Links Page
Here are some links to our favorite places
The ARM recommends the following sites! Please feel free to check them out. Each link will open in a new window, close that window and you come home to us!
LayoutVision by Byron Henderson.
Byron was our layout designer. If you are considering a professional designer for your layout, you can't do better, but we know from experience, you can do much, much worse!
"I've helped dozens of model railroaders around the world with custom track plan designs and operations plans for layouts large and small. Everyone has a vision of what they want their model railroad layout to be -- I'll work with you to create a custom layout design or an operations plan that brings your vision and ideas to life." -- Byron Henderson
The three links below take you to the essential equipment and software sites we use to run the "Santa Fe Plains Division" layout. We made an investment in Digitrax equipment in the early 1990s and really haven't looked back. Their equipment works well. Although documentation can be a bit cloudy and arcane, once you get a system up and running it is solid and stable. C/MRI-JLC Industries supplies equipment and software to run our signalling and detection system. This is a work in progress, but as each step is accomplished it gets more and more exciting. Finally, a lot of people are familiar with the open-source Java Model Railroad Interface, and its two main components, Decoder Pro and Panel Pro. Decoder Pro to create our motive power roster, program, and troubleshoot problems. It is a very powerful program. Panel Pro is the base software for the C/MRI signalling work. Click on the buttons below for more information. If you have questions about our experiences, drop us an email.
Experience the People, Culture, and History that make Amarillo unique!
Amarillo is a city with a unique history, and all of that history was affected by the railroads. Join us as we build an attraction to honor that history and the men and women who made Amarillo what it is today.
The Burlington (or Ft. Worth and Denver) was the first railroad through the Texas Panhandle. More information on the FtW&D's interesting route and the Colorado and Southern north of the Texas-New Mexico border, in addition to lots of information on the "Q" be found here. The Q-Connection is a separate entity but has many exclusively CB&S items for sale.
The Texas Western Model Railroad Club (TWMRC) is an organization founded in 1996 by a group of local modelers in the Fort Worth, Texas area. It was originally formed to build a private, freelanced, permanent layout roughly based on the east/west route of the Texas & Pacific Railway. However, now in its second building location, the new layout has become a prototypical representation of railroads operating in and through Fort Worth, Texas, with the central focus being Tower 55.
Between 2000 and the present, the Museum has grown from one operating locomotive to four. The passenger car fleet and cabooses can handle over 350 passengers per train. A 7000 sq ft shop with two track bays was built, and a 1905 Kansas City, Mexico, and Orient Railway Company Depot was restored in 2005. ORM is handling a growing number of passengers annually, from approximately 150 in 2003 to over 16,000 in 2008.
THE O-R-M also sponsors the Oklahoma City Train Show on the first weekend in November. It is a magnificent show, well worth attending.
RailServe.com is a leading provider of rail information services, including theworld's largest and most popular online rail directory. Acclaimed by newspapers, magazines, books, radio, and numerous online publications; linked to from more than 50,000 web sites around the world; serving more than 4,000,000 visitors per year (see details) - RailServe.com is the premier source for rail travel, hobby, and industry.
The TNMRC is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are one of the largest HO model train layouts in North Texas.. We have lots of room for running trains and operating! The HO layout covers an area of 3,000 square feet. There are two independent main line tracks, each 246 feet long, with 28” minimum radius curves. We're continuing to build out an extensive network of industrial tracks serving industry spurs and sidings with a focus on operations. We've recently completed a large staging yard that has greatly enhanced our weekly operating sessions! We are currently in the late building and early scenery stages of our new 5'x20' semi-permanent N scale layout.