On Saturday morning, May 14, 2022, the Jefferson Historical Society and Museum and the Jefferson & Cypress Bayou Model Railroad Club celebrated the Tenth Anniversary of the Grand Opening of the R.D. Moses T & P Model Railroad at the Depot at the Museum.
Attending were Museum Board members and former Board members, Arthur Moses, members of the model railroad club, representatives of some of the Benefactors including JEDCO, the Schluter Foundation and the Moseley Foundation, construction contributors, donors, and many well-wishers.
After everyone enjoyed refreshments and homemade cookies and breads served on the baggage wagon at the Depot, the Museum’s Board President John Taylor opened the celebration by introducing the Museum Board members, Model Railroad Club members and Arthur Moses.
Following these introductions, Weldon Nash, a Museum Board member, and a Club member, related the history of the R.D. Moses T & P Model Railroad and its odyssey that culminated in Jefferson.
Nash related how the late R.D. Moses and his friend, Jack Luck, spent over 30 years creating and building this nationally known fabulous model railroad depicting the Texas & Pacific Railway in West Texas in the 1950s.
Prior to his passing in 2009, R.D. Moses established and endowed a Family Trust to ensure that his T & P Railway would continue in existence, stipulating that the layout be donated to a worthy, non-profit organization that would continue to maintain and operate the layout for years to come.
After several months of consideration of proposals from New York to California, the Moses Family Trust chose Jefferson as the best location and new home for the R.D. Moses T & P Model Railroad.
Nash explained how the Jefferson and Cypress Bayou Model Train Club was instrumental in getting the model railroad layout to Jefferson and committed to operating and maintaining the model railroad if the Museum acquired it. In July 2011, the Museum accepted the donation of the R.D. Moses T & P Model Railroad.
Nash then shared the saga of constructing a replica early 1900’s T & P Railroad depot on the Museum property for the new home of the R.D. Moses T & P Model Railroad which was made possible by the generous donation of monies, materials, labor and grants by numerous people and organizations, both locally and regionally.
These donors are all recognized on a Donor Wall in the Depot.
Nash further described the arduous and delicate task of dismantling, crating, and moving the 14×48 foot model railroad without damaging its beautiful scenery, how the model railroad was delivered to Jefferson and installed in the new building and how the Train Club worked night and day to have the model railroad ready and “standing tall” for the Grand Opening on May 12, 2012.
Nash stated that in the ten years since the Grand Opening, the model railroad club members have shown and operated the R.D. Moses T & P Model Railroad to over 40,000 visitors from all over Texas, the U.S.A., and the world.