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COWCATCHER MAGAZINE

R.D. Moses layout returns to life

October 26, 2012

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JEFFERSON, TX — A small group of rail enthusiasts with help from local preservationists, merchants and citizens proved in May that sometimes the very difficult can be achieved.

The grand opening of the R.D. Moses Texas & Pacific Railway display at the Jefferson Historical Museum not only culminated one man’s dream for his work to live on but enabled a town to embrace its railroad heritage for the first time in decades.

Following a short ceremony and ribbon cutting to kick off Jefferson Train Days, Fort Worth modeler R.D. Moses’ layout was debuted in a new T&P-style building, and many who doubted that a project of such magnitude could be accomplished – the museum’s largest since a roof was installed in the 1990s – were smiling. In less than a year and with no seed money, the craftsman-like layout was transformed from Moses’ backyard and showcased in style under the guidance of the R.D. and Beverly Moses Foundation.

As part of the celebration, crowds gathered at the HO-scale display before walking along Austin Street to tour Jay Gould’s Atalanta business car, watch trains roll on layouts in the Transportation Center, and ride the Jefferson Historic Railway. More than 500 took in the event.

For the complete story, see the July/August 2012 issue of Cowcatcher Magazine

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.

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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!