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All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm

COWCATCHER MAGAZINE

2009 Round Up

In 2009, Cowcatcher Round Up expanded its coverage from Texas to include Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

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PROTOTYPICAL IS IN – Jan/Feb 2009: We celebrate our fifth anniversary with an inside look at the Texas Western Model Railroad Club’s Texas & Pacific layout. PLUS, the model railroad industry braces for a tight economy on the heels of a devastating recession; six of New Orleans’ 24 Canal Street streetcars return to the rails after much of the fleet was damaged by Hurricane Katrina; Fort Worth modeler Olaf Melhouse finds a way to make uncoupling tools out of worn Microbrushes; and volunteers step up to revitalize the museum in Denison’s fomer Katy depot.




FLAVORFUL HILL COUNTRY RAILROADIN’ – March/April 2010: San Antonio Model Railroad Association’s San Antonio & Northern is a Hill Country railroad with a lot of flavor. PLUS, a few snips make older X2F-type couplers compatible with knuckle couplers; a Santa Fe locomotive was a public relations dream; sales on small-ticket items flourish during economic downtown and Austin’s MetroRail begins testing of its fleet as the launch of light-rail service nears.




GULF WESTERN MODULAR SOCIETY SIZES IT UP – May/June 2009: A Corpus Christi, TX, model railroad club is big on presentation. PLUS, Claremore & Southern co-founder George Maulsby leaves behind an Oklahoma legacy; the Central Arkansass Model Railroad Club refurbishes a 1950s park train; a new HO track cleaning car vacuums, scrubs and polishes; and the Trinity Railway Express opens the first of two bridges.




EXTRA SPECIAL ON AMTRAK – July/August 2009Limited Copies Available:  Editor and Publisher Tim Blackwell takes a ride on Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer and gets one-on-one with crew members. PLUS, the dispatcher for the South Texas & Gulf has his eye on the railroad at all times with the help of nine computer monitors; a Longview, TX, conductor carves his way into a side business that gets national attention; and the Galveston Railroad Museum awaits funding after getting hit hard by Hurricane Ike.




‘O’H TO BE IN PENNSY – September/October 2009: It’s 1957 and coal trains are hustling on Brady McGuire’s O-scale Pennsylvania line to Pittsburgh. PLUS, restoration on the ex-Southern Pacific steam locomotive owned by the Austin Steam Train Association is moving forward; the Katy Flyer linked St. Louis and Galveston and gained fame after the Dalton Gang robbed the train in Adair, OK; and the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad beefs up its bridges and fleet with capital investments.




BACK IN BUSINESS – November/December 2009Publisher’s Choice Special $2.75: The Texas State Railroad is back in business and the future looks bright under American Heritage Railways. PLUS, the Cowcatcher asks readers to vote for the best of the best in the four-state area in the first Cowcatcher Gold Rail Awards competition; the Oklahoma Railway Museum splurges on its 10-year anniversary with the purchase of adjacent land to be used for expansion; and the region’s model railroad dealers like what they are seeing in the diesel market.




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O Triad

The O-scale Reader & Caney Creek, the Virginian Railway and the Cheapskate & Ohio are distinctly different. Well-known among Southwest O-scalers, the protolance 2-rail Virginian is spectacularly scenicked and spans over 1,200 square feet. Same with the freelance Cheapskate & Ohio, still mostly under construction. It showcases fine-scale 2-rail modeling integrated with hi-rail AC toy trains. The around-the-walls Reader & Caney Creek is proof that 2-rail doesn’t require a ballroom. While they share a size more associated with nostalgia and collecting than fine-scale model railroading, the layouts embody a very individual spirit. And the goal isn't necessarily running trains.

Craftsman Courtyard

Laser-cut craftsman kit makers on the East Coast are working together to change the dynamic of a model railroad segment traditionally reserved for elite modelers because of its reputation for complex kits requiring extensive handwork. Through affordable, easy-to-assemble wood kits, the companies are attracting the experienced and beginners alike.

Mail on the Rails

For a century, “these couriers” included the railroads and what was known for most if its life as the Railway Mail Service. In 1950 more than 14,000 clerks toiled away sorting mail in Railway Post Offices on 3,000 moving trains.

Plus

The Northeast Outdoor Railway Festival is adding a new touch by creating a citywide large-scale experience in Palmer, MA; OminTRAX buys three Arkansas short lines to expand into a new growing market; a recent release of a Denver & Rio Grande Western caboose fills a niche with classic paint; InterMountain Railway's HO 5161 Trinity hoppers feature BNSF's Heritage roads; and an ex-Canadian National Railway F7A finds a home. And more!