] for more information.
Opportunities to do more
The hope is that ultimately the magazine will do more than just cover existing costs. Some of you, who have met me in person, will have heard me talk about transport images I have found locked away in the archives of various image libraries. Images that are too niche for it to have been financially worthwhile for other sources to unlock, but which we would love to make public.
There are also, bizarre as it may sound, some companies and organisations that still won’t talk to us because they don’t see us as a serious source of information. Being in print will help open those doors.
There are other ideas we have too – lecture series we’d love to finance, for example, and a lot more. With enough support, we could do all that.
The journey continues
And so, LR continues to grow and, with your help, in a way that helps ensure a long and productive future. We’re enormously proud of what we do online, and are very excited about what we have now produced for print. If you like either of those things, we hope that you will subscribe – and indeed encourage friends, colleagues or even employers to subscribe where you feel it would be of interest to them.
Thank you, as always, for reading. Here’s to the next nine years and beyond!
John Bull
August, 2015.
Brilliant, informative website and a gorgeous looking magazine. Happy to support by buying Issue One!
Great, as a long time lurker, I’d subscribe if only to show my support/ appreciation, but the magazine looks like something I’d want anyrate. It looks great. Keep up the good work, it’s all much appreciated. Will hunt out debit card tomorrow.
Very exciting news! The magazine looks beautiful, and as a regular reader of the website I already know the content will be great. Only too happy to subscribe, and I wish you every success!
Hard copy ordered. Keep up the good work.
Now this is exciting news from my favourite site. Where did I put my debit card?
JB, I wish you every success in your new venture.
Great stuff team, I’ve bought my digital subscription and have the first PDF, looking forward to getting the special star.
Great stuff team, I’ve bought my digital subscription and have the first PDF, looking forward to getting the special star.
Working on it as we speak! Should hopefully have stars showing up for everyone from the next code update to the site (which will be Wednesday as things stand).
Oooooooooooohhhhhh
This comes as a wonderful idea, though I could comment that in some ways the ‘best’ of this site is the comments that flow from the wonderful articles (and the reminiscences of those with personal experience of the decision-making, practical implementation, and ‘coal face’ processes). I wish it great success.
I am sad that I cannot presently afford the £52, but I shall seek to do so at some point in the future.
This comes as a wonderful idea, though I could comment that in some ways the ‘best’ of this site is the comments that flow from the wonderful articles (and the reminiscences of those with personal experience of the decision-making, practical implementation, and ‘coal face’ processes).
I couldn’t agree more. One of the things we’re looking at is how to curate the “best” comments on articles, both on the site and to go in the magazine.
That’s the challenge I’ve set for our designer in issue two…
Very interesting – the magazine looks brilliant.. will definitely have to subscribe to that!
I really like that you asked for it to look like the sort of thing people would happily read on the tube etc.
I’d love to subscribe to the print version but the postage to Australia is unfortunately more than the cost of the subscription! I’ll have to be content with the digital version.
I’m also a long-time lurker. I spent some time working in railway signalling in the UK last decade (time flies…) and have found this site to be a great way to keep up with the transport news in London.
Have actually been thinking about the costs of running this site and happy to contribute towards same, is there an option to add postage to Australia? or will this be a bit complicated.
The option is there. The subscription is 40 pounds (sorry – Aussie keyboard) and the postage is 48 pounds!
Yes, we’re looking at ways to reduce shipping costs, particularly outside of Europe – as there are a surprising number of you Aussies out there reading! The main problem, of course, is that each issue has to be shipped individually which bumps up the cost.
One thing I will say is that if we find a way, we’ll provide a discount code for those of you who have bought a digital subscription already so that you can “upgrade,” so to speak.
Print subscription bought. When added to all the wonderful articles and insight I have read and gathered over the last nine years, this still represents fantastic value. I wish you all well and look forward to many years of happy reading and commenting ahead.
THC
And a quick follow-up – I’ve just “leafed” through the digital version and it looks absolutely fantastic. Really well done JB and all concerned. 🙂
THC
As one of the 100,000 odd followers of this site and occasionally comment I would like to express my appreciation for all your hard work. It is a fascinating site and I am delighted to subscribe to the magazine and have initiated a subscription this morning. Many thanks!
How odd, I was going to suggest a few weeks back whether the powers at be in LR were interested in producing a magazine, it looks fantastic, 100% buying the first issue.
Yea Alison I agree, I think Graham H needs his own “My life at Network SouthEast” column. 😉
sorry had not gone to checkout to find shipping ( dam braile screen) , have purchased a print subscription, if postage can be reduced no credit required just put towards costs. are subs already 1032?
When the London Connections blog closed down several years ago I was gutted, but then London Reconnections came along to fill the gap and has done a brilliant job since. Can’t wait for the mag ?
Great idea, and I hope that it delivers the results you wish for. I think that we are all quietly impressed by the very high standards that JB and the team have maintained, without much fuss and no bragging. Congratulations and hearty thanks. I have just bought a digital subscription, as I have had severe crises in the past with transport and other print magazines threatening to take over the house. So strictly digital from now on!
Like Fandroid I have restricted myself to a digital edition because of excessive magazine encroachment.
Lovely idea – keeps an old man very happy. My time in London is a long way away now but it is comforting to read about current goings on. Keep up the good work.
Subscribed! Looking forward to the first edition and some leisurely weekend reading.
Very happy to support LR – in common with Fandroid and Jim, digitally to avoid more transport-related dead trees cluttering the place up!
(Print version is reportedly in “full-colour American A4 format”; is that A4 or American A?)
(Print version is reportedly in “full-colour American A4 format”; is that A4 or American A?)
Thought I’d caught the references to that – where did you spot it?
Basically we’re US Letter.
Subscription purchased – happy to support the magazine after years of reading the interesting and free articles published on the website!
Yes, an “I recall when …” column by Lord Dawlish would indeed be superb ;-p
(re postage, is it still the case that by registering an ISSN you get a ‘printed paper rate’ for periodicals which is much cheaper postage? £12 for the UK also seemed very high at £2 per issue)
is it still the case that by registering an ISSN you get a ‘printed paper rate’ for periodicals which is much cheaper postage?
It’s something we’re looking into. Basically anything that can bring down the postage will only be a good thing, and if we manage to decrease it significantly we’ll do a renewal discount next year for those who were early adopters.
PDF excellent – looking forward to the print version. A railway magazine that looks like a London one – absolutely brilliant!
Oh wow. The description above doesn’t do it justice.
I have just subscribed to the soft copy as I have too many print railway magazines.
The article about New Johnston is alone almost worth the subscription. Many thanks.
1) Why don’t you just ask for donations?
2) Will I be able to buy the magazine at WHSmith? (I have some vouchers to use up…)
Thanks. Excellent magazine, clear, clean and engaging layout, and informative and interesting content as expected from reading the site.
One minor quibble. There seems to be a problem with the page headings (in the pdf with modification date 16/08/2015 22:35:17, size 38,817,357)
Pages 6 8 and 10 have the heading “A TYPEFACE FOR THE UNDERGROUND | ISSUE ONE” which is as expected, then page 12 – still in the same article – has a heading “THE END OF THE BEGINNING | ISSUE ZERO” which I guess is a leftover from a trial issue. Page 14 has both these headings superimposed and illegible, and pages 16 to 86 have the same heading as page 6.
This doesn’t spoil enjoyment of the mag, but you might want to fix it so that issue 2 doesn’t have a similar problem.
@Christian Schmidt
To answer:
1) As I suggested in the article, I really don’t like the donations route. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with it, and it was something we considered, I’m just happier offering a product when that’s an option. Seems more of a relationship between equals then.
2) Right now, no. Getting into WH Smiths, particularly at stations, is certainly a goal and one we spent a fair bit of effort trying to achieve before launch.
Without going into details, we talked to several distributors but it’s quite a risk-averse market at the moment and we weren’t willing to compromise on the design (there was a push for us to look like a “regular” rail magazine if we wanted shelf space at launch – i.e. big title at the top, train at a 45 degree angle on the cover, etc.).
So right now it’s an aspiration, rather than a reality. One we’ll keep working to try and achieve though.
@KeithB – Thanks. Good news is that the success (So far) means we can draft in a couple of extra copy-editors for Issue 2 to avoid tiny things like that.
(Also we’ll fix for the second print run. Anyone who thus has the typo will technically be getting a collectors item of sorts!)
I have (or think I have) subscribed to the dead tree version which I understand also includes access to the pdf version. I’ve seen nothing in my inbox to say how to access the latter. Am I missing something?
Also, it would be reassuring to know how to change from one version to another, or indeed how to unsubscribe, should the need arise. (Hopefully not for a long time!)
What a wonderful, beautiful product. You should be extremely proud. This may also be the kick up the arse I need; I really must find something to write about for you again, it’s been far too long.
You should get a download link on the confirmation page, and a follow up email. It may be caught in spam.
I’ll look you up behind the scenes and check for you.
In terms of renewals, subscriptions don’t automatically renew at the moment. We’ll prompt people automatically near their expiry with a renewal email.
In terms of switching between versions, an “upgrade” option for those on digital wishing to move to print is something we’re thinking about, but wanted to keep it all simple at launch.
I know I said that the NJ article was, on its own, worth the annual subscription, but the exit interview for Sir P was a prize bonus. I have had the privilege of hearing him speak to new graduate trainees of TfL over many years and you got nothing specially sanitised for the press. That’s the greatness of the man. He is in for a shock at NR where the culture is sooooooooo different from what Sir P and T O’T created in the early days of TfL/LU.
Glad you liked it 100andthirty. Spread the word!
And yes, Sir Peter was very generous with his time, which meant we could really dig into some topics – as well as head slightly off the beaten track.
Are you thinking of adding a PayPal payment option? Or are their costs too much to bear?
We’re currently using shopify to power the shop, as it seemed simplest for all concerned. We’ll look into Paypal as an option for you.
…And it should now be there for you.
Wow that’s fast! Thanks. And now a paper copy order. Cheers Al
I’m so happy for you guys, and for myself. To own such a beautifully crafted piece of work will be a joy when the first issue lands on my doorstep.
As a magazine person, I would be proud to have created this publication. It looks fantastic from a very quick skim through the PDF.
You know, you could’ve just asked for contributions and people would’ve stumped up the cash! I’m delighted to finally be able to give something back to the site. Bravo.
Another regular lurker and occasional commenter signed up here. As a lover of pretty, shiny things I have gone for the hard copy subscription, at least for the first year! Looks like a coffee table magazine that will actually be worth reading as well as looking at!
”Will I be able to buy the magazine at WHSmith? (I have some vouchers to use up…)”
I would steer clear of WH Smith, they helped to kill off an excellent magazine, Railways South East. I heard that their reason was that the cover price was going to be too high.
Oh goodness. You’ve made my day. What a fantastic idea and great first issue. I think, hope, you’re really on to something.
Print subscription ordered. Now I can proudly wave a copy at my family instead of talking about “the transport blog I read”.
I hope there will be a bumper Christmas Quiz in the relevant issue!
Been reading this since it was London Reconnections, and I always get a lot out of it. Even for the sometimes labyrinthine comment threads! Consider me subscribed. Keep up the good work.
Another ‘long term lurker’ (now ‘first time poster’) looking forward to the magazine arriving. I’ve always been impressed by the breadth and quality of all the articles (and comments!) you publish, so I’m glad you’ve found a way to keep it going. Thank you.
At this rate of success, perhaps we can expect trebles all round at our next pub meet-up?
The magazine is brilliant and all readers will doubtless recommend it to their friends and maybe even their enemies.
Great news and the design of the magazine looks fantastic – so much better than the unimaginative 45-degree-picture-of-a-train that the unimaginative newsagents want. Other sales points to investigate might be the London Transport Museum shop, Stanfords, and similar specialist shops with a London/transport focus?
I’ll subscribe based on three conditions:
(a) Publication of PoP’s article about Borough Market Junction and Guy’s.
(b) Serialization of Graham H’s memoirs.
(c) Names of the transport organizations that have been snotty to you because you just run a blog.
Looks awesome. Congratulations, especially on the design.
I’ll be subscribing as soon as my finances permit.
It was the fresh graphic design and layout that prompted me to go for the print edition (sorry, trees). I entirely endorse Ian J’s remarks about the tired presentation* of so many other rail periodicals.
*and contractor-sponsored items masquerading as news reporting…
On the WH Smith thing: don’t. It’s really not worth the headaches.
Many trade magazines manage just fine under the subscription-only model, and this ensures you retain full editorial freedom over both design and content.
I’ve subscribed, the second I saw the blog piece.
Having seen a preview part-copy on Thursday, I’m impressed by the very clear layout & presentation – a huge contrast to many other publications, of any sort.
A thought, has anyone else here come across the work of Edward Tufte on “presentation” generally?
I also wondered about the cost, but see “John Bull’s” comments, however. But, I then realised that an existing subscription to a well-loved historical periodical is coming to an end:
“Railway Archive” published by BDL is closing its doors this December …..
As a long term lurker, I shall definitely be subscribing. Keep up the good work!
The pdf looks great, but I´m sure the real thing will be even better!
I subscribed to the printed edition as soon as I got the news… in fact before realizing the current exchange rate. But I´m sure the mag will be worth every krona!
As others have already commented, the shipping cost is rather high. I think there is room for creative reductions in the future.
Am a big fan of some of Tufte’s writings.
Indeed we’ve wrapped some of his principles into the design here, but I did think about going further on the site at one point and doing something like this.
I always knew the time for this would come at some point. I shall be subscribing in due course.
Best of luck!
@John Bull:
Thanks for that link. It’s a very good read. (As is Tufte’s own site.)
[Not very funny, unoriginal jokes removed. PoP]
Brilliant news. Have decided to change my nom de plume in celebration.
I used to write for a once popular magazine in the past, but that seems such a distant memory, I don’t think I have bought words on paper for over a decade.
Therefore I will be most happy to help out paying for this wonderful website with the digital subscription!
Subscription bought! As a long time reader and lurker I’m really pleased to be able to support your excellent work. Just a little suggestion:
The print subscriptions landing page doesn’t make it super clear that £40 is for a 12 month subscription: At first look I read it as £40 per addition (a little steep…)
You might do well to make it very clear everywhere what excellent value your £40 gets you.
For various reasons I’ve not commented for some time but I’ve still been reading LR every day. Delighted to add my subscription to all the others. Well done to everyone involved.
For various reasons I am struggling to download the digital version at present. Is there a site that I can go to to ‘log on’ and retrieve it , even if I’ve accidentally lost the confirmation email! ( I am at the other extreme of IT competence!)
I wish I’d been at that meeting!
Congratulations on the product launch, just about to buy edition 1. I’ve really enjoyed the last year since I discovered LR. In line with AlsionW’s comment it will be great to incorporate the comments in some way. For me, if the well-written articles are the bait, then the comments beneath are definitely the hook.
Congratulations on the launch of the magazine and I wish it and all concerned well. I would love the opportunity to buy the occasional hard copy edition as I don’t ever subscribe to any reading matter.
John Bull: http://shop.londonreconnections.com/products/print-subscription for the “American A4” reference.
Excellent development! Congratulations to the team. Subscribed and looks good so far
Is it sad of me that I let out a little Squee when I read this…
Subscription as soon as my good lady wife allows!
First impressions — love the content, high quality as ever. Just a shame the typesetting and layout are a bit off-putting. Certainly not enough to prevent my enjoyment, but enough for me to notice and make the whole thing seem a little amateurish I’m afraid.
Things in particular I’ve noticed:
* The strange enlarged (and occasionally italic) style you use for certain paragraphs sometimes looks too much like the quotes drawn out of the main article you generally find in other magazines, and so I tended to subconsciously skip them before realising the following paragraph didn’t make any sense without that as context.
* I don’t know if this is your fault or not, but the URL “www.crossrail.co.uk” is offset from the black space left for it on the advert on page 30
* Some articles (I noticed this in the ones written for this magazine more than the recycled ones) use hyphens instead of dashes (eg page 66 after “red lines”). This makes me sad.
* One or two of the quotes in the Peter Hendy interview were hard to read because they weren’t well-punctuated (missing commas usually where I’d normally expect to see one). Many of the smart quotes were incorrect (a “66” is used at the end of “Absolutely!” on page 86 for instance, and a “9” starts ‘Here’s a list of what we can do today’ on page 81 (this quote also includes a load of hyphens instead of dashes. Also, the single-quoted section isn’t closed, though perhaps that’s just a stylistic thing I’m unfamiliar with).
Apologies if this sounds like nit-picking, I suppose it is. It’s just that it’s a shame to be continually distracted from the excellent (as usual!) content, and it’d really make the magazine look more professional if this sort of thing weren’t as noticeable, at least to me.
(I just find the whole thing ironic when there’s an article all about typefaces!)
All feedback taken in the spirit intended, Muzer, so many thanks.
On the design side, it’s always a pendulum and we fully intend to continue evolving it in order to find the best balance between visuals and readability.
With regards to text, one of the issues we were aware of going into this was that until know our content has been tailored exclusively for the web. This involves different rules on style than print.
To limited extent, we wanted – and were able to rewrite – the content for print, but we definitely want to go further with that in issue two and beyond.
To that end now that we’ve launched, and that the launch has gone well, we’ll be bringing on board a couple of readers who have volunteered their professional copy editing skills for issue two onwards.
That will allow us to put everything through what is effectively a full translation process to the medium going forward.
@Muzer
Thanks for the inspiration to look up the difference between hyphens and dashes – and to find out how to produce the latter using a standard keyboard which only has a hyphen key. Alt key characters are an anatomical pain but useful.
Anyone else interested will find this site http://www.dashhyphen.com/ helpful.
Any text on a coloured or black background is difficult for me to read, and I regard it as nothing more than a gimmick.
The small amount of text per page (in the sample images above) also smacks of gimmickry dressed up as ‘style’.
As for awarding a star for subscribing, well I was last given a star at prep school about 60 years ago – what a nonsense. It may well deter postings to the blog by those who don’t wish to stand out as non-members of the clique.
No surprise that I shall not be subscribing.
Hello Dave,
Sorry you feel that way – and obviously you are perfectly entitled to do so. This is why we wanted to keep the site free, and why we will still publish all content, for free, to it, so that if you do still chose to read then you will not have a lesser experience than everyone else.
All the best,
JB
Dave Russell
As I read it the * is for making a significant contribution.
Could encourage the occasional person to contribute for reasons other than having something to say. Unlikely to have a significant effect.
@Dave Russell – it’s a matter of taste, isn’t it? Some of us may regret the passing of letter press with pictures nicely squared and standard margins (eg the Railway Magazine c<1960) which gave a comforting air of authority, in the same way as we may regret the Times putting news on its front page, but I don't see us going back there any time soon…. BTW,your prep school was obviously more politically correct than mine – in the '50s. good peformance was rewarded by a sticker of, err, a golliwog….(I believe these were cheap and given away with a brand of marmalade)
Lurker who’s commenting for the first time mainly just to say “Congratulations” on this new development. I have bought the first issue and plan to subscribe from issue 2. One point which is a niggle rather than anything else, but worth saying: It’s a bit cheeky not to display the postage costs until you are on the verge of checking out. You should either make the sub all-inclusive (just call it £52, this seems pretty standard practice) or at least list the various postage rates somewhere on the FAQ page.
On a separate point, I understand the reluctance to deal with big distributors so you can stock in WHSmith. But the effort to approach one or two of the bigger and/or more independent-minded bookshops in London (who stock plenty of periodicals) like Foyles or Daunt may repay you. Over the years I have found plenty of small independent mags in those places which suggests to me that the managers have some licence to stock things that land on their desk even if they are part of a larger chain.
That all said, I’m very excited to receive the issue. Onwards and upwards.
I have been a loyal reader of this site (and its predecessor without the RE) for a couple of years. Never left a comment before but I have just put down a print subscription order. In my view, this has collectible value in its own merit.
I too have subscribed. If you haven’t done so already it may be worth forwarding links to the appropriate departments of the many different transport companies that might broaden your readership. LOROL for example has an in house newsletter available to all employees in print or via email. They often link to other websites or articles and I think you chose to contact those companies as particularly relevant articles came up you might get a strong take up from people who have never even come across your website.
Many drivers for example who have been affected by the works associated with London Bridge and the Bermondsey Diveunder would have really appreciated your recent article on that. I am sure that stories such as those might be referenced in company magazines or newsletters, with the editor being encouraged to add something like “if you are interested in related articles visit London Recollections at http://www…. or consider subscribing to print or e-versions of their magazine at http://www...
@Dave Russell: Alas, such is the way of the world that some things end up becoming too good to stay free…
@Xiaofan Li – not just collectable merit, but leaving the LR “product” in a permanent form is an excellent idea; with material in solely digital form, the risk is that it becomes irrecoverable within a generation – who now has the facilities to read punched card or tape?
Like many others I’m a reader not a poster; the knowledge of the writers is of course impressive, but hardly surprising, but it is the knowledge of the posters that is almost intimidating to the true transport layman . Indeed the comments section sometimes resembles a learned SCR conversation that I feel lucky to eavesdrop. I always did wonder about the financial model and I hope that the new venture will secure the future. Dave Russell did make me smile; one does have to be careful that the wrapping doesn’t obscure the content but I don’t see any risk of that here. Anyway I’m happy to go with a print subscription. Congratulations.
You should either make the sub all-inclusive (just call it £52, this seems pretty standard practice) or at least list the various postage rates somewhere on the FAQ page.
A fair point. Main reason we didn’t wrap it in was because shipping varies based on location. I suppose what we could do is wrap it in and then offer “free” UK shipping with a surcharge for europe or beyond. Will have a think.
At the very least you’re right – we should add it to the FAQ
‘ On a separate point, I understand the reluctance to deal with big distributors so you can stock in WHSmith. But the effort to approach one or two of the bigger and/or more independent-minded bookshops in London (who stock plenty of periodicals) like Foyles or Daunt may repay you.’
It’s at times like these when Motor Books would be useful, it’s where I discovered ‘London Railway Record’.
@Anonymous – 16:02: I am just an ignorant laywoman, but it doesn’t stop me from chucking in my twopence worth on the various subjects. I am genuinely interested in our transport and don’t have the arcane knowledge of some.
@Graham H I’m intrigued, do you mean to say that there was a time when The Times didn’t have news on the front page? What did it have instead? I tried a quick Google but it was hard to find the correct search terms.
Muzer: The ‘proper’ Times had advertising covering the front page – what today might be termed “small ads”. They included such things as seeking people to go on expeditions up the Midland Railway … er, to foreign ‘here be dragons’ climes ;-p
According to Wikipedia, “On 3 May 1966 it [The Times] resumed printing news on the front page – previously the front page featured small advertisements, usually of interest to the moneyed classes in British society.
The article doesn’t seem to indicate how long the small-ad phase had lasted, but I think it was substantial.
This is, of course, somewhat off-topic!
Great idea. I have subscribed but will await the hard copy as I spend too long staring at screens.
I assume the Ian Allen shops will stock ?
Ian Allan had occurred to me. Whilst they have only the three shops the are the objects of great pilgrimages by the dedicated. There greatest difficulty is their traditional opening hours which prevent many from accessing their treasures unless they can make special travel arrangements. Of course nowadays the ubiquitous web provides an alternative for those who both know what they want and are willing to buy without first seeing and handling.
excellent! thanks for adding the paypal option, so now i’m a subscriber! well done everyone involved. now wheres that star……..
Interesting discussion on the World Service tonight about the future of physical publishing being in specialist high quality magazines only…
Excellent idea – able to give our support and get a brilliant magazine. I think we get the better side of the deal!
Can’t really justify the print copy at the moment. Wish I could. Have, of course, subscribed to the digital edition though. It’s just plain awesome. Excellent quality, both content and style.
Could you sell your services to the IET for E&T Magazine ?? Please. Pretty please. It’s all that’s bad in style and the content’s mostly dire too.
I think I’m sufferig a “senior moment” – I was certain I’d got a download-copy, almost as soon as I looked at the original on-line article.
What’s it called, so I can search for it, again?
I think this is a great venture and I hope it goes well. Happy to support given the high quality LR offers, even though I can only justify the non-print copy. That said, I am sure that the printed one looks awesome
I may have missed the arrangements, if any, for commenting on the magazine articles and if so, apologies. I enjoyed rereading the taxi article and felt the urge to comment. So I have done so on the original LR website article. Hope that is OK.
Amazing news! I have been lurking for quite a while now, but this seems the perfect time to come out of the woodwork. Subscribing as soon as I’m home!
Indeed, for comments on a magazine article which has already appeared as a website article, the obvious best place is where 100andthirty put his comment, i.e. against the original website article.
Comments on a not-yet-websited magazine article (e.g. the Peter Hendy interview): it is less clear where they should go. Here, I tentatively suppose, pro tem, but PoP or John Bull may have a different idea, in which case please disregard what I just said!
@Malcolm – did you have to invent the verb “to website”?
@GH
I’m sure the verb ‘to websit’ would be OK – isn’t that what Malcolm and others do, while moderating us? The past tense of that, I guess, would be websited, but possibly not in the sense that Malcolm meant originally, above! Perhaps it would only become websited at the point of being moderated…
Graham – no, I just verbed the noun.
@Malcolm – thus malcolmising it. And there was I thinking that moderators had (group) standards
I was order 12001350 – does that mean 1350 subscribers so far? At £ 40 / 15 a piece not a bad first few days trading.
Less good news: my confirmation email didn’t include a link to the digital subscription, and I now can’t see any other way to get to it. Any suggestions?
@1C, or ought I to address you as “Hey 1C”? (see below), when I subscribed to the print edition, which includes the digital version, you may recognise this part of the message from delivery@shopify dot com, which was included:
“Hey Graham Feakins [clearly the art has been lost of correct address as in “Dear Sir or Madam”],
Thank you for your purchase! Here are your downloads:
Print Subscription (Includes free digital issues) LR_DD_1.pdeef Download Link: http://shop.londonreconnections.com/a/downloads&c. &c. &c.
Enjoy [that’s a real bit of US presumptive and impolite influence which I would normally vehemently bite against but as its JB, I’ll let it pass, just this once…]
London Reconnections”
Hopefully, you and others will have received a similar message but one that simply acknowledges receipt and a similar link to the one above for the download version.
I subsequently received an auto message from John Bull at London Reconnections commencing thus:
“Thank you for placing your order with London Reconnections.
This email is to confirm your recent order.
Date 08/16/2015
Shipping address
Graham Feakins….”
I would expect that all new subscribers will receive similar messages, even if the date quoted might read unfamiliarly/incorrectly to English readers. Let John Bull know if the download link has not been received from shopify. As you can see, there were two incoming e-mails in my case to confirm the order.
Graham
Congratulations on getting to a stage where not only does a magazine become feasible, indications suggest it will be a success. It’s a lot of effort but completely in keeping with the dedication required to maintain the LR site, so I shouldn’t be too surprised! John and the rest of the team deserve to be very proud of what they’ve achieved.
I subscribed to the PDF version and look forward to going through the issue.
Ordered on 17/8, yet to arrive today just over 1 week later. Who / how to chase up if the magazine doesn’t arrive?
JB emailed me today in response to a similar query. Understandably (in hindsight), they didn’t go to print until they had a feel for the size of the print run. Expected at the end of this week.
JB emailed me today in response to a similar query. Understandably (in hindsight), they didn’t go to print until they had a feel for the size of the print run. Expected at the end of this week.
Yes, they’re due back in LR Towers Thursday evening. We’ll then pack them up and send them out straight away.
It was partly to gauge the first print run, but also because there didn’t seem to be a reason to hold back on making the digital version available.
I’m open to ideas on how we approach things from Issue Two. Would people prefer we take the approach we did this time of making the digital “public” so to speak, at the same time as it goes to press. Or does that cause too much potential for confusion?
Dear LR,
Ever since starting to work on the Bank Station Capacity Upgrade project I have used your webiste to inform myself on various Northern Line related topics. I was particularly impressed with the wealth of knowledge available on Camden Town station. I couldn’t keep away and now the opportunity to support you has arisen, I had no hesitation but to subscribe.
The digital print is genius in the way navigation is intuitive, down to the way double clicking presents a full column width.
I love the layout and look forward to future editions with anticipation.
I’m pleased that I’ll be able to say that I was there from Issue 1!
Regards,
Joe.
I would like to receive the magazine but unfortunately including shipping to the Netherlands it would mean some €100 to me for a subscription so I’m still wondering whether I should do it. Would it still be possible to receive issue #1 if I subscribe quickly?
I just returned from a holiday in Scotland today, so didn’t read this news any earlier.
It’s here! Let the envelope stuffing begin!
A picture of the first box being opened, for posterity
Great, thanks for letting us know. I have held back on reading the digital, as I’m looking forward to the pulped-tree experience. Happy stuffing!
I note from Twitter that LR now has an advertising manager. Has an emerging empire been born in recent weeks?
JB:
Will you want help, next time, with the envelope-stuffing?
Have you looked a more tax efficient structure for the website? With a membership model you could leverage gift aid on the £48 to add a further 25%.
@Anonymous
Gift Aid – an interesting thought, but as treasurer of a music society I have had to learn far more about HMRC’s rules on Gift Aid than anyone on here is likely to be interested in!
Briefly, to get Gift Aid, LR would have to register as a charity. HMRC are unlikely to accept that your £48 is a charitable donation if the only significant expenditure made by that charity is the production of a glossy magazine distributed only to its donors. (And of course it wouldn’t help our many foreign subscribers, as they are not UK tax payers so can’t claim Gift Aid)
HELP!!
I’m sure I’m not the only one (Greg and 1C seemed to be having trouble too). I paid for a digital sub on 17 Aug (the money has been taken). I got a confirmation email, but as I was using my tablet at the time (it’s really bad at downloading anything) I couldn’t get at the pdf. Now I cannot find the email with the link, having tried London Reconnections, John Bull, Shopify and even delivery as search words.
Clumsy twots like me need a second line of attack, eg a route via the website to pick up the digital edition. Please can somebody help (or read the entire edition out to me over the phone!)
@Fandroid: [email protected] is the sender e-mail, “Your downloads are ready” is the subject.
The email address my confirmation came from is
[email protected]
(but showing as “London Reconnections”)
Might be worth checking the spam filter?
Your right the £48 wouldnt pass as a donation, but it would pass as a membership subscription with the magazine as a members benefit. The educational nature of the enterprise would make it charitable.
@ / “Hey” Graham Feakins – belatedly, many thanks. The email attaching the link to the digital subscription had gone into my junk folder. Because I had an email confirming my subscription in my inbox I didn’t think to check there. Now found the extra email + link, and read!
Fandroid, hope this cracked it for you too.
I haven’t cracked it yet. I checked both junk and deleted files but I suspect that both have cleared everything over a week old. Anyway, I know I received the link email. It was the download that failed. I am in touch with shopify, and they are looking into it.
Perhaps LR should join up with the LRTA. They have a fairly low-tech website, but it’s simple to use and easy to retrieve back numbers of TAUT magazine.
@Fandroid -then, again, perhaps they shouldn’t – in recent decades, LRTA has rather tended to lose the plot with TAUT, which has become rather more of a fairly uncritical campaigning publication acting as a voice for producers, and much less of a platform for worldwide news, factual reporting, and system histories. I ended my subscription and LRTA membership when I kept reading rehashes of PTE press releases. Unfair perhaps, but life is too short to take too many periodicals.
Graham.I was thinking of the website, and the way it handles digital subscribers, not the magazine content. Anyway, where else would I get updates on Ulm line 2 ?
@fandriod
try this – I’m sure GH will be happy to translate!
http://www.linie2-ulm.de/home.html
Clumsy twots like me need a second line of attack, eg a route via the website to pick up the digital edition. Please can somebody help
Drop us an email from the email address under which you purchased and we can either trigger a new email for you or send you a direct download link.
With regards to a gated access model of some kind – to be honest it’s something I wanted to avoid right now.
As someone who does / builds these systems for a living, there’s a huge jump in the level of management (both technical and process) that comes when you add a gate.
Not least because you’re now doing user management – and that means a duty (both legal and moral) to manage passwords and personal data properly.
Doing that stuff well is hard – and something that, sadly to say, the vast majority of websites get wrong. Often in fact without realising it.
The amount of sites that don’t realise they’re opening up their userbase to the risk of compromise – or indeed are unaware that they have already been compromised, is truly frightening.
Basically there’s a reason techies like me have a different password for every website – it’s because we know that most personal data leaks come not from big hacks that you hear about on the news, but from the thousands of smaller sites people sign up to every day which have catastrophically bad user security.
Often that’s because small site owners make the mistake of assuming their size or niche-ness makes them an unattractive target for hackers. But in fact the opposite is true – because most people use the same login details for multiple sites, and so a good hack on a small site will likely yield a whole bunch of usable login details for bigger ones.
Why try and hack Google to get people’s Gmail logins when you can attack someone far smaller and get a list of usernames / passwords that’ll yield a significant number of u/n combos that’ll work on Gmail as well?
So the moment you sign up for something, you’re better off assuming that the data is already compromised.
All of which is a long-winded way to say that we won’t do anything that requires more than admin-level user management until we really need to!
Because, in a similar way to how we don’t have a forum (despite frequent suggestions), doing so would mean I’d spend even more of my time doing site admin, rather than writing stuff – which is ultimately what we’re all about.
Back on the subject of magazines, by the way, the first print run of LR arrived on Friday, and it looks great.
We packaged up all current orders over the weekend, which was a bit of a mission (and which has left me with some serious finger cramp, for reasons which will become apparent when they arrive).
They’ve now been deposited with the Post Office, who are processing them today, so they should begin landing on door steps shortly.
@Fandroid /MC – Ah ! In answer to your question, you could try “Blickpunkt Strassenbahn” or Today’s Railways Europe edition; Eisenbahn Amateur and Schweizer Eisenbahn Revue are also good at noticing what’s going on in Swabia!
PS My translation rates are extortionate and unregulated
Thanks JB. But you’ve now frightened me about passwords! I’ll be in touch with the email address. Sorry to be the idiot who tries to crack the idiot-proofness of the system. I very much take the point about system admin vs writing.
Not a problem! It was a valid question so I thought it warranted a full answer!
And yes, you should be frightened about passwords.
That said, it’s perfectly easy to have a different password for every website. Either use a service like LastPass (and obviously put a very robust password on that) or do what I do:
Have an algorithm.
Basically come up with a bunch of rules that can be applied to each site and will yield a different, but consistent, result each time.
So maybe you end up with a sequence of mixed capital / lowercase numbers you use everywhere, for example, and then take the last 5 letters, reversed before the .com / co.uk bit on the site you’re visiting (including www if less than 5).
So you’d end up with, say, E!!9987sniot as a password on LR, E!!9987cbbww on the BBC site, etc. etc.
Whilst it’s not perfect (nothing is), it leaves you relatively safe if your password details are breached somehow on a single site, as there’s no way someone can brute force those details against a different site using your email address.
And the good thing is that, as long as you remember your algorithm, you don’t need to remember any individual passwords ever again. So the whole “dammnit! I registered for this site ages ago and now I can’t remember my login!” problem vanishes almost completely, forever.
*End’s derail. Goes to watch the logs to see how long it takes someone to try one of the above passwords on LR admin*
@JB – my copy has just arrived; it would be glib to give an instant view on the content but I do have to say that I do like the presentation and feel of the publication – professional and stylish, the thing has heft and has an obvious identity.
London Reconnections Magazine has successfully reached Hertfordshire! It’s looking lovely – and in response to your card, John Bull, you’re most welcome.
In response to your card, John Bull, you’re most welcome.
I wanted to make sure that everyone in the first batch of subscriptions got one as we genuinely are grateful.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
The fact that I still have hand cramp probably says that it wasn’t…
My copy too has arrived this morning. It’s very impressive and indeed my wife expressed an interest in reading it as well! I can just imagine the writer’s cramp you endured completing all those cards. Thank you for all your hard work and that of the contributors. It’s well worth the money!
Copy arrived this morning can’t wait to stop working and have some quality time reading the pages. May it live long and prosper.
What a gorgeous object the magazine that plopped onto my doormat this morning is. All of you responsible ought to be bloody proud.
And thank you for the card. What a lovely gesture!
…hope the hand is back to working order soon…
My copy was waiting for me when I came home this afternoon.
Well done to all concerned and thank you JB for the card.
The next challenge is to maintain the quality and not to let preparing the next issue become a chore.
I would like to add my voice to the chorus of congratulations, and thanks for the charming card. My wife has already taken my copy off to read – “why didn’t you tell me
transport magazines could be interesting and beautifully produced?”.
My copy was on the doormat when I got home this evening! (and thank you for the card)
I’m looking forward to some relaxing reading time this weekend.
Card? What card is this that people speak of?
Meanwhile, a suggestion for future use & production.
A glossy (Titanium-loaded) paper or card for the covers, please, so as not to absorb dirt, cat-fluff, etc.
Otherwise a brilliant opening – & here’s hoping that it continues long & successfully.
I’ve not seen the magazine yet meself, but I hope that recycled paper is used. With due respect to Greg’s request, I do not believe titanium loaded paper is recyclable, so perhaps an environmentally friendly solution could be found, if not additionally costly.
Got my copy yesterday. Looks lovely. And a thank you card from John Bull too! Even the missus was impressed.
@Greg – Perhaps check inside the envelope for the card.
GF
What envelope? ( Any more )
Envelope arrived in post, I surmised correctly what it was, slit end with letter-opener to hand, dropped magazine out, put envelope in bin.
Contents of which went to council dump on Thursday morning.
IF there was a card inside, err … why should I look inside the envelope?
After all, when I get other publications ( e.g. Private Eye, Modern Railways ) I assume all & any other bits of loose paper are advertising/rubbish etc.
S.O.P. is to bin the envelope, immediately, since I’m already submerging in paper, as it is.
@ Greg – don’t worry Greg you’ve only binned what will become a priceless historical artefact in about 100 years time. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Just two days after the British readers received it, the magazine also reached Utrecht, NL. The post is delivered by bike here, fortunately it reached me just before it started raining cats and dogs.
LBM: “I do not believe titanium loaded paper is recyclable” – you imply that readers will throw this away?? Perish the thought!
Re Greg,
I only found the card when I retrieved the envelope from the recycling after seeing it mentioned in comments…
I’m assuming a bunch of them will get thrown away – such is the nature of these things.
The scary thing is that I now do a “John Bull” signature that is actually better than my real one.
Sorry if I’m being dense but what does “Download limit exceeded”‘mean?
How do I access the subscription?
Wait a minute…so is John Bull a pseudonym or not? I always thought it was but the inside cover of my now arrived magazine suggested not. I’m so confused. Should probably just get myself to one of the pub nights to find out!
The magazine is lovely. Any ideas to stop Royal Mail bending it in the post are welcome.
Deep Thought: I don’t think it’s revealing any secrets to say that John Bull also uses another name (and that the pub meet might be a good place to find it out, should you wish to, and is anyway well worth attending for many other reasons). But which name is on his birth certificate (and thereby not a pseudonym) is maybe something for him alone to tell.
Deep Thought,
I always find it amusing that the real name of John Bull (very much associated with Englishness) in fact strongly suggests that he is not English – which may be behind why he chose John Bull.
@poP
“I always find it amusing that the real name of John Bull in fact strongly suggests that he is not English ”
I don’t know JB’s real name, but the transatlantic vocabulary is a bit of a giveaway too.
I don’t know JB’s real name, but the transatlantic vocabulary is a bit of a giveaway too.
That’s a result of residency (and growing up as the first true “internet” generation, I think) rather than nationality.
But yes – my real name (which anyone who has seen me on the BBC will have seen on multiple occasions) is far more “Men of Harlech” than “Green and Pleasant Land”
I’m being offered rest of world shipping for Finland (not Europe). Can this be right? Sweden still seems to be in Europe.
Should be Europe I think. Let me check for you.
Got my magazine on friday thanks for the card and the comment, good quality item will get to look at it tomorrow. Where articles are cut down for on line publication is it possible to have the fuller draft in the printed version as being overseas based I miss out on some of the background, once again thanks for all the good work, Alan O
I have just finished reading Issue One; well done, it’s a great read.
As the magazine is bi-monthly hopefully Issue Two will not be too long before it lands on my doormat.
Is the next issue close to the printers yet?
Yes,
John Bull is getting it out the way (or has got it out the way) so that he can now concentrate on his Crossrail 2 article.
Looking forward to both the next print issue and Mr Bull’s XR 2 article.
(Note to JB: No need for handwritten greetings this time – your right /?/ arm needs a rest! But it was nice touch which I will remember… )
It’s a shame that we old codgers, who don’t trust our payment details being available online, cannot buy the magazine.
I’ve asked the Ian Allen shop in Waterloo to request copies but to no avail. I have had no response to my own email request for a means to buy by telephone.
A shame that I can’t buy a subscription as I always enjoy your extremely informative articles.
What issue are we up to now? The last one I received (downloaded) was no. 2 (October/November). (I’m sure I read something somewhere about monthly emails.)
Three is at the printers – we had to hold it due to a couple of unexpected content embargoes. Means you’ll only have a month between that and Issue 4, but I didn’t want to cut some of the excellent comments from the mayoral candidates we’ve interviewed in three.