The Carstens Era
In 1962, Hal Carstens was named publisher and president following the retirement of Charles Penn. Hal Carstens later purchased the company, and the name was changed to Carstens Publications in 1969. Tony Koester joined the staff as an associate editor in 1968, and later became managing editor in 1971. JBy 1972, Jim Boyd was working full time as editor of Flying Models, but was also listed as an associate editor of RMC. The last big move came in 1973 when the publishing company moved to rural Newton in northern New Jersey, housed in a newly constructed suite of offices with an attached warehouse.
By 1980, Jim Boyd and Bill Schaumburg were listed as associate editors. In 1981, Bill Schaumburg succeeded Koester as managing editor, and Chris D'Amato and Jim Ankrom joined the staff as associate editors in 1982. By the mid-1980s, Boyd was dropped from the masthead as he was now concentrating full time as editor of Railfan & Railroad.
The magazine is currently published 12 times a year by Carstens Publications, located in Newton, New Jersey. As its name would suggest, Railroad Model Craftsman concentrates more on scratch building and kitbashing than its closest competitor. In-depth features relating to prototype historical research, model construction techniques, and high-quality detailing and finishing are common themes. The editors have also closely followed the emerging trend of Railway Prototype Modelers, who seek to reproduce scale replicas of actual existing pieces of railway equipment as closely as possible, and share those techniques with other modelers. Although the magazine is not scale-specific, most of its plans are published either in HO scale or O scale, with instructions on converting them to other scales. Almost all of the content in the magazine is generated by readers, with very few articles produced by the editors.
The current staff of the magazine consists of Bill Schaumburg as editor, and Chris D'Amato and Jim Ankrom as associate editors. All have been involved with producing RMC on a monthly basis for almost 30 years. Most of the accompanying art work, maps, and track plans are produced by senior illustrator Ken Lawrence.
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