«Woah». That was the reaction of a ten year old walking in as we were headed out. And that perfectly sums it up. The Bob Clarke Rail Heritage Museum is run by the San Antonio Model Railroad Association, a large and long standing group of model railroad enthusiasts. To call this project ambitious would be a great understatement. 3,000 square feet of HO gauge trains recreating a run from Fort Worth to San Antonio. With everything in-between modeled in great scale. Along the route, you will see near perfect representations of the hill country. Downtown New Braunfels is caught in staggering detail, as is the Pearl Brewery and San Antonio’s old central station. If that wasn’t enough, both limestone and white rock quarries are rendered in photographic detail. And there’s a list of fun little subversive scenes to try and find, like a hippo in a longhorn pen and a chain gang working the ditch. Now for the best part: Come during any of the«fun run» times and they’ll hand you a controller to take over a train! This is high tech stuff, with cameras in tunnels, wireless controllers and a dispatch system set up to a central control. One of the volunteers will walk you through your first run — and they claim to have never taken a controller away forcibly. Very family friendly and worth it for the kids. I saw more than a few totally enthralled. ANDITSFREE! But a donation would be appreciated — there’s still lots of work to be done on the railroad!
