Guidelines for Contributions to Railpace Newsmagazine

Guidelines
FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO RAILPACE NEWSMAGAZINE

Our newest Guidelines for Contributors are now available in PDF format!

THANKS for your interest in Railpace Newsmagazine! Your contribution of photos, railroad news and feature articles is welcome! Let's take this opportunity to get acquainted and review some helpful suggestions...

OUR SCOPE & COVERAGE AREA
Railpace is The Northeast's Own Rail Newsmagazine, focusing primarily on Northeastern prototype railroading, an area which includes all of New England and eastern Canada (Ontario and east); southward through Virginia, and westward through West Virginia and Ohio. News photos and news from outside this area which is of significant interest to our readers, is also welcome -- such as Northeastern locomotives or trains in new or unusual locations.

NEWS REPORTS & FEATURE CONTRIBUTIONS
NEWS REPORTS Short, concise reports of railroad industry news, acquisitions, abandonments, motive power, color scheme changes, new services, shortline news, etc. We cover freight and passenger railroading, shortlines, commuter/transit, and tourist/museum operations. Clippings from newspapers are useful to complement your field news reports. With the advent of our web page, you can contribute news electronically via E-mail! Please look at our Contact Us page to submit your news electronically.

PHOTO FEATURES Both contemporary and historical features are welcome. Photo features use pictures to tell the story, with good, detailed photo captions.

FEATURE ARTICLES Contemporary and historical features are welcome. Feature articles, while including a good selection of photos, also include well-researched text and maps. Topographical maps and railroad employee timetables add depth to the story.

TRAIN CHASER GUIDES Railpace Train Chaser Guides are one of our most popular features, and can cover an entire railroad, railroad line, or locale. Guides include topographical maps, driving directions to photo vantage points, train operation information and schedules, radio frequencies, etc. If you are interested in preparing a Railpace Train Chaser Guide, please contact us via standard mail or via E-mail to determine its suitability and to verify that someone else isn't already working on the same topic.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTIONS
Your color photo contributions are the "meat" of Railpace Newsmagazine. You are our "field reporter" and we rely on your photo-journalism to cover the Northeastern railroad scene. Quality color slides of newsworthy rail events are needed. Before sending a news photo, ask yourself if it is really newsworthy and current. If it's news, send it in right away -- we pride ourselves on having the fastest news and photo "turnaround." To avoid being "scooped," you've got to be quick!

35mm COLOR SLIDES are the preferred medium for publishing. Kodachrome 64 is the best all-around film, yielding excellent color and contrast. K-25 and K-200 are also good choices, as is Fujichrome. Use Kodak (Kodalux) processing for consistent quality results. Larger-size transparencies (such as 2-1/4 x 2-1/4, 2-1/4 x 2-3/4, 4x5, etc.) are also acceptable for publication.

Higher speed films (ASA 400, 1000, "push" processed, etc.) are grainier and not as well suited to enlargement. Avoid budget or "brand-X" processing.

Do not use Type 5247 negative film to produce slides, as the color balance and contrast is not consistent, and the sharpness and grain is unacceptable.

"Instamatic" or "110", Disc film, Polaroid prints and color negatives to not produce satisfactory enlargement and reproduction suitable for publication.

When selecting color slides for publication, choose those with maximum sharpness, good color balance and contrast, and excellent exposure. Exposure should be "right on," as there is no exposure "compensation" required for magazine publication.

Avoid dark, underexposed slides, especially on gray, heavily overcast days. News events happen in all types of weather, but since color space is limited, we pick the best... and brightest!

BLACK AND WHITE contributions are welcome. Although Railpace is primarily a color publication, we do use some black and white, especially to illustrate historical items. Some contributions of 35mm color slides may, at our discretion, be published in black & white.

ALL PHOTO CONTRIBUTIONS ARE RETURNED, whether or not they are published, within a reasonable period of time, provided the materials are legibly marked with the owner's name and address, and when accompanied with a stamped, self-addressed envelope bearing sufficient return postage.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
MANUSCRIPTS should be typed, double-spaced, and PROOFREAD for accuracy. Then proofread again, or ask a friend to look it over. Avoid the frantic call to make corrections as the story is going to press. News items and brief reports may be handwritten, provided they are legible. Illegible chicken-scratch will be ripped to shreds.

COMPUTER DISKS & MODEM FILE TRANSFERS
Please submit manuscripts in electronic form, preferably as an MS-Word file.

You can E-mail the file to us at: railpace@ptd.net

Or "snail mail" us a 3-1/2" floppy diskette to the Railpace Editorial Office at P.O. Box 229, Greentown, PA 18426. For UPS-FedEx, use: 24 Beechwood Cove Road.

LABEL all of your materials with your full name and address. Mark EVERY slide, print, caption page and letter, so that you can see your credit line in print, and so that we can return your materials to you. Please understand that your slides get separated from your caption sheet, cover letter, and SSAE when the slides are send out to the color separator. When they return to us, if they are unmarked, it is difficult if not impossible to match them up. We receive hundreds of slides each month... don't let your valuable photos become orphans! We are not responsible for the return of unmarked materials.

ENCLOSE AN SSAE! Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope with each contribution. Affix sufficient postage for the return of your materials. Railpace policy is to return newsphotos within a reasonable time period, whether they are used or not. If you need your slides returned by a certain date, please state so in your letter.

PUBLISHED PHOTOS will be returned to you shortly after the appropriate issue of Railpace is printed. Sometimes we may retain some of your work for potential future publication. When you have a photo(s) published, you will receive a complimentary copy of the appropriate issue of Railpace by First Class Mail. If you are currently a Railpace subscriber, you will also subsequently receive your second class mail subscription copy.

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES FOR GETTING PUBLISHED
Ever wonder why some bylines and photo credits appear so frequently in railfan publications? Is it because these people are "famous" or know the editor? Usually not. It's just that they have learned how to contribute the right shot, the right way, or at the right time. Here's their no-longer-secret plan!

DO IT A.S.A.P. Send news photos in immediately. Don't wait for the next sunny weekend to finish off the roll of film. Here in the Northeast, that could be a long wait. Whenever possible, use 24-hour Kodalux processing -- then get the slide to us pronto! Generally, the first top quality shot received gets published!

DO IT WITH QUALITY! Use Kodachrome 64 slide film for consistent top quality results. Have your film processed by Kodak (Kodalux). Avoid budget or "brand-X" processing. And do not use negative film (5247 type) to produce slides; the results are horrible. The old timers who shot on Kodachrome back in the '40's and '50's will tell you that cutting corners is just wasting your time and effort.

TELL A STORY! Try to photograph your subject in a recognizable location, or with a scenic or well-known "prop" such as a station, bridge, city-scape, sign, etc. A photo of a Susquehanna unit in Canada, for example, is of little news impact if it's a tight "roster" view, or taken "somewhere in the woods."

LABEL every slide, print, caption sheet and letter with your name and address. You may find it helpful to purchase a small rubber stamp with your name and address at your local printer or stationer. Give them an unneeded slide mount to help them properly size the stamp, so you can use it to mark your slides. Unmarked slides can become orphans!

DO IT WITH STYLE! Strive for well-lit photos, with good contrast and composition. News events happen in all types of weather, but since we receive many more photos each month than we can possibly use, we pick the best -- and brightest! Color slides taken on bright sunny days provide the best quality photo reproduction. Think ecology and composition: Get those styrofoam cups and plastic water bottles out of the immediate foreground of your shot; try to work othe wires, high-tension power lines and billboards out of your picture. Try to avoid a pole or other obstruction from blocking the lead unit, or appearing immediately behind a unit.

NOW: Get that great news photo and send it in!

RAILPACE NEWSMAGAZINE

EDITORIAL OFFICES MAILING ADDRESS

Effective 1-June-2002, the Editorial Office has moved to the Poconos!

P.O. Box 229
Greentown, PA 18426

(for UPS-FedEx, use: 24 Beechwood Cove Road)

Phone/FAX (570) 857-5144
E-mail: railpace@ptd.net

Our Perrine Avenue, Piscataway NJ, Editorial Office will remain open, but is now a satellite location. If you recently sent materials to our Piscataway NJ address, they are safely in our hands. But please use our new Pennsylvania address for fastest service and to avoid double-handling of your material.

The Northeast's Own Rail Newsmagazine

S.S.A.E.*
*That's short for Stamped, Self-Addressed Envelope.
Be sure to enclose an SSAE with EVERY photo contribution. An SSAE is also your best way to get in touch with us when you have specific questions about Railpace Newsmagazine. Due to our tight editorial deadlines, it is difficult for us to take phone calls. You can be sure of getting the best service when you put your concerns in writing and send along with an SSAE, or FAX to us. Your assistance enables us to continue to being you Railpace on time each month!