The South Texas Railroad Social, often called the “Soclal”, were started in the Spring of 2018 by Frolin and Tom, to provide a place for train people to gather, to talk and share ideas, to learn from and share with others, to SOCIAL’ize without the variables of clubs, politics, dues or memberships. These are held so folks can get together and talk trains, both prototype and models. You may see a presentation on a Tourist railroad or a clinic on weathering models. We hope to have a variety material (based in part on what people like YOU will share/present). Below are Summaries of past Socials, both topics and pictures. A way to see what we did, or an idea of what we do… We often have between 30 and 40 people at each Social, men and women, teenagers too, gathering to enjoy some train time with others.

Jan 2024 - another Shop Talk evening, with a section of a layout and new layout planned, quick tour of an N scale layout, research and building a hotel model, and SAMRA Port scene Oct 2013 - Shop Talk, where we talked about expanding a layout, decals for rolling stock, dismantling a 25yr old layout, building an N scale model of a trift store July 2023 - our mid-Summer Shop Talk, with topics from 3D printing to new layout planning, a layout video tour, Pola N scale building project and more Sampler Video - about 11 minutes of ‘clips’ taken from the 90+ minute July Shop Talk January 2023 - first Shop Talk of 2023, with layout design changes, car modifications, a ship for a port scene, street and grass work, an On2 layout visit and a new loco November 2022 - this Shop Talk, we saw car building and structure construction, a layout tour and train pictures and hobby shop visit in New York City August 2022 - Shop Talk with a great variety of topics covered in a Round Robin setting, with several folks sharing various projects and railfan experiences June 2022 - a great Social with almost 40 people in attendence, four presentations, several people brought Show-n-Tell, was another great Social - so check out the pictures May 2022 - folks gathered online for another “Shop Talk” session, to share projects being worked on, ask railroad questions and share train stories. Mar 2022 - another great “Social” and gathering of near 30 folks at the Longhorn Cafe. We heard presentations of real railroading advventures from past years and from model projects. Jan 2022 - started our 5th year with another ‘Shop Talk’ session, a handful of folks sitting around sharing projects they are working on, talking trains and such. Dec 2021 - ended the 4th year with another Hybrid Social, with over 30 people attending. Take a look at the 45 photos available from this gathering, and watch the sampler video. Sampler Video - about 8 minutes but feels like 3-4, of the December Social. Nov 2021 - we enjoyed an Shop Talk with folks sharing projects and railroad material. In this session, see sawkitbashing, scenes being made and a sample of a new MRR video. Sept 2021 - about 35 people attended to see 3 presentations and more. Check out the 40+ pictures and screen grabs to see what it was like, in-person and virtual. June 2021 - pictures from our first “Hybrid Social”, back in-person and virtual via Zoom and YouTube. With restrictions lifted, we were able to return to the restaurant and in-person. Sampler Video - an 8 minute YouTube video with clips from the June event to give some examples of what people saw from the event, both in person and virtual. Hybrid Tech Overview - a 5 minute YouTube video showing some of the “hybrid aspects” of the June event, from extra cameras and angles to the room hardware and setup. May 2021 - another “Shop Talk” session where folks shared projects and asked questions. A chance to show what you are working on, get help, and talk trains and such. March 2021 - our 16th gathering and in to our fourth year. We had a surprise presentation along with a Virtual layout tour, a Car kitbash clinic, Show-n-Tell and more. February 2021 - another “Shop Talk” session with folks sharing various projects, plus some conversations on layout options and some railfanning. December 2020 - our 13th Social wrapping up our third year for this venture with 3 presentations and 6 Show-n-Tell items, a good 2+ hour gathering. November 2020 - another “Shop Talk” session was a success. An hour plus of casual talk without a formal program. Lots of projects shared and good talk about goings on. September 2020 - our 12th Social and online again due to virus limits. Two hours with 3 clinics and lots of Show-n-Tell, and a Museum update from TTM Watch a 10 minute sample of the two hour, September 2020 Virtual Social This is a sampling of the segments and material, what people see during a Virtual Social August 2020 - had our first “Shop Talk” session, a casual gathering to chat without an agenda. Several talked about their projects and shared pictures and a video, for just over an hour. July 2020 - the 11th Social was again Virtual with 34 people sitting, with two mini-clinics and a bunch of Show-n-Tell items, plus other material keep us going. May 2020 - our second “Virtual Social” with 44 in attendance, 3 presentations and lots of Show-N-Tell. Plus you can watch two video versions of it now on YouTube. April 2020 - our first “Virtual Social” had 34 people, and had 3 micro presentations and some Show-n-Tell. Then followed by some online socializing after. December 2019 - two plus hours of railroad material, covering Rolling Stock tune-ups, building a Diesel facility, building a Work Desk, Area Photo tour and more. September 2019 - two hours of great stuff, including a recap of the Railway Express Agency, tips on Layout Design Elements, the History of SAMRA, then a layout tour of SAMRA. June 2019 - we had a full presentation on San Antonio railroad history, two layout topics, Along with Show-n-Tell, some NMRA LSR infor, good Q&A, and a museum tour after. March 2019 - folks enjoyed two presentations, videos, awards and various other material. A clinic on White Metal Castings and on researching a Railroad Time Machine. December 2018 - we moved to a new location, enjoyed lunch, then three presentations, Riding NKP 765, Paper Models and Houston Layout tours. Then an Sn3 layout tour. September 2018 - a clinic on designing a model railroad, plus a railfan recap on hiking in a canyon and a railroad museum update. After, SAMRA hosted an Operating Session. June 2018 - enjoyed a photo presentation on area railroading, clinic on Weathering Models, saw an Overview of china at the New Braunfels Museum, and had an HO layout tour. March 2018 - we had a Clinic on enhancing models, a Motor Car presentation, that included three “Speeders” in the parking lot. Afterwards, two model railroads open for touring. When you attend a Social, or visit one of the layout options after, do you take pictures ? If so, please consider letting us share some of your photos in a recap! Email me to discuss.