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Zube Park Railroad History
17400 Roberts Rd,
Hockley, TX 77447
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Zube
Park is Harris County's Railroad Park with a major model railroad
system built and maintained by an organization of railroad enthusiasts
doing business as Houston Area Live
Steamers, or HALS. Members of this organization build and
operate miniature locomotives and cars about 1/8 the size of actual
railroad equipment. The late Jim Jackson and 23 other railroad buffs
organized HALS in 1991. |
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Two
or three of the original HALS members had tracks on their own
property. But theirs is a hobby that requires more space than most
people have at their homes. The HALS leaders started looking around
in 1992 for a place where they could build a track system big enough to
accommodate their trains. They began talks with Precinct 3
Commissioner Steve Radack's office and those talks produced an agreement
in 1993. |
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The
Precinct 3 Park Department was just beginning development of Zube
Park. The county agreed to set aside an area in the new park for the
use of the HALS members. HALS agreed to lay the tracks and maintain
them and carry appropriate insurance. HALS members got a place to
pursue their hobby and the county got a special attraction. Park
visitors can watch whatever activities may be going on: HALS members
running their trains around the track or working on their engines in the
elaborate roundhouse area. Also, on designated days, visitors can
take free rides on the rail line called the Cypress Creek and
Southern. At the present time, the free rides are scheduled for the
third Saturday in each month, which the HALS members call Public Run Days.
View the Public Run Day Timetable by visiting
http://www.hals.org/timetable.html. |
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The trains travel about 5 or 6 miles an
hour and the rides last 10 to 15 minutes. HALS is operating about a
mile of mainline track and a branch line the group calls K.D. Loop.
The K.D. stands for killdeer and the loop has that name because the
railroaders had to curtail their operations there somewhat in the spring
of 2001 to avoid disturbing a nesting killdeer. |
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The
HALS Cypress Creek and Southern Line got a major boost in 1997 when
the historic Browning Plantation at Chappell Hill was sold. The
plantation had been owned by the parents of HALS founding member David
Hannah III's wife. Hannah had built a two mile model rail line on
the property. He had to dismantle that. He donated the track
and a number of accessories to the Zube Park line. |
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