Information & Updates

Subscribe or Renew to the Cowcatcher

Six (6) Issues for $19.95 or twelve (12) Issues for $36.95 mailed to your home!* As a bonus, paid subscribers receive Cowcatcher Tracks, our exclusive monthly email newsletter (email address required). We also have gift subscriptions.

*U.S. domestic rates only. For international subscriptions, please contact us at [email protected] .

Subscribe any of these ways!

Mail check or money order with name, address (street, city, state, zip code) and term of subscriptions (6 issues or 12 issues) to Cowcatcher Magazine, P.O. Box 176, Keller, TX 76244. Please make payable to Ballpark Impressions, LLC
Subscribe or Renew using PayPal. Click here.
Subscribe, Renew or Gift using your Credit Card via our secure merchant portal. Click here.
Call us at (817) 379-5528 Monday-Friday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. CST

Subscription starts with the first issue after the issue featured on this website (see cover photo in the sidebar at top of right).

Subscriber Updates

No updates at this time.

[email protected] or (817) 379-5528.

Thank you!

Your Subscription

Didn’t receive your issue? Postal and clerical issues happen, unfortunately! Please let us know if you haven’t received your current issue immediately! Your issue is usually mailed Marketing or third-class U.S. postage 10-15 days prior to the end of the month of the first month’s publication date. Please allow 7-10 business days for delivery. Deliveries in some areas of the country may take longer than others. If you have not received your issue in a timely manner, please contact us at [email protected] or (817) 379-5528.

Replacement copies: We will gladly send you a replacement copy if your issue is lost in the mail or damaged. However, we will only send a replacement copy when notified within its publishing period. For example, to request a replacement copy for the November/December issue, please contact us before Dec. 31 and we will replace your copy, subject to availability. We cannot always replace older issues. It is important that you bring any missing issues to our attention immediately! Please note, marketing or third-class mail may not be forwarded in the case of a change of address.

How do I know when my subscription expires? Subscribers can find the expiration date of their subscription on the mailing label printed on the plastic sleeve protecting your issue. The expiration date is above your name and address and looks something like this:

EXP Sept/Oct-2024

If you are still not sure when your subscription expires, give us a call at (817) 379-5528!

Renewing or subscribing: We have convenient payment options to accept your renewal or new subscription. When it’s time to renew, we will mail you a renewal form plus notify you by email (email address required). You may renew or subscribe on this website either by PayPal or at our credit card portal. For your convenience, your subscription can be renewed over the phone with your credit card by calling (817) 379-5528!

Change of address: Because we mail Marketing or third-class postage to keep your subscription cost low, we do not receive notifications from the post office when copies are returned because of an address change/insufficient address. If your address changes, please notify us immediately via email (subject line: Change of Address) at [email protected] or call us at (817) 379-5528. Please leave your name, address and callback number. Marketing or third-class mail may not be forwarded and Cowcatcher is not responsible for replacing issues sent to previous address and not delivered.

Spring is when large-scale model railroaders with their green thumbs plant and prune colorful foliage grown nearly to scale. In some areas, maintaining outdoor layouts is quite challenging because of changing weather. Nancy Norris, an author who builds garden railroads professionally, says some plant varieties have become more difficult to grow in certain Hardiness Zones. In some cases it means garden railroaders having to put more emphasis on growing native plants rather than relying on varieties more susceptible to extreme conditions. She recommends new gardeners consult with their local nurseries for the best choices for an outdoor layout. Norris also has a few recommendations of her own.

Sweeping tariffs imposed on goods imported into the United States are stirring model railroad manufacturers. As a result, model railroading and other hobbies will cost more. In February the U.S. applied a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from China, and the tax has since escalated. Suppliers – including Athearn, InterMountain Railway Co., Broadway Limited, Rapido Trains and ScaleTrains – have been putting dealers and customers on notice that prices will increase tariffs are implemented.

The first rule of railroading is “expect movement on any track at any time in any direction.” This may seem like an overabundance of caution, but railroading is a dangerous sport. Always expect a train when you’re around the tracks. The second rule of railroading is that there is an exception to every rule. The North American freight car fleet in 2023 consisted of 2.03 million rail cars, according to Railinc’s Umler Equipment Index. Rail car fleet management — how empty cars get dispatched to move to their next loading point — is an ever-moving process and often requires fleet car managers to be nimble.

Information & Updates

Subscribe or Renew to the Cowcatcher

Subscribe any of these ways!

Subscriber Updates

Your Subscription

Current Issue: May/June 2025

$6.95 (U.S. Orders Only)

Tuned In

Tariffs Cause Concern

Managing Freight Cars

Plus