I needed some reading material last week and in a moment of weakness, bought this special issue. I wished I hadn't.
Much of it appears to be written by CSX PR people. EHH will probably be canonized by Pope Francis in the near future, if you believe the articles. The proofreading seems non-existent. In 2 or 3 places, the old B&O shops are called Mt Claire. The institutional knowledge at Kalmbach died with JDI.
BackshopMuch of it appears to be written by CSX PR people.
I believe that it's not at all uncommon for some media sources to provide positive spin on stories in exchange for exclusive access.
On the one hand it's kinda nice getting stories otherwise unavailable, but on the other, you gotta pay the piper.
BackshopThe institutional knowledge at Kalmbach died with JDI.
When I first was subscribed to Trains about 50 years ago. It was a different magazine, a lot of their contributors were railroaders, had a railroading background, or folks that were willing to include railroaders in their social circles. So the Magazine had one foot in the industry itself and could speak with authority on what was going on in a photo of a train. They were also like railroads of the time, much friendlier to their subscriber base. I remember sending in a Letter to the Editor and being called directly by a Trains Staffer that asked me if I was sure I wanted to publish what I wrote as he thought it might ruffle feathers. I doubt that type of personal interaction happens at all today.
The guys today, most of them are outside looking in and have to ask questions as to what is going on in a photo, if they ask at all. So that is the difference I have noticed. Also the straight policy of no politics in the publication has relaxed somewhat and you see various minor slip-ins of opinion in the publication, doesn't bother me but they should be honest about the policy these days. Last, I have also noticed the accuracy of rail maps and illustrations has fallen as well over the years and it seems proof reading is rushed or just not as carefully done as it was in the past.
Having said all that, Kalmbach has a very tiny staff. People think of this huge office and publishing empire. I've been to their Waukesha office, relatively speaking they are almost all in cubes that I could see and the office seemed to be a portion of one floor of a 5 story office tower. They outsource a lot including the actual printing of the publication (Quad Graphics?), I am guessing they outsource their IT department and LAN support as well. My Brother used to work in SE Wisconsin as a AS400 consultant before he landed his present job. A lot of the publishing companies like Readers Digest, Kreger and Company, etc have cut way back on staff and are bare bones now. A lot is outsourced. So I expect Trains followed what the industry was doing.
Last a few issues ago one of the staffers pointed out TRAINS contributed just over $250k in 25 years to railway preservation. Thats great and better than nothing but for a $10-50 million a year publishing firm which is where Kalmbach Media is ranked.....really that is not a lot of money.
BTW, I attended the same High School as former Trains contributor Ed King's daughter. I knew who he was and where he lived via his daughter. She told me on the school bus once she found out I was interested in trains. Case in point, he was a dispatcher for CP Rail. Before that he worked for the Milwaukee Road.
I read it cover to cover and thoroughly enjoyed it. Crisp writing.. great photography. I also appreciated the positive slant to the articles.. (i.e.could have been written by CSX). We've got enough negativism and uncertainty in the world right now.. a positive slant on what I'm sure is a fine company is not a problem.
The sections that covered the history of the merged carriers into the system, with dates included, contained very good historical info for those interested in such
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