Outlet profile

Trains

U.S. railroad trade and enthusiast magazine (non-political)

Owned byFirecrown Media, a U.S. publisher of transportation and hobby brands. It bought Trains from Kalmbach Media in May 2024. Kalmbach was dissolved in November 2024, with Firecrown as its successor.

FundingMagazine subscriptions and newsstand sales, advertising from railroad suppliers and hobby businesses, and online store sales. Some content on Trains.com is behind a paywall or sits in a separate trade section.

On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

Trains was founded in 1940 by publisher Al C. Kalmbach and editorial director Linn Westcott, and is based in Wisconsin. For most of its history it was one of several railroad and hobby titles published by Kalmbach Media in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In May 2024, Kalmbach sold Trains, Classic Trains, Model Railroader, Astronomy and other titles to Firecrown Media. Firecrown also owns brands such as Flying, Boating and the supply chain site FreightWaves. Kalmbach Media was dissolved in November 2024, and Trains is now published from Brookfield, Wisconsin. The magazine is known for photography, history and detailed reporting on railroads. Its News Wire coverage tracks mergers, regulation, labor and safety. It generally avoids partisan commentary. Its perspective is that of the rail industry and rail fans, so it tends to focus on operations, infrastructure and policy effects on railroads rather than on broader ideological debates. I did not review its recent coverage of the administration in detail, so the stance rating is an inference from its trade focus.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-10-22; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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