SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY IN HOUSTON - PAGE 2

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Before the meeting ended, one of the members, Bill, offered to show us the club's indoor layout at the Northwest Mall.  It is operated every Saturday from 1 to 6 PM.  The Mall is happy to provide a room near the entrance next to Foley's.  This is the club's third year here.  Although it looks permanent, it is actually built in modular fashion.  There is a nice locked storage room in the back. Here is the view as you come in from the Mall:

If you turn to the right you see this city scene, complete with a Light Rail system represented by an ICE train.  The light rail goes into a tunnel (behind you) and comes out on the other track.

In a scene from one of my favorite movies, Men In Black, "K" and "J" are about to erase the memory of a policeman who thought he saw an alien in front of One Half Shell Plaza.

As you move further into the layout room, you can see a steeply inclined track which helps a train climb all the way from the floor to a hill above the tunnel:

Here's a view from the back of the room.  Behind the caboose is a brewery complex complete with drinking establishment.  Beyond it, out of view, is a large double-track trestle.  If you turn 180 degrees there is a five-track yard.

Our host Bill is posing with Helen and Charlotte.  In the foreground is a nice step for the little kids to see the trains up close.  On the right are the tracks from the city scene.

Many thanks to our friends in the Houston Area G Gaugers! Their website is at www.aabp.com/hagg.htm