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Tracks from Texas to Tokyo

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“Tracks from Texas to Tokyo” (Ballpark Impressions, 2006) is the story of model railroad industry icon Bobbye Hall.

Mrs. Hall rose to prominence in the hobby industry and NMRA during a 55-year career with Hall’s Hobby House and Hallmark Models, Inc. “Tracks from Texas to Tokyo” chronicles her rise from the early days of Hall’s Hobby House in Dallas, Texas, to a popular line of imported brass model trains. Mrs. Hall, who was inducted into the Model Railroad Industry Association’s Hall of Fame in 1996, retired from the business in 2001 at age 92.

A native of Whitney, Texas, she began writing the book along with co-author Tim Blackwell shortly after closing her shop on Bryan Street in Dallas on Dec. 31, 2001. In the book, Mrs. Hall relates stories about how she and her husband, Buddy, took a former ice cream parlor just north of downtown Dallas in 1946 and converted it into her first hobby shop.

“Numerous stains from the malts and milkshakes were noticeable on the walls and terrazzo floor,” she writes. “After twenty-five gallons of muriatic acid and hand scrubbing, I was assured that I was the only living thing there.”

Because hobbies such as model trains and airplanes were scarcely available during World War II, Mrs. Hall relied on an inventory of antique furniture to sustain the business in its early days. She ultimately established Hall’s Hobby House as one of the premier model railroad stores in the country. She was an industry leader and traveled the world, meeting royalty and celebrities, and forging relationships that lasted a lifetime.

The book also details the rise of Hallmark Models, Inc., which offered an exclusive line of brass imported locomotives and cars of southwestern U.S. railroads, and how Mrs. Hall became the first woman to successfully work with Japanese manufacturers.

  • March/April 2021

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  • Pressing Ahead

    The Cowtown Model Railroad Club has evolved from the former Lockheed Martin Recreation Association Railroad Activity, once Dallas/Fort Worth’s premier model railroad club. A handful of members have carried on the HO Gulf & Denver Railroad Authority, which is back in operation and sporting a new mission.

     

  • Time now for passenger rail

    Tracks are aligning for a bright future in public transportation and travel by rail with the onset of a new administration on Capitol Hill.  Funding opportunities await for returning Amtrak daily long-distance service and improving transit rail infrastructure. The key will be keeping several bills on course.

     

     

     

  • PLUS…

    The Cowcatcher’s N-scale Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad found a way to visually block the main line from Dallas to Kansas City when it comes a little too close for comfort.

     

     – Cowcatcher Magazine                                        
     

    BNSF Railway Co. (BNSF) and Wabtec’s exploration of the future of battery-electric locomotives crossed another milestone in early January with testing in revenue service between Barstow and Stockton, CA…

    …

     

    Pat Hiatte resumes his virtual travel along the nation’s rail network when passenger rail was king. He rides the Colorado Eagle from Denver to St. Louis…

     

    LGB is producing an F7A-B locomotive set in Amtrak’s original paint to celebrate the passenger line’s 50th anniversary in 2021.

     

     

    THESE STORIES AND MORE, PLUS A FULL CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS!

     

  • Product News & Review

    Rapido HO Flexi-Flo Hoppers

     

     

    Last fall, Rapido Trains released its first HO-scale replica of the ACF PD3500 Flexi-Flo covered hopper in each variation produced by American Car & Foundry. Models feature a wealth of detail.

     

    More product reviews!

     

    See product news!

     

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    Cowcatcher Magazine routinely features short lines and regional railroads that roam the Midwest and Southwest. Features include color photographs and maps, but an overview of operations and latest business trends.

     



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