x

All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm

COWCATCHER MAGAZINE

2007 Round Up

In 2007, the Cowcatcher Round Up became an independent regional model railroad/rail enthusiast publication after serving the previous three years as the official publication of the Cowcatcher Division/NMRA.

All Issues Priced at $5.95 unless otherwise noted. Includes shipping in the U.S. Call for international shipping rates.

ARK-LA-TEX APPEALS TO MASSES – Jan/Feb 2007: The Ark-La-Texas model railroad club finds balance of craftsmanship and showmanship with a traveling layout that entertains crowds at local train shows. PLUS, Texas Country Reporter Bob Phillips drops in on the Texas Western Model Railroad Club layout; the Oklahoma City Train Show finished strong at the gate despite a winter storm that kept many at home; and the beleaguered Texas State Railroad gets a shot of funding to keep trains rolling.





 
 

AT HOME IN THE CASCADES – Mar/Apr 2007: Houston’s Don Bozman fills his house with a spectacular HO-scale tribute to the Great Northern Railroad, the scenic Cascade Division on the “Great” Great Northern. PLUS, Editor and Publisher Tim Blackwell pays tribute to Bobbye Hall, a hobby industry icon who raised the bar in model railroading; Dallas Area Rapid Transit stays busy with expansion and upgrades; and Tyler’s Cotton Belt Depot offers plenty to see for visitors and rail enthusiasts.





 
 
 Cowcatcher May-Jun 07 PG1

FARM TO MARKET – May/June 2007: It’s late summer in North Dakota on Olaf Melhouse’s N-scale Dakota Northern. PLUS, new Athearn president Michael Stephens keeps focus on the company’s core product; the NMRA is alive and well in Oklahoma and Arkansas; the Texas Special made the best of its conditions between the Midwest and the Lone Star State; and the position of the helix is key to operation on Steve Willis’ Rocky Mountain. Very limited supply! $6.95





 
 
 Cowcatcher July-August 07 P1

REAL RAILROADIN’ – July/Aug 2007: Northeast Oklahoma’s HO-scale Claremore & Southern covers a lot of territory with realistic operations. PLUS, a North Texas scratch builder explains how to make models of switch stands that were used on the Denver & Rio Grande Western; the future of the Texas State Railroad is in new hands with American Heritage Railways; and the Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad goes “green” by putting two N-ViroMotive locomotives into service.





 
 

ALAMO SPECIAL – Sept/Oct 2007: We take a ride on the Longhorn & Western and tour the Alamo City’s Texas Transportation Museum. PLUS, Athearn delivers an HO-scale model of an ACF hopper car in the unusual Texas Pacific/Missouri Pacific scheme; floods across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas played havoc with freight, passenger and tourist railroads; the McKinney Avenue Trolley expands to handle increased traffic on the Dallas Uptown streetcar line; and the Overton, TX, I&GN club is taking shape.





 
 

 

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN  – Nov/Dec 2007: The M-K-T and Cotton Belt are no longer, but evidence of Waco’s railroading past is quite visible. PLUS, Intermountain Railway Co. plans another release of its line of Santa Fe Caswell gondolas; Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific combined equipment to make a special run through East Texas; the All Points North model railroad club in Houston is charting a new direction; and a model of A.C. Gilbert’s Radio Car scratch built in S-scale takes top honors.





Pick up the current issue of the Cowcatcher Magazine at a location near you or SUBSCRIBE

Current Issue: Sept/Oct 2026

Piney Empire

Empires don’t have to take a lifetime of work. Just ask Vern Hallead, who has only been at the hobby for about 20 years and just may be the model railroad magnate of Northeast Texas. Hallead had his massive HO-scale layout professionally built from bench work to structures to weathering to a painted backdrop for operations. And no piece of ballast has been left unturned on a kingdom that sits obscured by towering pine trees in a quiet lakeside neighborhood. The layout, loosely depicting towns within a few miles of where Vern and wife Sparky live was operational but had no name. Only after Vern consented to this story did his empire become the Jefferson & Lone Star Railway.

Ghost Train a Comin'

Paranormal activity on railroads is nothing new, as Pat Hiatte explains in a ghostly account sure to bring a shiver.

Touring Diorama

One NMRA member is spending his summer talking up model trains. But he doesn’t have a honed presentation and PowerPoint clicker. Darrell Cowles, MMR, is toting around a small, museum-quality HO diorama that’s getting second looks at local libraries with a subtle message: See what you can do with model trains?

Plus

BNSF’s planned intermodal facility in Barstow, CA, represents a fundamental shift in how freight will flow through California, the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad’s No. 6071 is waving stars and stripes, Micro-Trains by Atlas makes its product debut with several freight car releases and pre-order announcements over the summer and a PSC 70-ton ore car pays tribute to a popular freelance Minnesota HO mining railroad. And more!