''Passenger Train Journal'' ''(PTJ)'' is an American magazine about passenger
rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
and
rail transit past and present, oriented for
railfan
A railfan, train fan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff, anorak (British English), gunzel (Australian English), trainspotter (British English) or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally in ...
s and rail passenger advocates and published currently by
White River Productions. Founded in 1968, it was published continuously until 1996,
and monthly from 1979 onward, but then ceased publication. After a 10-year absence, the title was revived in 2006 by a different publishing company,
as a quarterly magazine.
''PTJ'' deals exclusively with passenger rail, not
freight
In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...
. Although focused on
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, each issue includes at least a small amount of content on overseas—usually European—passenger rail. The magazine is headquartered in
Bucklin, Missouri
Bucklin is a city in southeast Linn County, Missouri, United States. The population was 413 at the 2020 census.
History
Bucklin was laid out in 1854, and named after James H. Bucklin, a railroad official of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad ...
.
History
''Passenger Train Journal'' was founded in 1968 by Kevin McKinney,
[McKinney, Kevin. "On the Point", p. 2. ''Passenger Train Journal'', issue 229 (4th Quarter, 2006). White River Productions.] who established the PTJ Publishing Company for the purpose. The magazine originally was issued quarterly, becoming bimonthly in fall 1975 and monthly starting in March 1979. McKinney remained its publisher and owner until selling the magazine to
Interurban Press
Interurban Press was a small, privately owned American publishing company, specializing in books about streetcars, other forms of rail transit and railroads in North America, from 1943MacDougall, Kent (May 19, 1983). "Books Ring Bell With Devote ...
in 1987.
Publication continued under Interurban Press,
and as of 1992 ''PTJ'' circulation was about 10,000.
In 1993, Interurban Press was acquired by
Pentrex,
[Ryll, Thomas (November 29, 1994). "Felida man tracks light rail" (profile of retired Interurban Press owner ]Mac Sebree
George McClelland Sebree III (August 26, 1932 – March 7, 2010), better known as Mac Sebree, was an American journalist, writer and publisher whose area of expertise was urban mass transit, particularly urban rail transit. He was also a bus ...
). ''The Columbian
''The Columbian'' is a daily newspaper serving the Vancouver, Washington, and Clark County, Washington area. It is owned by the Campbell family and is the newspaper of record for Vancouver and Washougal.
History
Tom Carolan first published t ...
'', p. A3. which continued publishing ''PTJ'' until abruptly "suspending"
publication at the end of 1996. Pentrex never revived the magazine, and indeed in 1999 ceased publishing all of its other magazines as well.
White River Productions era
In 2006, ''Passenger Train Journal'' was resurrected by Kevin EuDaly of
White River Productions, as a quarterly magazine.
Appointed to the position of
Editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...
was
Mike Schafer, who had been one of the magazine's past editors, from 1983 until 1990.
The first issue published by White River Productions was No. 229, Fourth Quarter 2006. For the first ten years after the magazine's relaunching, each issue had 48 pages, but the page count was increased to 64 pages per issue with the first issue of 2017,
and to 76 pages with the first issue of 2022.
Kevin J. Holland succeeded Mike Schafer as ''PTJ'' editor in April 2022, effective with issue 292, Third Quarter 2022. Holland had been on the magazine's editorial and design staff since its 2006 revival, serving for most of that time as Senior Editor.
See also
*
Pacific RailNews
*
Passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...
*
List of railroad-related periodicals
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
References
External links
Official website
{{White River Productions
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Rail transport magazines published in the United States
Quarterly magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1968