Southwestern Live Steamers

History
The following appeared in Live Steam Magazine, December 1971:


 * Much of the preliminary work has been done and it now appears that the Southwestern Live Steamers, Inc. can now become a reality.


 * Under the present concept the club will be incorporated as a non-profit organization with by-laws and a complete set of officers and directors. Dues will be nominal and a newsletter will be issued at such times as it is needed.  It is hoped that one or two meets will be scheduled each year.


 * As of now, it is highly likely that a 2500 foot double loop of 7-1/2 inch gauge track will be made available to the club in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Later there will be a try for trackage in the southern part of Texas.


 * An organizational meet will be held in the near future. If you are interested and would like to attend, contact Leslie Burford - who is serving as Temporary Secretary - at 5516 Stonegate Road in Dallas, Texas 75209.  It is not necessary that you have a locomotive to be a part of this organization.

From Southwestern Live Steamers website:


 * As written in the 1990 SWLS Roster…


 * On January 15, 1972, Leslie Burford hosted a meeting at his home at 5516 Stonegate Rd, Dallas, Texas for people interested in forming an organization to promote interest in live steam railroading. This was the first of two organizational meetings with the second held on January 29th.  The first meeting was attended by 14 live steamers and 3 others by proxy.


 * Les served as Temporary Chairman and Austin Barr as Secretary. The name for the club was agreed and the club’s purpose was to promote steam power of any kind.  Allen Guiberson was named Chairman of a Bylaws Committee and Paul DeVerter agreed to handle the incorporation of the club.


 * At the second meeting, Les Burford continued as Temporary Chairman and Leon Lindner served as Secretary. The group agreed to DeVerter’s proposed “Articles of Incorporation” and Guiberson’s committee suggested adoption of an amended version of the Mid-South Live Steamers’ Bylaws.  The motion carried.


 * The group elected the club’s first slate of Officers and Directors:


 * President: Allen Guiberson
 * Vice President: Paul DeVerter
 * Secretary-Tresurer: Leon Lindner
 * Directors: Harold Timm, Paul Torn, L.L. Yates, Austin Barr, Les Burford


 * Plans were also made for committees to handle issues concerning Boilers, Facilities, Safety and Publications. Regular monthly meetings were scheduled for the second Sunday of each month.

Falfurrias Meets
Prior to the formation of the SWLS club, scale railroaders abounded in Texas with tracks around their homes utilizing several different gauges. Some of these were Harold Timm of Dallas, Ces Beck of San Antonio, John Enders of Austin, Cliff Pettis of Houston, Vernon Greschel of Houston, Allen Guiberson and Lou Conklin of Dallas. Tracks were being planned by Henry Blossom of Wimberley and Roy Pickard of Priddy.

None had tracks large enough or knew enough other steamers to hold a meet until L.L. Yates of Falfurrias asked Live Steam Magazine to publish a notice of the First Texas Live Steam Meet, August 31 and September 1, 1969. The meet was held on his 500′ loop next to the dry cleaning plant that he managed. The turntable was inside the big boiler room of the plant. Engines were unloaded on one side of the building onto the turntable, then to the tracks on the other side of the building. L.L. Yates, John Enders and Ces Beck had steam engines to run and Paul DeVerter showed his 3/4 inch Juliet II.

Annetta Meets
Michael McGrath wrote the following on Facebook, 19 October 2018:


 * Since I was oh, 4 or 5 years old, my life revolved around the annual Southwestern Live Steamers Fall Train Meet. Dad hosted the very first Fall Meet here in Annetta. He was taken by the arm from Les Burford and told, "You are hosting the meet". Incidentally, "meet" is short for "Business Meeting" [we don't race trains] of which, there where two originally. One was in the spring hosted by John Enders and the other in the fall hosted by Dad. It was always the first full weekend in October.


 * His enthusiasm was contagious! From the very beginning it started out BIG! At the time, there was no other railroad touting what he had built. A whopping 1,500 feet of mainline track! This of course is laughable today but, in 1972? It was unheard of. Thanks to notifications in Live Steam Magazine, he had calls from coast to coast. The confirmed guest list for the very first annual Fall Meet of the Southwestern Live Steamers was the who's who at the time! Names like, Leo Myers, Chet Peterson, Austin Barr, Frank Mann, not to mention, half of the officers from IBLS (International Brotherhood of Live Steamers). Looking back...what an incredibly exciting time!


 * The first meet was an absolute disaster! I remember seeing Dad face down on the bed swearing he would never do this again! Everything that could go wrong did. It poured down rain. The water well quit working and he had them come to drill a new well. Of course, the drill truck became stuck in the mud. On top of that, Frank Mann's huge 2-10-4 had derailed in the outer reaches of the railroad. It was truly a nightmare! But do you know what? The camaraderie was exemplary and everyone left Annetta having had a great time. Needless to say, every year from then on, the SWLS Fall Meet grew and grew in popularity and that little upstart club was on the verge of being the largest in the country. Most members, having joined right there in Annetta.

Past Presidents

 * 1972 Allen Guiberson
 * 1973-74 Terry McGrath
 * 1975 Ces Beck
 * 1976 Ed Landrum
 * 1977 George Berg
 * 1978 Clarence King
 * 1979 Harold Timm
 * 1980-81 Clarence King
 * 1982-83 Ed Leatherwood
 * 1984-86 Jake DeVries
 * 1987-88 Tom Stamey
 * 1989-90 George Maddox
 * 1991-92 Jack Haskins
 * 1993-94 Lee Balkum
 * 1995-96 Gerry Stuteville
 * 1997-98 Henry Todaro
 * 1999-00 Carroll Enders
 * 2001-02 Harvey Mattison
 * 2003-04 Philip Bell
 * 2005-06 Stephen Balkum
 * 2007-08 John Oglesby
 * 2009-10 Darren McNeely
 * 2011-12 Terry McGrath
 * 2013-14 Jerry Schoenberg
 * 2015-16 Kari Wirth
 * 2017-18 Bill Childers

Leslie Burford Memorial Award
Each year the Southwestern Live Steamers present the Leslie Burford Memorial Award to an individual or family who make significant contributions to the Live Steam hobby.

Videos
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1984 Season
From Live Steam Magazine, February 1984

Early Meet
 * March 30 thru April 1
 * Ces Beck, host
 * San Antonio, Texas 78212

Annual Spring Meet
 * April 27 thru April 29
 * John Enders, host
 * Austin, Texas 78723

Memorial Day Meet
 * May 25 thru May 28
 * Hank Blossom, host
 * Wimberley, Texas 78676

Corn Meet
 * June 15 thru June 17
 * Alex and Grace Hitzfelder, hosts
 * Devine, Texas 78016

Annual Fall Meet
 * October 2 thru October 7
 * Terry McGrath, host
 * Fort Worth, Texas 76109

Fall Blowdown Meet
 * October 26 thru October 28
 * Ed Leatherwood, host
 * Dublin, Texas 76446