by readers, with very few articles produced by the editors. Publisher Hal Carstens died on June 23, 2009, with his son Henry Carstens assuming day-to-day control of the company. Enjoying a long career as RMC's longest serving editor, Bill Schaumburg retired in February 2013. After his departure, the staff of the magazine consisted of editor Chris D'Amato, associate editor Jim Ankrom, and part-time associate editor Scott Lupia. Most of the accompanying art work, maps, and track plans were produced by illustrators Ken Lawrence and Otto Vondrak. White River Productions era After years of financial struggle, Carstens Publications president Henry Carstens announced the company's permanent closure on August 22, 2014. On September 1, 2014, White River Productions of Bucklin, Missouri, announced their acquisition of Railroad Model Craftsman as well as sister publication Railfan & Railroad. Beginning with the January 2015 issue, the primary editorial staff consisted of Stephen Priest and Tony Cook, the first major change since the 1980s. Harry K. Wong later joined the staff as an associate editor. The magazine was completely redesigned, and some columns were retired, while others have been renamed ("Safety Valve" became "Postmarks" in 2014, restored to its original name in 2019). The magazine continued to produce in-depth features focused on scale model construction and prototype research. In February 2019, Otto Vondrak was named the eighth editor of Railroad Model Craftsman, effective with the May 2019 issue, and splitting his duties as associate editor of Railfan & Railroad. The rest of the staff consists of Harry K. Wong as associate editor, and Todd Gillette as graphic designer. In April 2020, Justin Franz joined the staff as associate editor. Magazine sections The main part of the magazine is dedicated to the features. The subjects can range from a tour of a model railroad; to historical research related to a structure, piece of equipment, or entire railroad line; to the construction, painting, and detailing of a scale model. Safety Valve - (Formerly "Postmarks" from 2014-2019) A column of letters submitted to the editors by the readers of RMC expressing opinions about or sharing news related to features published in the magazine. Printed on a space-available basis. Receiving Yard - (Formerly "Dispatcher's Report") This section features announcements from various hobby manufacturers of new model railroading products available. Descriptions are brief and contain contact information for the manufacturer or their representative, compiled by associate editor Harry K. Wong. Railbooks