Model Railroader (MR) is an American magazine about the hobby of model railroading. Founded in 1934 by Al C. Kalmbach, it is published monthly by Firecrown Media of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Commonly found on newsstands and in libraries, it promotes itself as the oldest magazine of its type in the United States, although it is the long-standing competitor to Railroad Model Craftsman, which - originally named The Model Craftsman - predates MR by one year.
MR is considered to be a general-interest hobby magazine, appealing to a wide range of hobbyists, rather than specializing in a particular scale, or facet of the hobby (such as prototype operations or scratch building and kitbashing). Model Railroader covers a variety of scales and modeling techniques for engines, rolling stock, right-of-way, structures, and scenery. It reviews products including ready-to-run models as well as kits, tools and supplies. The magazine presents blueprints and photographs of prototype equipment, as well as photographs of models and layouts.
A longstanding philosophy of modeling is manifest in its editorial features of layout design and operation, in which the model is viewed as a three-dimensional and temporal compression of the real world, so that, for example, the motive power, freight, trackage and scenery of a real-world railroad are formed into a layout which captures the spirit of not only the equipment and region of the railroad but also its purpose and how it operates.
The magazine is published under ISSN0026-7341. Individual issues use the UPC 074820085486.
History
The Model Railroader began publication in the summer of 1933, with a cover date of January 1934. A press release announcing the magazine appeared in August 1933, but did not receive much interest. The bank refused to loan Kalmbach any money, many felt sorry for him, and a few told him he was crazy.
His first wife, Bernice, herself a journalist, encouraged and helped Al put The Model Railroader together. Though they originally saw it as a sideline business to their commercial printing operations, soon they were devoting seven days a week to the venture.
The magazine was well received by model railroaders, and the young publisher carried the entire first press run (272 copies) by streetcar to be mailed. By July 1934, paid circulation exceeded 1,000 copies. Growth continued, but the magazine was not an immediate success. The magazine became profitable after three years. It took Kalmbach seven years to pay off the loans used to launch the magazine.
World War II introduced paper rationing, which dampened the growth of the Kalmbach Publishing Company. At the end of the war, MR's circulation was 18,000.[2] 1949, MR's circulation had grown to 82,000. 1950, MR's circulation had grown to 104,000, thanks in part to a boom in interest in model railroading. As of 2007, the magazine had a monthly paid circulation of more than 160,000.[3] 2017 the year's final issue garnered a reported circulation figure that fell below 100,000.[4][5]
The magazine, and Kalmbach Publishing (now Kalmbach Media), celebrated its 85th anniversary in 2019.
The magazine had to relocate 4 times, the original location was on 545 S. 84th Street (now a car wash) and later relocated to 1027 N. 7th Street (now part of Milwaukee Public Television and Milwaukee Area Technical College), from 1989 to 2024, they moved to 21027 Crossroads Circle in nearby Waukesha and in 2024, Kalmbach recently sold their building to Silgan Containers and the staff moving to nearby Brookfield, Wisconsin.
Another thing Model Railroader has is their own model railroad layout, the Milwaukee, Racine and Troy (AKA the "Myrt"), was located on the second floor of the former offices and just celebrated its 45th anniversary since being built (the original was located on the 3rd floor of the old offices at 1027 N. 7th Street which was in operation from 1975 to 1989[6]). Sadly, the second version of the "Myrt" was demolished when Kalmbach sold their building at 21027 Crossroads Circle and moved to Brookfield, Wisconsin, with everyone being employed by Firecrown media.
In May 2024, longtime publisher Kalmbach Media divested of Model Railroader and other railroad interest magazines to publisher Firecrown Media.[7]
Features
Typical feature articles in each month's issue include:
Layout tours - A layout story with a detailed track plan and behind-the-scenes modeling and construction tips.
How-to projects - Tips and techniques for modeling scenery, structures, rolling stock, and electronics.
Prototype information - Detailed drawings historical and technical information on how real railroads and lineside industries function.
Track plans - Sample designs for model railroads the average hobbyist could build.
Regular monthly columns and departments include:
News and Products - Quick looks at new products available in the hobby.
Railway Post Office - Letters from readers.
Step-by-Step - Tackles a different project each month to help you build a better layout.
Ask MR - Q&A about prototype railroading and model railroading. Also includes tips by readers. This department was created by merging workshop and Information Desk.
Product reviews - A look at new models on the market and how well they perform.
Trackside Photos - Inspirational photos featuring the work of fellow hobbyists.
Trains of Thought - Every month model railroad expert Tony Koester looks at the philosophical side of model railroading.
On Operation - How to reproduce prototype operations on a model railroad.
N Scale Insight - From March 2011, former editor Jim Kelly began a column looking at N scale modelling.[8]
Special issues and other media
Model Railroader publishes two annual special issues:
Great Model Railroads showcases 10-12 spectacular model railroads, including large, inspirational photographs, detailed track plans, and how-to information.
Model Railroad Planning deals with aspects of designing and constructing a model railroad. Typical articles focus on reproducing prototype track arrangements, overcoming modeling obstacles, and researching prototype railroads.
Other special issues on various aspects of the hobby are released on an irregular basis. Titles have included 102 Track Plans for Model Railroaders,How to Build Realistic Layouts, and How to Build More Layout in Less Space.
A bi-monthly web video show, Modeler's Spotlight Video - Inside Cody's Office, is available to magazine subscribers via MR's website.[9] The show introduces new products, offers modeling tips, and a viewer mail segment (along with the occasional blooper at the end).
Many of the blueprints, layout plans, articles on operation and signaling, and methods of construction of bridges, structures and scenery are also collected in books published by Kalmbach Books. These are useful to modelers in general, railroad historians, and are valuable references on the steam and diesel eras.
Past MR articles are also collected in PDF form and distributed via the magazine's website and available through their digital archive.
Model Railroader staff members participated in the production of the Dream-Plan-Build video series,[10] which was offered by subscription. The DVDs focused on prototype railroading information, layout visits, and modeling techniques.
Model Railroader also produced Model Railroader Video Plus (MRVP)[11] which does layout tours, tips and tricks, and shows like: Cody's Workshop with Cody Grivno, Drew's Trackside Adventures with Drew Halverson, Off The Rails with Gerry Leone, Ask MRVP with David Popp (now called Ask Trains), Let's Make a Scene with Kathy Millatt, It's My Railroad with Steve Brown, Rehab My Railroad, History According to Hediger with Jim Hediger, The Hills Line with James McNabb, Tuck's Toy Trains with John Truckenbrod and many more. MRVP made its debut back in 2013 and is available to magazine subscribers as part of trains.com.
Cultural impact
The model train hobbyists the magazine has profiled over the years include a number of celebrities, including Michael Gross and Rod Stewart.
Model Railroader also has several other "sister" magazines, also published by Kalmbach, including such titles as Trains magazine, Classic Trains,Garden Railways, and Classic Toy Trains. They are often advertised in Model Railroader, and on occasion, an article will refer to these other magazines.
Railway modelling or model railroading is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale.
The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) is a non-profit organization for those involved in the hobby or business of model railroading. It was founded in the United States in 1935, and is also active in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. It was previously headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was based in Chattanooga, Tennessee next to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM) from 1982 to 2013 and has since relocated to Soddy Daisy.
N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer, the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. Effectively the scale is 1:159, 9 mm to 1,435 mm, which is the width of standard gauge railway. However the scale may vary to simulate wide or narrow gauge rail. In all cases, the gauge is 9 mm or 0.354 in. The term N gauge refers to the track dimensions, but in the United Kingdom in particular British N gauge refers to a 1:148 scale with 1:160 track gauge modelling. The terms N scale and N gauge are often inaccurately used interchangeably, as scale is defined as ratio or proportion of the model, and gauge only as a distance between rails. The scale 1:148 defines the rail-to-rail gauge equal to 9 mm exactly, so when calculating the rail or track use 1:160 and for engines and car wheel base use 1:148.
Discover is an American general audience science magazine launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It has been owned by Kalmbach Media since 2010.
Railroad Model Craftsman is an American magazine specializing in the hobby of model railroading. The magazine is published monthly by White River Productions, which acquired the title from Carstens Publications in 2014. Its first issue in March 1933 was called The Model Craftsman because it covered other areas of scale modeling as well. Founded by Emanuele Stieri, it was second editor Charles A. Penn who helped grow the company and lead the publication towards the hobby of scale models. In April 1949 it changed its focus to model trains and changed its name to Railroad Model Craftsman to reflect this change in editorial content. While it can claim to be the oldest model railroading magazine in continuous publication in the United States, rival Model Railroader counters with the tagline "Model railroading exclusively since 1934." Over the years, several other titles have been folded into the publication, including Toy Trains, Electric Trains and Hobby Railroading, Miniature Rail Roading, Model & Railway News, and The O Gager.
John Whitby Allen was a prominent American model railroader. He pioneered or developed several aspects of the hobby on his HO scale Gorre & Daphetid model railroad in Monterey, California, popularizing them with numerous magazine articles and photographs starting in the 1940s.
Frank Cararas Ellison was an American model railroader who created the famous O scale Delta Lines model railroad in New Orleans, Louisiana and authored numerous articles from the 1930s to the 1950s. Mr. Ellison died after a brief illness, at midnight, at Our Lady of The Lake hospital in Baton Rouge.
Kalmbach Media was an American publisher of books and magazines, many of them railroad-related, located in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
John H. Armstrong was a mechanical engineer, inventor, editor, prolific author, and model railroader best known for layout design and operations. He was married for 44 years to Ellen Palmer. They had four children.
Astronomy is a monthly American magazine about astronomy. Targeting amateur astronomers, it contains columns on sky viewing, reader-submitted astrophotographs, and articles on astronomy and astrophysics for general readers.
Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of model railroad supplies and tools.
Al C. Kalmbach was the founder of Kalmbach Publishing, a publisher of magazines and books geared towards enthusiasts of several different hobbies.
Garden Railways (GR) was a quarterly American magazine about the hobby of running large-scale trains outdoors, also called garden railroading. During its run, it was the world's leading magazine on that subject. Each issue featured hobby news, product reviews, how-to articles, featured railroads from around the world, photo galleries, and much more. Publication ceased after the Fall 2020 issue.
George Sellios was the owner of Fine Scale Miniatures (FSM), a business dedicated to producing detailed model kits of structures for model railroad enthusiasts. He is also an accomplished modeler and is well-known in the hobby for his layout, the Franklin & South Manchester Railroad which attracts visitors from around the world.
The Great Train Story is a 3,500-square-foot (330 m2) HO scale model railroad display located in the Transportation Zone of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. It explains the story of modern-day rail transportation in a 2,206-mile (3,550 km) journey from Seattle, Washington, through several plains states en route to Chicago, Illinois. The layout features 192 custom models of buildings and landmarks including the Willis Tower, Chicago Board of Trade Building, and Union Station in Chicago; and Seattle’s Space Needle, Experience Music Project and King Street Station. The landscape between the two cities includes several natural features such as the Cascade range, Rocky Mountains, waterfalls and forests. Man-made highlights include small towns, tunnels, truss arch and truss bridges, a lumber mill, farms, grain silos, a fruit packing house, a coal mine, and a steel mill.
Andy Sperandeo was an editorial employee of Kalmbach Publishing's Model Railroader Magazine beginning in 1979. He was executive editor after being the magazine's editor previously. He wrote several books on model railroading, including Easy Model Railroad Wiring, The Model Railroader's Guide to Freight Yards and others. Sperandeo's video credits include hosting Model Railroads In Action: 5 Layouts From Great Model Railroads Magazine and appearing on two episodes of Tracks Ahead; one featured the Model Railroader club layout, the Milwaukee, Racine, and Troy Railroad (MR&T) and the other was dedicated to John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid.
In model railroading, a layout is a diorama containing scale track for operating trains. The size of a layout varies, from small shelf-top designs to ones that fill entire rooms, basements, or whole buildings.
J. Anthony Koester, more commonly known as Tony Koester, is a well-known member of the United States model railroading community. Along with his friend Allen McClelland and his Virginian & Ohio, Koester popularized the idea of proto-freelancing with his HO scale model railroad, the Allegheny Midland.
Trainfest is a model railroad show that takes place annually in the Milwaukee suburb West Allis, Wisconsin. According to the show’s organizers, it is “America’s largest operating model railroad show” and markets itself to both hobbyists and young families.
Earl Lloyd Moore was an American model railroader who published over a hundred pieces in various American model railroading magazines between 1955 and 1980 under the name E. L. Moore. His articles dealt primarily with scratch-building HO scale structures from low-cost, simple materials, primarily balsa wood. Moore prided himself on being able to construct complex models in little time for little money. He often noted that his projects could be built for a couple of dollars worth of materials in a couple of weeks of evenings. Moore undertook this work while a resident of Charlotte, North Carolina.
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