Jim Wrinn led Trains Magazine with passion
Editor, 61, dies after more than 17 years at helm of magazine
Jim Wrinn, who aspired since his youth to be the editor of TRAINS magazine and served in the role for more than 17 years, died at home on March 30, 2022, after a valiant 14-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 61.
Wrinn’s longevity in the editor’s role was second only to that of the legendary David P. Morgan, who led the magazine for more than 33 years and died in 1990 at age
62. Morgan’s editorship and writings deeply influenced Wrinn, who began reading TRAINS in 1967 at age 6.
Wrinn oversaw numerous initiatives that took TRAINS in new directions, including expanded online news coverage; a series of podcasts; a large catalog of digital video programing; a robust schedule of TRAINSbranded railroad tours, excursions, and events; and numerous projects to support railroad preservation. His tenure included a gala celebration of the 75th anniversary of the magazine in Milwaukee in November 2015, attended by hundreds of loyal readers.
Becoming the editor of TRAINS was an idea planted by Wrinn’s first college advisor, who in 1979 asked the young journalism student what his dream job would be. Wrinn’s parents had already encouraged his railroad journalism by giving him a 35mm camera in 1977 and supporting numerous trips to see, ride, and photograph railroads.
James G. Wrinn was born March 21, 1961, in the mountain town of Franklin, N.C., and spent his childhood there. He studied journalism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he worked for the college newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel. After graduating he worked at daily newspapers in Gastonia, N.C., and Fayetteville, N.C., before joining the staff at The Charlotte Observer, one of the South’s leading
newspapers, where he worked 1986-2004 in roles ranging from regional reporter to weekend city desk editor.
He also wrote or co-authored five railroad books, including “Steam’s Camelot,” a definitive history of the steam programs of the Southern Railway and successor Norfolk Southern.
Wrinn’s first photo in TRAINS was published in the October 1982 issue, appropriately a news photo of Graham County Railroad Shay No. 1925, a touchstone locomotive throughout his life. His first byline appeared in December
1989, a news story about the effects of Hurricane Hugo on Southeastern railroads the previous September. He went on to write numerous features before joining the staff on Oct. 27, 2004, a significant date given TRAINS’ (and Kalmbach’s) celebrated address at 1027 N. Seventh Street in downtown Milwaukee.
His home state of North Carolina held a special place in Wrinn’s heart, something he conveyed regularly to his readers. As a writer, he was never more touching than in his love letter to the former Southern Railway’s famous Loops on the line between Old Fort and Ridgecrest, 13 miles of scenic but challenging railroad, now part of Norfolk Southern’s Piedmont Division. His story “The Loops at Old Fort” appeared in the September 2006 issue.
Never content simply to observe from the journalistic sidelines, Wrinn was actively involved in railroad historical preservation, especially at the North Carolina Museum of Transportation in Spencer, where he volunteered since 1986. He recently served as a vice president at the North Carolina Transportation Museum Foundation.
Jim Wrinn was proud to be part of a long line of TRAINS editors and said so in a candid self-assessment published in 2009. “I could not write like Morgan,” wrote Wrinn. “I could not be a diesel locomotive expert like Dave Ingles, I could not write as eloquently as Kevin P. Keefe, I could not be an industry insider like Mark Hemphill. But I could bring great enthusiasm to the job, a great love for the subject, and the passion and curiosity of a journalist. The other guys put together fantastic issues of TRAINS, but nobody ever had a better time in this job than me.”
Wrinn is survived by his wife, Cate Kratville-Wrinn, their “raildog” Millie, numerous cousins, and many close friends whom he often said he considered to be the siblings or children he never had.