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Visit Kalmbach Publishing and Enjoy Their Large HO Layout Model Railroader magazine publisher showcases an impressive layout. From "Workin' On the Railroad" episode DWRR-208L

Workin' on the Railroad host, Chris Chianelli, visits Kalmbach Publishing Co., the leading publisher of model train magazines and books, in Milwaukee, Wis., where he takes a tour of one of the largest HO layouts and talks with employees about running the trains and track maintenance.

The Kalmbach (pronounced calm back) layout is considered the testing lab for Model Railroader magazine. Employees test new products on the company layout.

Host Chris Chianelli is all about "track maintenance" this week...

and what better place to explore this topic than at Kalmbach Publishing!

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	At Kalmbach Publishing employees are encouraged to test, maintain and play with the company's in-house model train layout.
	Kalmbach's layout is more than 1,500 square feet!
	Al Kalmbach was a Marquette graduate who couldn't get a job during the depression—so he did the next best thing and starting a printing and publishing empire on his favorite pastime, model railroading.

Did You Know?

• There are more than 200,000 miles of train track in the United States alone.

• Track is comprised of four basic elements:
  1. Rails
     
  2. Ties
     
  3. Ballast
     
  4. Spikes

In order to keep the trains running smoothly the tracks must be maintained, and the same can be said for your model railroad layout. And this is no small task either for the big trains or model when you consider the pounding each takes.

"Any railroad takes a tremendous beating throughout the course of the year," Kevin Keefe, publisher of Trains magazine, said. "Just keeping the railroad going requires an army and millions of dollars of equipment."

Kalmbach Publishing History

The Kalmbach Publishing Co., located in Milwaukee, Wis., is approximately in the center of the MR&T (Milwaukee, Racine & Troy) Model Railroad Club, which features one of the largest model layouts in the country.

This publishing house is one of the longest running and most respected in the model railroad industry. It was organized in 1934 by Al Kalmbach, when he launched Model Railroader magazine, which still thrives today with a circulation of approximately 175,000. There are more than 300 employees who produce 15 monthly and annual titles, including another big seller—Trains.

Kalmbach employees know how important it is to run the model trains, which is why the in-house layout is such a practical—and fun—commodity. But like many model railroaders, they also struggle to keep the trains running properly.

Track Maintenance Is Number One Priority

"Track maintenance is critical to having any type operating model railroad," David Popp, associate editor for Model Railroader and regular guest of Workin' on the Railroad, said. "On a model railroad this big [referring to the Kalmbach layout], if you don't have track that runs reliably you might as well take the whole thing down and get into another hobby."

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