Greater Houston Train Show
February 16, 2008
The Greater Houston Train Show 2008 Information
Click to Download the Revised 2008 San Jac Train Show Clinic Schedule.
Download the San Jac Train Show Contest Entry forms:
Entry Instructions:
Download and bring to the Show a CONTEST ENTRY FORM and the appropriate JUDGES SCORE SHEET
Click to download the CONTEST ENTRY FORM
Click to download the JUDGES SCORE SHEET for Photographs
Click to download the JUDGES SCORE SHEET for models
Download the Train Show Flyer for 2008
The Greater Houston Train Show History
The Beginning and Moving Around
The show has been produced for over thirty years and was originally called a Model Railroad Jamboree after the familiar Boy Scout format for and all-day get-together. The first San Jacinto Model Railroad Club Jamboree was held in 1972 at the Hobby Airport Hilton. The gathering was a success and became an annual affair. Over the next 15 years the Jamborees were held at various motels around the area including the Albert Pick, Dumfie’s Royal Coach Inn, and the Marriot on Braeswood. In perusing this list one may note that none of these motels exist anymore; so, the club moved to more permanent quarters.
In 1988 the show was moved to the Corpus Christi School on Stella Link near the South Loop, and the shows were held there until 1998. In 1999 the event was moved to larger quarters at the Humble Convention Center and remained at this location through 2004, changing names the the Greater Houston Train Show in 2003. In 2005 the show was moved to the brand-new Stafford Centre which offered still larger space and a more central location.
The Convention Format
Over the thirty-plus years the San Jacinto Club has remained steadfast on maintaining a “Convention Format” for the show. A typical convention of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) and its various Regions includes a model contest, instructional clinics, and home layout tours. Each Jamboree/Train Show has included home layout tours after the show and a model contest with entries judged on the NMRA point scale. But, perhaps the most popular offering is the clinics. The clinics range from slide shows and lectures on prototype practice to “how-to” clinics on building scenery, structures, cars, and fine-tuning locomotives. In recent years the club has added “Hands-on” clinics where a modeler works with the instructor in real time on projects to create trees, paint a backdrop, weather freight cars, or install ground-cover scenery. At the end of the day, the participant gets to take home something they built in addition to the items purchased at the sales table.
Home Layout Tours
Each year from 10 to 15 home layouts are open in the evening after the show and often on Sunday afternoon for visitors to drop in and see the results of applying the techniques and skills presented in the clinics and displayed in the contest room. Several of these home layouts were built by local craftsmen who hold the NMRA “Master Model Railroader Certificate” the highest level of achievement in the organization. This mini-tour is a precursor to the fall tours that are held annually and include 60 or more home layouts open in the Houston and surrounding Gulf Coast area.
The San Jacinto Model Railroad Club has members in all active scales and many of the members are also active in other area clubs that are building permanent operating layouts or have modular layout that set up at show and special events. The SJMRRC meets the first Tuesday of every month, except November and December at the Bayland Park Community Center. Visitors are always welcome.
