BROOKFIELD, Wis. — Firecrown Media has named veteran railroad journalist Bill Stephens as the new editor of Trains Magazine.
Stephens, a longtime Trains contributor and columnist, brings more than three decades of experience covering North American freight and passenger railroads, industry trends, and regulatory developments. His byline has been a fixture on Trains News Wire, TrainsPRO, and in the magazine’s monthly print edition, where his analytical reporting and in-depth special reports have made him one of the industry’s most trusted voices.
“I’ve been a Trains reader for more than 40 years, and the magazine has been an important part of my life. So I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead Trains and build on its legacy of outstanding rail journalism,” Stephens said. “For generations, Trains has connected readers with the people, technology, and stories that make railroading such a fascinating industry. I look forward to continuing that tradition with our talented team and our network of contributors.”
Stephens, a former reporter, copy editor, and editorial writer for newspapers in New York and Massachusetts, has been writing for Trains since 1992. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in history, both from St. Bonaventure University. Stephens and his wife, Lisa, reside in Massachusetts and have two grown children.
Stephens succeeds Carl A. Swanson, who became editor in May 2022 following the death of longtime editor Jim Wrinn.
“Carl has been a steady hand on the magazine’s throttle since taking over for Jim,” Stephens said. “He’s been Mr. Versatile, having scored an unprecedented hat trick over the years as editor of Classic Toy Trains, Model Railroader, and Trains. We wish him all the best in his next chapter.”
Trains, founded in 1940, remains the largest-circulation magazine that covers the railroad industry.
Congratulations Bill! Thoroughly deserved in my book. I always enjoy, and learn from, your analysis and perspectives on the railroad industry. Hopefully we will still continue to benefit from your insights now that you occupy the Editor’s chair….
I have been reading Trains since 1965 ( at age 12).Though I did not understand Mr. Kneiling at times, his was the first thing I read each issue. We have had worthy men take his place, but they too have retired. I hope Trains will find the best mix of challenges and inspiration and yes, history. I depend on Trains for the best information about anything on rails. May your tribe increase. Blessings.
Congratulations, Bill. Now, yes, follow the suggestions of Messrs. Landey and Ashenfelter. God speed to you and Mr. Swanson. Make DPM proud!
And, as a follow-up suggestion, TRAINS needs to do an in-depth article on why Amtrak is allowed to focus primarily on ‘corridor and regional services’ and why it is allowed to treat long-distance routes as ‘second-class’ operations? The Department of Transportation, through the F.R.A., should require Amtrak to provide ‘equal on-board services and amenities’ on ALL long-distance trains, i.e. full-service dining cars, lounge cars, sleeping cars and coach cars. Not the current, hodge-podge of unequal service. Amtrak is chartered as National System and should be required to provide the same level of on-board service on every long-distance route and treat long-distance trains with the same support given to corridor and regional operations. It’s time for TRAINS to do some real reporting and investigation!
Bill, as I posted on LinkedIn, this is wonderful news! Your reporting as a Contributor, Columnist, and Correspondent for Trains over the years is among the best in railroad journalism. Trains has a special place in the minds and hearts of many and introduced a lot of us, including me, to the rail industry a long time ago. The Trains legacy goes back to the first issue in November 1940, and its rich history provides a great resource for those in the rail industry, as well as rail enthusiasts.
Congratulations and Godspeed!
David
David C. Lester
Editor-in-Chief
Railway Track and Structures
Congratulations Bill!
This is the best Trains news I’ve heard since Jim’s reign. And I more than second Charles Landey’s remarks above. Let’s bring back the old in-depth reporting and inside views that made Trains the incisive purveyor of railroad, not railfan, news. That, of course, has always been your strong point. but it has become almost a voice in the wilderness, with all the other surrounding fluff.
Congratulations Bill! This is well deserved. I enjoy reading your in depth reporting on various subjects. I have been a subscriber since 1968.
But, who will now write the railroad analysis stories?
Hi James, I plan to write as much as I can. My column will continue. But I also want to get new voices into the magazine.
I just wonder who is going to be the public schill for Keith Creel and CPkc now that Mr. Stephens has moved on to more important issues…
OOps, spoke too soon…
Congratulations Bill. Excellent news for Trains readers, particularly in view of the Firecrown acquisition. Hopefully, Bill will be able to stabilize the print and online editions of Trains Magazine. Hopefully, the online sites and tools will be sensibly organized giving quick and easy access to the content desired by the user.
This is great news. I was on the verge of cancelling my subscription but now I’m going to wait and see how he does in revamping the magazine. I have been a subscriber since 1967 and looking forward to more great rail coverage. Thank you Firecrown.
I am an over-enthused subscriber since December 1971, purchased back issues for the previous years. I’ve seen the magazine change over the decades, but I’m not prepared to compare one editor to another. In general I’d like to see the best brought out of the columnists and contributors. In general I don’t want to see a magazine consisting largely off pretty train-spotting pictures. Stephens, Johnston, Solomon and others are the best that can be, but it doesn’t follow that the magazine is as good as it should be. We readers need someone with sharp teeth, like John Knieling, The Consulting (or maybe the Insulting) Engineer.
As people might have gathered from my recent posts, I’d like to see an honest look at the financial picture of passenger systems, both existing and proposed. This includes cost analysis (capital and O+M) revenue, ridership trends, and a forthright discussion of rail’s true impact in the overall transportation scheme. For example, take the proposed Red Line commuter rail at Charlotte – Mecklenburg. I’d like to see TRAINS MAGAZINE tear that one to pieces. Instead, we get a brief puff-piece mention in the on-line pages.
Yesterday in a swank downtown Milwaukee restaurant, I had lunch with a well-connected businessman, way out of the ordinary in my usual round of lunchtime social encounters. He told me that in recent years, not only has leisure travel by air rebounded (as I would know), but so has, unexpectedly, business travel on the airlines. Meanwhile, Amtrak treads water. Can TRAINS MAGAZINE get past railfanning and tell us what’s really going on.
In my opinion and as I have posted, I see Brightline West as a failure at best and a scam at worst. Where is the analysis from TRAINS’s editorial staff? And why hasn’t TRAINS told us what’s really going on with Brightline Florida?
In April, 1959, I was twelve years old, a budding railfan but I hadn’t heard of TRAINS MAGAZINE. Many years later. I found the famous April 1959 issue, David P. Morgan’s brilliant “Who Shot the Passenger Train”, in the University of Michigan library. I’m here to tell you, Bill Stephens, it’s now time for an entire issue by Bob Johnston and friends, with this title” “Who Shot the Passenger Train”.
Agree with your thoughts, Charles, but I wonder how the readership of the magazine breaks down today. Old guys like us who are, regrettably, dying off? Younger and new readers who are more railfans and foamers than folks interested in the business of railroading? I dunno.
Robert, thank you for your continued support. I appreciate each and every reader. I have a great gig, and I could not do what I do without subscribers.
Charles you (and others in this thread) are 110% right!! What we need is more in-depth reporting and investigation of various rail issues. I get all the railfan fluff I can handle from “Railfan and Railroad”. Their articles are generally well written and fun to read and the magazine looks beautiful but there is no real reporting and investigation of the issues. Hopefully Bil will change that and if John Kneiling is still alive (and I doubt that he is) bring him back or hire someone like him to ask and answer the tough questions. Sometimes the truth hurts but it usually needs to be said.
I found John G. Kneiling’s obituary on the Internet. He passed in 2000. Must have been mentioned in TRAINS at the time; if so it slipped my memory.
BTW the Insulting Engineer didn’t always get it right. At times he could be a bomb-throwing contrarian missing the mark. But sometimes he said what needed to be said.
Congratulations Bill! Extremely well deserved. Very Smart decision by Firecrown!
I’m looking forward to your stamp on the magazine and your in-depth article on the list of cars refurbished by Amtrak this year, especially the Viewliner I count.
HOOK ‘EM, Bill. This is great news.
A great choice, Well deserved. Looking for great things to come Bill.
Congratulations, Bill! Great news. With your new editorial role, are we going to get less of your great reporting and articles?
Hi Michael. Good question. I plan to write as much as I can — once I get up to speed in the editor’s chair.