Publisher Heimburger Dies

Railroad books publisher and author Don Heimburger has died. He was 75 and lived in the Chicago area.

His company, Heimburger House, published more than 50 books about model and prototype railroading during his time at the helm.

Heimburger himself wrote more than 14 books covering among others the Baltimore & Ohio, Illinois Central, Wabash, and East Broad Top railroads.

Born in Urbana, Illinois, on April 24, 1947, Heimburger at age 15 started a magazine devoted to S gauge model railroads named S Gaugian.

After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1969, Heimburger worked as a newspaper reporter until being drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as editor of the base newspaper at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

After leaving the service, Heimburger continued working in the newspaper business and in 1979 acquired a weekly newspaper in Tolono, Illinois.

He continued to publish his S gauge magazine, an endeavor that evolved into Heimburger House publishing company.

Heimburger retired from Heimburger House in 2019.

Tags: Don Heimburger, Heimburger House