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Railpace Magazine, Covering The Northeast
Railpace Magazine is another publication, like Railfan & Railroad, that is geared more towards railfans, although like all magazines includes plenty of news and information in general about the railroad industry. For instance, in a typical Railpace publication you can find photos of tourist railroads and excursion trains, late fallen flag paint schemes that are still roaming around the country, plenty of “classic” images of railroading (i.e., 1970s and before), and lots of shortlines at work (this kind of layout is quite different from say, Trains Magazine, which covers the rail industry in general and has a more “business-like” feel to its stories with far fewer photos of fallen flags, shortlines, and tourist railroads in a typical edition). All in all, if you enjoy railroading in the Northeast and a more “down home” periodical covering the industry you shouldn’t be disappointed with Railpace Magazine.To give an idea of how Railpace Magazine compares to others out there, Trains Magazine, published by Kalmbach Publishing Company, has been covering the US rail industry since the 1940s when Al C. Kalmbach originally started the magazine in 1940. Over the last sixty years Trains has always been based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has seen the industry go through quite a bit (especially in the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s, during the industry’s darkest days) of change and over that time it has become the largest railroad magazine in the country. For instance, if you are one of those folks who enjoy reading about our country’s railroading history, try and find older volumes on the magazine which predate, say the 1980s (they can usually be found at antique stores, or the easiest method, eBay).Railfan and Railroad, the magazine is similar in nature to Trains in regards to the content the magazine covers. A younger publication, it has been printed monthly for the last thirty years by Carstens Publications, which along with Railfan & Railroad also publishes two other hobby magazines, Railroad Model Crafstman and Flying Models, for the aviation modeling enthusiasts. CTC Board, The Magazine was recently sold and is now known as Railroads Illustrated, published by White River Productions which also produces over a dozen other magazines, including publications for a number of historical societies and organizations. The magazine continues to be printed monthly and while it holds the same theme like Trains and Railfan & Railroad in that it covers the current railroad industry, the magazine's main focus is photography which has not changed under White River Productions. However, with the change the magazine has shifted a bit towards the classic era, which will certainly appeal to many railfans, and has also gained a number of excellent and celebrated photographers such as Mike Schafer.
If you live outside the Northeast or far away from a local hobby shop picking up a copy of Railpace can be somewhat difficult as it is not as readily available as other magazines like Trains, Railfan & Railroad, or Railroads Illustrated. However, you can purchase it online, such as through Amazon.com, which at $45.00 a year is actually $4 cheaper than ordering it directly through the company! If you are perhaps interested in taking out a subscription to Railpace Magazine and would like to do so through Amazon please click on the link below, which will take you to their website and ordering information.
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