Al C. Kalmbach

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Al C. Kalmbach

Al C. Kalmbach (1910-1981) was the founder of Kalmbach Publishing, a publisher of magazines and books geared towards enthusiasts of several different hobbies.

Kalmbach was born in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. He published a neighborhood newspaper in Milwaukee starting at age 12 on his own press, ceasing publication only when he enrolled in Marquette University. In 1932, after graduation, he started a new printing company which published a chain of church newspapers, besides commercial job printing.

In 1934, Kalmbach turned to one of his lifelong loves — railroads — for the topic of his first magazine. Model Railroader began publication in January of that year, and the young publisher was able to carry the entire press run by hand on the streetcar to be mailed. The magazine became profitable within three years. By 1950, "MR" circulation had grown to more than 100,000, thanks in part to a boom in interest in model railroading.

In 1940, Kalmbach began another magazine about railroads in general with the simple title of Trains Magazine. It grew quickly from an initial circulation of just over 5,000. Both magazines remain the flagships of the company, which has since expanded to include a portfolio of more than a dozen magazines, hundreds of books, and many videos.

Kalmbach was an early booster and benefactor of the National Model Railroad Association. His legacy today is the Al C. Kalmbach Memorial Library, located in the NMRA headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Kalmbach died in 1981 of Parkinson's disease.