Railroad Magazine – January 1943

Description

This is the January 1943 issue of Railroad Magazine. The cover features an illustration of a mid-19
th
century train moving through a snow-covered landscape.
The magazine contains 164 pages and measures approximately 6.5 x 9.5 inches. In addition to numerous articles there are black & white illustrations and photos, as well as vintage advertisements.
Railroad Magazine was a pulp magazine that was first published in October 1906, and was founded by Frank Anderson Munsey. A railroad man born in Maine in 1854, he moved to New York City in 1892, where he authored a few books and published periodicals and newspapers in many cities. The magazine's first offices were located in the Flatiron Building in New York City. At the time of its founding, there was no organized railroad enthusiast movement, and initially the magazine was targeted towards railroaders and retirees. The magazine title was later combined with Railfan to form the new Railfan & Railroad, published by Carstens Publications.
The magazine was published under different names and formats throughout its history. Originally titled The Railroad Man's Magazine, it was the first specialized pulp magazine with stories and articles about railroads. Fictionalized stories of working on the railroad became the cornerstone of the new magazine, along with profiles of current and historic railroad operations around the country. As a boy, the author H.P. Lovecraft is known to have read the entire run of the magazine, from cover to cover. In 1919, it merged with Argosy which became Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine for a brief period before reverting to Argosy, thus killing Railroad Man's Magazine. In 1925, magazine founder Frank Munsey had died, leaving a million gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 1929, when freelance author William Edward Hayes announced he was bringing out a new railroad-oriented pulp, the Munsey Company recruited him to edit a revival of Railroad Man's Magazine. Upon the abrupt departure of the editor in chief in 1930, Freeman Hubbard took over the post, yet was uncredited on the masthead for many years. In 1932, the title was simplified to Railroad Stories, then changed to Railroad Magazine in 1937. Through the 1930s, the magazine helped grow the organized railfan movement by encouraging communication between enthusiasts, organizing special "fan trip" excursions with the railroads, and reporting on the activities of various clubs and museums around the country.
After December 1942, Railroad Magazine was published by Popular Publications, which purchased the Munsey Company.