Greetings from a former Texan exiled to Florida . I grew up in Temple, Texas in the 50s and remember well the two railroads that built our town – the ATSF and the MKT, or Katy. Unfortunately I’m too old now, and don’t have enough room anyway, to build a layout representing either railroad. So I’ve decided to create a small non-operating diorama of the MKT trackage through Temple during the 1950s. I’ve been lurking in your forums for some weeks now and I like what I’ve seen. I’ve already found some good information I can put to use. Thanks for the opportunity to be part of these forums. I look forward to trading lies with all of you, and maybe find some of you who are also interested in modeling the Katy.
welcome to trainboard! what scale are you using? have you thought about building a module that you can take out to run with a club?
Thanks for the welcome, guys. And thanks for the suggestion, Bremner. I model in HO scale and the only club left in the area is nearly an hour's drive away. And even then I'd have to find a place to store the module, which I don't have . But I love trains and I like to build models, and you guys are only a click away, so I hope I'll fit in here somewhere .
Welcome! I'm in the design phase of a layout that includes modern day Temple and the big BNSF yard and UP trackage that runs through there. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Thanks for the welcome gmorider and Hoss! Hoss, it's good to find someone interested in Temple, Tx. Are you from or living in that area? I went to your thread about your layout design and got blown clear through the house and out the back door! I left a comment there so I won't take up space here, but needless to say, that is one ambitious project. I'll be anxious to see how it comes out!
Ha! I'm not sure if ambitious or "delusional" is the right word for it, but at the very least I'm having fun with all the design possibilities. I actually live in Georgetown but I've been in Texas my entire life and I've driven over the BNSF yard in Temple so many times I could probably draw it from memory. The wife and I have been railfanning/researching the BNSF and UP lines in the general area shown below and that has given me lots of modeling opportunities to consider.
Well, I am sure there is probably a connection if you go way back. This "Cheese Head" from Wisconsin is not a native Texas but I have lived in these parts for well over 50 years.
Welcome to the forum. My hometown is Dallas from the 1950's and I lived in the metroplex for quite a few years. My wife and I now live in west central TX out in the middle of nowhere. There are lots of things you can do that don't take up much space. Small switching layout; HOn3; etc. For a year and a half or so I've been building HO scale truck kits and doing a bunch of kit-bashing and scratch building. The MKT ran out here in the form of the Texas Central Railroad, which the Katy acquired something like 1910. It ran from Waco out to DeLeon and then our direction. It hit Albany, then Stamford where it branched. The north branch ran all the way to Spur, TX. Anyway, enjoy the forum!!
Thanks for the welcome, Skyraider, and for the info on the Texas Central Railroad. I lived in Grand Prairie and in Arcadia Park for awhile when I was a wee lad. Haven't given up on an operating layout someday but for now, it's kits and modules. Man, you are living in the Texas outback! I've been out that way many times... Stephenville, Abilene, west to El Paso. Loved every minute of it! Miss those rolling hills and running coyotes lol.
Hoss said: [QUOTE="I actually live in Georgetown but I've been in Texas my entire life and I've driven over the BNSF yard in Temple so many times I could probably draw it from memory. The wife and I have been railfanning/researching the BNSF and UP lines in the general area shown below and that has given me lots of modeling opportunities to consider.[/QUOTE] Wow, that's cool! When I was in my tender teens, I used to camp out with my friends and we would hike across I-35 in the middle of the night and over to the Santa Fe yard there in Temple. We stayed on the outskirts mainly because the yards were a dangerous place at night. In daytime, the yard men and crews would welcome us and show us around. We even got to ride in an engine a few times (diesel not steam, unfortunately). Those were different days...
My wife and I lived in Grand Prairie in the early 1990's when we moved back from Colorado the first time. At the time I was modeling n scale (I could still see it). We're now about 60 miles north of Abilene on highway 380. If you turn west on 380 in Denton off of I 35 you will be at our place in about 2 1/2 hours. Something that caught my attention a couple of years ago is vehicle kits. They aren't terribly expensive and don't take up much space at all. If you ever have a layout or module, you'll need vehicles. If you build one and end up not really liking it, sell it on ebay. Sylvan Model Works builds a lot of steam / diesel transition era vehicles in cast resin. Truck stop hobbies in Denver carries an amazing assortment of HO scale (the vehicle guys call it 1/87) kits and RTR vehicles.
