Updated 11-22-04
McMillan Publications is owned by Joe and Nickie McMillan.
The company was formed in Woodridge, Illinois, in 1977
to publish railroad books and calendars, and was incorporated
in June 1982. The first book published was Joe McMillan's
Route of the Warbonnets in 1977 (copies from the 7th printing are still available), which
was followed by a number of other McMillan and Bob Olmsted
books. The first calendar (black & white photos) appeared in 1983.
In
1989, McMillan published High Green to Marceline,
the first in a series of four all-color books geographically
covering the Santa Fe Railway. The second volume, Wheat
Lines and Super Freights, followed in 1992.
The third volume, Warbonnets and Bluebonnets,
which features the railroad in Texas and Louisiana was published in June 2004 and is now available. The fourth volume will cover the Santa Fe in the state of New Mexico. No publication date is available at this time, however work is progressing on the project.
In
the early 1990s, McMillan Publications began marketing video tapes (and later, DVDs) and
now stocks over 500 titles from about 30 producers.
Likewise, in 1996, MuPub began stocking books from other
companies and now represents more than 25 of the country's
best book publishers.
In
1995, Joe McMillan retired from a 31-year career with
the Santa Fe Railway and moved his family to Arvada,
Colorado, a northwest Denver suburb about ten miles
from the city center. In October 1995, the family moved
into its new home especially designed to house the growing
business. A large downstairs work room, filled with
stock and railroad momentos, looks out over the Rocky
Mountains and Union Pacific's Moffat Tunnel Subdivision
(formerly D&RGW's Denver to Salt Lake City main
line).
In
August 1999, McPub introduced its first computer screen
saver. The program, which works on both PCs and Apple
PowerMacs, features 33 Santa Fe scenes from the 1960s
to 1990. The company produced an Amtrak version in February,
2000.
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