TRAINS CHANGING HANDS.

Waukesha-based Kalmbach Media sells railroad and space brands to Tennessee firm.  No, not Outkick or Pajamas Media.

Waukesha-based publisher Kalmbach Media has sold its railroad and space enthusiast brands to Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Firecrown Media for an undisclosed price.

Firecrown is a transportation media provider that publishes content on the aviation, boating and logistics industries. Some of the company’s brands include FLYING, Boating, Yachting, Salt Water Sportsman and FreighWaves.

Firecrown has acquired Kalmbach Media’s Train, Model Railroader, Classic Toy Trains, Garden Railways and Trains.com brands. The acquisition also includes the space enthusiast brand Astronomy, as well as FineScale Modeler, Kalmbach Books and Kalmbach’s digital e-commerce stores.

“We are excited to have a found a new home for these storied and well-respected brands,” said Dan Hickey, chief executive officer of Kalmbach Media. “While these are always difficult decisions, it is great to know that their stewardship moving forward will be under the guidance of a company and leader dedicated and passionate about their continued growth and expansion.”

Firecrown plans to retain all of the editorial and content resources of the former Kalmbach Media brands and to open a new office in Wisconsin to accommodate the teams currently working on them.

With the acquisition, Firecrown plans to invest significantly in Trains’ business editorial coverage, increasing the rail industry’s cadence and depth of coverage.

I cringe at some of that business-speak, and wonder how much further Trains will come to imitate Railway Age.  In addition, that "new office in Wisconsin" might mean the end of 21027 Crossways Circle and the persistence of that "1027" in Kalmbach street addresses.

Trains News Wire adds,

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.

We'll see.  I suspect that print magazines will age out along with the readers who grew up with them.  Whether the online coverage of things that run on rails will flourish also remains to be seen.