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Kalmbach was a tireless promoter of the hobby of model railroading. In 1949 Kalmbach
Publishing launched a national ad campaign promoting the hobby to the general public. Ads were placed in major publications, with a circulation of 42 million. During 1952–53, Kalmbach was president of the Hobby
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began publication in the summer of 1933, the first issue dated
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.
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418:) would serve as the official publication of the NMRA in the early years. For his efforts he was awarded Honorary Life Member No. 1, and received the NMRA's 30th anniversary award.
435:. 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.
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together. They figured it would be a sideline business from their commercial printing operations. Soon they were devoted seven days a week to the venture.
345:, the Great Gulch, Yahoo Valley & Northern, in his parents' attic. In the winter of 1932-33 he helped to organize the Model Railroad Club of Milwaukee.
464:(NMRA). One tribute to him was the NMRA naming their research library the A. C. Kalmbach Memorial Library, which was located in the NMRA headquarters in
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Kalmbach was a driving force in bringing model railroaders from across the US and Canada to
Milwaukee for the founding convention of the
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began during his early life in
Sturgeon Bay. The rail line that served his relative's business (Fidler-Skilling Fuel & Dock) was the
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In 1940, business was good enough for
Kalmbach to launch another magazine about railroads in general with the simple title of
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The magazine was well received by model railroaders, and the young publisher carried the entire press run (272 copies) by
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company, The
Milwaukee Commercial Press, which specialized in church newspapers, besides commercial job printing.
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at the Model
Railroad Club of Milwaukee, and published many articles on operation. He also wrote a book,
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circulation had grown to more than 100,000, thanks in part to a boom in interest in model railroading.
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Al
Kalmbach did much to popularize the hobby. His main interest was operation. He enjoyed being the
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He was ambitious from an early age. At 12 he spent some of his savings to buy a small hand-operated
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exceeded a thousand copies. Growth continued, but the magazine was not a big success.
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Kalmbach, seeing the interest people had in the operating O Scale layouts at the 1933
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layout
Zeidler was building. Al was hooked and began construction in 1928 of his own
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His first wife, Bernice, herself a journalist, encouraged and helped Al put
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and books geared towards enthusiasts of several different hobbies.
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253:(June 25, 1910 – October 14, 1981) was the founder of
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Deaths from
Parkinson's disease in the United States
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Kalmbach was an early booster and benefactor of the
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302:project, but the job fell through due to the
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53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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212:Learn how and when to remove this message
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449:circulation was about 20,000. By 1950,
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501:Al Kalmbach bio at kalmbach.com
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