Cliff Pettis

From Large-scale Model Railroading, p 6


 * Cliff Pettis of Houston, Texas introduced a low cost line of car and locomotive parts, all in 1-1/2" scale. This line changed hands many times during the thirty or more years that it was available;  originally starting as "Texas Railways" which became "Miller's Backyard Railroads", followed by "Bethlehem Pattern Supply", and finally, "Texas Railway Supply Inc".  It is felt that this line started many enthusiasts in 1-1/2" scale modeling.

From "The History of the Southwestern Live Steamers"


 * Prior to the formation of the 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.

Visit to Whysall Light Railway
William C. Fitt wrote the following in Live Steam Magazine, March 1979:


 * Back in July 1937, your Editor-In-Chief (William C. Fitt) was bitten by the Live Steam Bug while running Horace Shaw's 1-1/2 inch scale Pacific in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and never fully recovered.


 * About a year later, Cliff Pettis, who is currently Vice President of the Southwestern Live Steamers, attended an Open House at Shaw's Whysall Light Railway and took the photos shown here, and was also infected by the smell of coal smoke and cylinder oil. That's Cliff's son, Hugh, sniffing coal smoke in one photo and sitting in the riding car behind Horace Shaw in the other.  Cliff went on to form Texas Railways in Houston, Texas, in 1947 and his patterns and designs were sold later to Robert Miller of Miller Backyard Railroads and then to Bethlehem Pattern and Model Shop in Pennsylvania.  To complete the circuit, they went back to Terry McGrath of the defunct Texas Railway Supply Inc and, as a result, some of these castings show up on just about every 1-1/2 inch scale track in the country.


 * Horace Shaw is still interested, although not active, in the Live Steam Hobby at his home in Bloomfield Hills...and many of us owe him a debt of gratitude for introducing us to the wonderful world of Live Steam!

Girder bridge at HALS
Jim Cash sent this photo to the HALS group after he pressure washed and painted this girder bridge.

Pete Greene commented:


 * Looks like brand new. Brings back memories of when I used to run across that bridge when it was nearly new on Cliff Pettis' railroad located on the San Jacinto River back in the 1980's.