Frequent museum visitors know that the "G" gauge garden railroad at the Texas Transportation Museum is one of the most delightful places at the museum. It is operated by the "San Antonio Garden Railroad Engineers Society" or SAGRES. "G" gauge, or large scale outdoor model railroading, is the fastest growing area in the world of railroad enthusiasts. SAGRES operates the largest outdoor "G" gauge complex in the state of Texas. They currently run trains on no less than seven active loops at their popular site which occupies over an acre. They have two loops, plus multiple sidings, on the original layout on the ground. There are two small loops at child height at the "Island of Sodor" which was purposely built for the benefit of younger children. It is here they will find "Thomas The Tank Engine" trains such as Percy and all the rest, including, of course, Thomas himself. The latest addition to their operations is a large elevated set of tracks. This was installed and wired up in 2011. A lot more work needs to be done to make it look more attractive but that just comes with the garden railroad territory.

Garden railroading is a hobby with something for everyone in the whole family. We can only scratch the surface of all the activity that goes on at the garden railroad at the museum. You really need to come out and see it for yourself. Parents of young children love it because the kids can run and follow the train around the huge layout. We see an awful lot of sleepy looking kids and happy moms and dads down at SAGRES.

As you can see in the pictures below, SAGRES members - and they are always looking for new ones - are some of the busiest volunteers at the Texas Transportation Museum. It takes a lot of work to build and maintain something this worthwhile. They also take their mobile layout out to a large number of events around San Antonio. Even if you don't think of yourself as a model railroad enthusiast, we know that you will enjoy seeing these large scale trains out in the open.