WAUKESHA, Wis. — Trains Magazine, the company’s other rail magazines, and Trains.com are among assets that have been sold by Kalmbach Media to Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Firecrown Media, the two companies have announced today (May 1).

Other Kalmbach titles involved in the transaction are Classic Trains, Model Railroader, Classic Toy Trains, FineScale Modeler, and Astronomy, as well as Kalmbach’s online stores.

The publications involved will continue to be based in Wisconsin.

Firecrown Media owns a wide range of transportation brands including Flying, Plane & Pilot, Boating, Yachting, and the supply chain site FreightWaves.

Kalmbach employees were informed of the sale this morning and told that most employees working on the brands will be offered positions with Firecrown after screening. Kalmbach CEO Dan Hickey called it “a difficult day in our storied history” in an email announcing the sale.

Firecrown CEO Craig Fuller said in a press release that “The rail titles fit perfectly into the Firecrown portfolio and the breadth of experience of our staff … Kalmbach has deep ties in the railroad community, having published magazines and books about railroads and model trains for over 90 years. There isn’t a deeper connection in the rail enthusiast community than the one that Kalmbach built. The Firecrown staff will work diligently to continue and build on that connection moving forward.

“Additionally, the rail and aviation communities have a great deal in common. Besides the obvious — both being transportation modes and having similarities in business models — the enthusiast audience is vast in both categories. We believe that ‘railfans’ and ‘avgeeks’ are kindred spirits.

“With the acquisition, Firecrown plans to invest significantly in Trains’ business editorial coverage, increasing the cadence and depth of coverage of the rail industry. FreightWaves, one of Firecrown’s brands, provides a playbook to help achieve this.”

Fuller and other members of the Firecrown staff met with staff members who will be making the transition to the new ownership this afternoon. A 60-day transition period is planned for the magazines and other properties. More information on Firecrown’s plans and what they mean for employees and readers will be forthcoming.

Wonder if they will continue to run photo charters under the new ownership.

Probably depends on if the charters make money for the company or not.

Trains' photo charters were to some extent a "pet project" of the late Jim Wrinn, who chose the outings in part to support the railroads/museums in question. Photo charters can sometimes be seen, as Carl Franz routinely joked, as a "racket just to get a bunch of people to give me money so I can come out and have a good time!" But they are also publicity opportunities for the lines in question, and they help justify keeping around those otherwise useless freight cars in period paint.

Companies sometimes engage in activities that don't "make money" for them for reasons of benevolence, altruism, or publicity. It can range from a store letting someone put up a poster for their upcoming fundraising event to being a paid or in-kind sponsor of the event, from donating product or services to the charity auction to restoring the world's largest steam locomotive and doing occasional outings with it.

Probably depends on if the charters make money for the company or not.

. I'm sure the new company paid millions of dollars with the goal in mind of engaging in "activities that don't "make money"".

If charters that quickly sold out were being operated at a loss that is a VERY strange business practice.

Is there any indication that the company was sold for 7 figures? I didn't see a price and that seems high but I really don't know what something like that is worth.