RICHFIELD, Wis. — For more than 40 years, readers of Trains magazine were the beneficiaries of one of railroad publishing’s most accomplished but unsung talents, a man who created hundreds of the railroad maps that helped seal the magazine’s reputation. But unless you read the tiny, 6-point type in the corner, you wouldn’t know the name of Robert A. “Bob” Wegner.
Wegner, a 42-year employee of the Art Department at the former Kalmbach Publishing Co., died Jan. 6 at age 83.
Like most of the company’s graphic designers, Wegner was a jack of all trades who could perform a variety of duties, but as an illustrator his specialty was railroad maps for Trains and layout track plans for Model Railroader. In Trains, his work ranged from small inset diagrams buried within story text to huge system maps sprawled across an entire spread. He mastered the meticulous business of labeling railroad lines, providing geographic details, locating cities and towns, and creating map legends, all with a high degree of accuracy.
He also worked in an era when a large number of Kalmbach art staff would be expected to do competent railroad maps or track plans at any moment. All of them were good at it — among them Gil Reid, George A. Gloff, David A. Strassman, John Swatsley, and Mike Danneman — but Wegner was quite possibly the best.
What set Wegner apart was that most of his colleagues were railroad enthusiasts to some degree. That wasn’t Wegner. He seemed to have only a passing interest in the subject. But he was a fast learner and over the years mastered the subject. An editor at Trains or MR knew that if Bob Wegner drew the assignment, the instructions would be minimal, the research would be solid, and the finished project would easily pass muster.
One of his most appreciative colleagues was Rob McGonigal, who retired in 2021 as the longtime editor of Classic Trains. “Bob was a total pro,” says McGonigal. “The maps he produced, often with little direction, were unfailingly clear, accurate, and informative. Bob didn’t always have much to say — he was there to work — but you could always count on him for a wry remark that would leave you smiling. After he retired, I enjoyed reconnecting with him at the annual Kalmbach picnic.”
McGonigal’s comments are echoed by Terry Thompson, who in a long career at Kalmbach served as both editor and publisher of Model Railroader. “Bob was remarkably talented and his artwork was always spot-on — pleasing to the eye and filled with information for the modeler,” says Thompson. “He was also a great colleague, with a gentle sense of humor that could bring a smile to your face when you least expected it.”
Bob Wegner was born March 24, 1941, in Milwaukee and grew up in the Lake Five area in Washington County, the northwest of Milwaukee. He graduated from Hartford Union High School in 1958, attending art school for one semester before he got a job at Kalmbach’s offices at 1027 N. Seventh Street in downtown Milwaukee.
Wegner’s wife of 63 years, Dianne, died in September 2008. He is survived by a son and two daughters, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. A visitation and funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Jan. 16 at Shimon Funeral Home, 824 Union Street, Hartford, WI 53027, followed by interment at St. Mary of the Hill Parish Cemetery.
The family suggests memorials to Friends of Peninsula State Park, which supports the park of the same name on the shore line of Green Bay in Door County.
