A long, profitable and passionate history, one that has flourished into 12 different SIP titles for the company. According to legend, Kalmbach couldn’t get a loan from any bank to start his magazine because it was the Great Depression, but somehow he did it anyway, and the rest as they say is history. The magazine, owned by Kalmbach Publishing, has been around since 1934 when Al Kalmbach decided to launch a magazine against all odds. So, we can strike that balance and have some fun.” Neil Besougloff…Īfter over 80 years of publishing success, Model Railroader magazine, the world’s most notable monthly magazine about the hobby of model railroading, has reached a milestone, its 1000th published issue. The only challenge we have is the balance between newer readers and making sure that they aren’t lost should I make too many references to things that have occurred in the past. And they know these names and the sequences of events, so we have the ability to have a little fun and recall some of these things from the past. It’s so common for us to encounter readers who tell us that they have been reading the magazine since the 1950s or the 1960s, this is very common. “We do like to have fun at Model Railroader and our readers are so loyal. I just don’t see that analog on the digital side, where you show such a longevity, which of course, speaks immediately to its endurance as a brand and to the fact that it has flourished for literally generations and has attracted people with its authenticity.” Steve George… In about six years Trains Magazine is going to have its 1000th issue and. And Model Railroader isn’t the only one in our stable. We’re in an era where we have websites that the pages just scroll endlessly, so you don’t get the same effect with a bottomless well of interest and content that you do when you have a tangible, physical product. “There is something about print that is innately impactful and tangible.