Locomotive Magazine Collection Completed!
On Monday of this week, I received a package full of Locomotive annual magazines that I ordered from Kalmbach Hobby Store to complete my collection. They consist of back issues from 2007 to 2011, all in print format. I also ordered the premiere Locomotive issue (2006), which is now available as an out-of-print digital download in PDF format. All these magazines are excellent resources to many detailed topics, including some that are not exactly documented on guidebooks to steam and diesel locomotives. For example, there are lots of data sheets that are referred to as "New Power Profiles". Not only the Electro-Motive Diesel and General Electric technical specs are explained but also the MotivePower, Railpower, and National Railway Equipment model charts. The latter two brands are best known for building environmentally friendly genset switchers.
While I now have a complete collection of these annuals, not all of mine are printed because some of them are digital and can only be accessed at https://www.zinio.com/. The earliest Locomotive back issue available on Zinio is from 2012 and every annual is available digitally on that website since then. Other printed issues in my collection are between 2016 and 2020; additionally, I have the last two annuals in both print and digital formats. The Zinio issues I own are from 2012 to 2015 as well as the new 2021 issue, so I have no printed copies of them. Eventually, I would like to add the online copies of the 2016 to 2018 Locomotive magazines in an effort to take full advantage of their mobile flexibility. All of the latest special issues I may be getting will be entirely digital.
If you're interested in purchasing any of the Locomotive magazines, I would recommend ordering them online at https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/. Please note that at least two annuals, 2006 and 2014, are no longer available in print but can still be found digitally. The premiere issue can be downloaded to the hard drive of your computer or any mobile device, so you can view it without internet access. However, the 2014 issue can only be purchased on Zinio because all the digital Locomotive magazines, from 2012 to present, are available exclusively on that site. For those of you who want to go high-tech, some back issues (2007-2011) are currently available in print only. I do wish that they should be digitized in the downloadable PDF format, just like the first one from 2006.
Nonetheless, there are almost a countless number of colorful, valuable stories about the most vital piece of railroad equipment. A train isn't a train without a locomotive, which has evolved over the decades to increase horsepower, reliability, and energy efficiency. The Locomotive magazines are the most accurate sources about these machines and are, in my opinion, the finest special issues ever published by Kalmbach Media.
