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All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm

COWCATCHER MAGAZINE

2009 Round Up

All Issues Priced at $2.95 unless otherwise noted.

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

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 2009Publisher’s Choice Special $2.75 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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Current Issue: Nov/Dec 2024

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Big Boy Bliss

In a deviation from normal cover content, the Cowcatcher features the latest in 4000 series Big Boys, Minitrix's N-scale No. 4013. Why? It's one smooth-running model and the mood was just right. No. 4013 pulled 26 cars and a caboose effortlessly on Olaf Melhouse's Dakota Northern at the same time Union Pacific's Big Boy No. 4014 was rolling through North Texas on its latest tour across the Midwest. Both the model and prototype are equally impressive. Check out the full review in the November/December 2024 issue.

Celebrating 20 Years

Rapido Trains attributes its success over the last 20 years to relying on the knowledge of its model railroader-centric employee base. Plus, founder Jason Shron's persistence paid off after taking a big chance. He left behind his pursuits to teach art history and fulfilled a lifelong desire to make model trains.

Featured Product

Home Shops' USRA boxcars are another example of the company's high-quality freelance rolling stock.

Plus

The new Bartlett soybean processing plant arrives at a time when multiple industries are finding value in the versatile legume. Model train backdrops don't always need to be an elaborate work of art to create the right effect. Passengers riding the Empire State Express on the New York Central from Detroit to New York City reveled in the luxurious accommodations. And more!