The Mesquite Belt Railroad

The Mesquite Belt Railroad is a freelance-prototype model railroad located in Palestine, Texas. The layout is modeled in HO scale and is the largest model railroad in the area. The modeled portion is the MKT's Houston to Fort Worth route, with operational considerations of South of Houston, North of Fort Worth, Georgetown Sub-Division, and LCRA coal traffic. These considerations allow trains from "outside" the modeled portion to influence traffic flows and train movements. The Mesquite Belt's HO layout is housed in a 20'x40' depot. The layout has over 800 linear feet of trackage, including a 14' curve and a 32' classification yard. The Mesquite Belt also has a M-9 Fairmont speeder!

The depot was built from the M-K-T (KATY) Standard Plans Book, available from the Colorado State Railroad Museum. I could not have built the depot without help from my wife, Melanie, and kids Aaron, Caryn, & Matthew, father-in-law John Walther, Geary Johnson, and Mike Ellis. The modeled railroad was designed with a lot of help from my good friend Jeff Ford, and built primarily by myself and Steve Gohman, with help from Mike Ellis and Geary Johnson. The layout is controlled by Digitrax DCC, with radio throttles maximizing the linear walk-around design of the layout. Train movement is controlled by a dispatcher and CTC is in the process of being implemented with the aid of computer controlled signal logic. The Mesquite Belt utilizes JMRI for control over block detection, signal aspects, and turnout control. In addition to virtual CTC Panels, a physical panel is in the process of being constructed which will use Arduinos to register inputs and display block detection.

There are 6 Sub-Divisions on the Mesquite Belt:

The Houston Sub - Houston to Smithville

The Texas Sub - Smithville to Waco

The Ft. Worth Sub - Waco to Ft. Worth

The Duncan Sub - Ft. Worth to Points North of Tower 55 (Staging)

The Georgetown Sub - Granger to Georgetown (Staging)

The GH&H Sub - Houston to Port of Houston / Galveston (Staging)

The Mesquite Belt can handle group outings and hosting other model railroad clubs for guest operating sessions, as well as active involvement with the Piney Woods Model RR Club, NMRA, & Katy Railroad Historical Society. The Mesquite Belt also feels that we should use our model railroad interests to benefit the community. This is done by offering entertaining and educational events at our large model railroad layout (850 sqft) to such worthy groups as the 4H, Boy Scouts of America, and school groups.