The roots of the company go back to 1933 with the establishment of
The Model Craftsman magazine in Chicago by Emanuele Stieri with editor Harold V. Loose. The magazine initially covered many types of home hobbycraft. Charles A. Penn took over the company in 1934, and the publishing house established offices in New York City. In 1942, the company was moved across the Hudson River to suburban
Ramsey, New Jersey. In 1948, its focus was narrowed to
model railroading, and the magazine was renamed
Railroad Model Craftsman. (Rival publication
Model Railroader liked to proclaim "Model railroading
exclusively since 1934.") In 1952, contributor
Harold Carstens (known to his friends as "Hal") joined the staff as an associate editor. He moved up the editorial ranks and was named president of the company after Penn retired in 1962. In 1955, the company moved to larger quarters in an old telephone company building on Arch Street in Ramsey. In July 1963, the company moved again, to the historic
Ramsey Journal building next to the
Erie Railroad main line and across the street from the
Ramsey train station. Carstens purchased the company outright from Charles Penn later that year. In 1969, he renamed it Carstens Publications. He also purchased
Flying Models magazine, adding coverage of the
model airplane hobby. In 1973, the company moved a final time, to
Newton, New Jersey. The company created
Railfan magazine in 1974 to serve railroad enthusiasts and
railfans; five years later, Carstens purchased the
Railroad magazine, published since 1906, and merged the two into
Railfan & Railroad magazine. In mid-decade, the company was also publishing
Creative Crafts magazine. In 2006, Carstens Publications launched
On30 Annual, dedicated to the modeling of
narrow-gauge railways in
O scale, followed three years later by
HOn3 Annual—both edited by Chris Lane. In 2010,
Railfan & Railroad launched a special edition,
Great Railroad Photography, to show new and vintage innovative and creative photography. After Hal Carstens died in 2009, his son Henry took over as president and publisher, helped by his mother, Phyllis Carstens. The company struggled financially for several years before Carstens announced that it would close on August 22, 2014. On September 1, 2014,
White River Productions acquired
Railfan & Railroad, Railroad Model Craftsman, and the entire line of Carstens books. It said it would continue to publish the magazines and new books. It also purchased the rights to produce the On30 Annual and HOn3 Annual.
Flying Models was not included in WRP's acquisitions.{{cite press release |title=Carstens Magazines sold to White River Productions |date=August 30, 2014 |url=https://www.nmra.org/news/carstens-magazines-sold-white-river-productions |via=
National Model Railroad Association |author=
White River Productions |access-date=May 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101004341/https://www.nmra.org/news/carstens-magazines-sold-white-river-productions ==Notes==