I'm thinking of going by Texas State RR after the ARM meeting on the 27th of Oct. Can anybody recommend whether it's better to ride from Rusk to Palestine or vice versa? Naturally, I'll want to poke around and "see the good stuff" afterwards so I guess I'm looking for the end of the railroad with the good stuff.

On Monday, I plan to head to Galveston for the museum there, and also try to hit NASA and the Battleship Texas. An old friend, Graham Co. Shay 112 (also known as 1923) is nearby, so I plan to have a consultation with it about all things geared.

http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

Start from the Rusk station and ride westward to Palestine on the first leg of the round trip. You start off on a nice grade out of Rusk. Typically you'll have TSR 300 or 500 leaving Rusk.
Call Mark Price to possibly arrange a shop tour which is at the Rusk end. You can get a phone number from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Web site.
When you have lunch over in Palestine you can see 2-10-4 T&P 610 which is often pulled out of the engine house there for public viewing.

If you get to Rusk early enough, you can arrange a cab visit, and may be able to get a enginehouse visit as well.

I think the USS Texas is away in drydock right, with further stablization work being done on her. Between Baytown (where the Texas is berthed) and Galveston is Texas City; where the Galveston museum's Shay is located in a park. They donated the Shay to a small RR museum in Texas City in exchange for funds for continued restoration work on #555.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

> Start from the Rusk station and ride
> westward to Palestine on the first leg of
> the round trip. You start off on a nice
> grade out of Rusk. Typically you'll have TSR
> 300 or 500 leaving Rusk.
> Call Mark Price to possibly arrange a shop
> tour which is at the Rusk end. You can get a
> phone number from the Texas Parks &
> Wildlife Web site.
> When you have lunch over in Palestine you
> can see 2-10-4 T&P 610 which is often
> pulled out of the engine house there for
> public viewing.


Surviving World Steam Locomotives
james1@pernet.net

> If you get to Rusk early enough, you can
> arrange a cab visit, and may be able to get
> a enginehouse visit as well.

> I think the USS Texas is away in drydock
> right, with further stablization work being
> done on her. Between Baytown (where the
> Texas is berthed) and Galveston is Texas
> City; where the Galveston museum's Shay is
> located in a park. They donated the Shay to
> a small RR museum in Texas City in exchange
> for funds for continued restoration work on
> #555.

> -James Hefner
> Hebrews 10:20a

You also might want to know that the Rusk train meets the Palestine train at Mewshaw siding,with the Rusk train (except with 500 leading) goes in the hole.

There is no restoration work going on on #555 in Galveston. The boiler company that was supposed to do the work in Texas City balked at doing it,so the 555 was returned to Galveston a couple years ago. She is a sweet 2-8-0 that would be perfect for some operation,and is a good candidate for returning to service.

kbcotton@flash.net

Rusk. Parking is better. Easier to get in and out. The "Bone Yard" of projects to be completed/started is on the main drag outside the park.

retsquid@tvec.net

By the way, Mark Price is the Texas State RR Superintendent. Call him as soon as possible at 903-683-2561 or at a number listed in the Texas Parks & Wildlife (state parks)Web site. He is very "up" on promoting the steam operation.
Tell him your affiliation with ARM and in NC. I'm sure he can arrange a shop tour and possibly more.