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Southwest O Meet History
For over 30 years, O scale modelers have gathered in October for the Southwest O Scale meet. It started when O Scaler Larry Muir invited a few of his O Scale friends to join him in Dallas for a week-end of buying, selling, trading and (most importantly) running trains on Larry’s fabulous O Scale layout. Model railroading was not as popular in the Lone Star state as in other parts of the country, and what O Scale modelers were here often seemed few and far between. O Scalers eagerly looked forward to Larry’s annual get-together as a chance to hob-knob with their friends. Larry was quite the successful electronics entrepreneur – so successful he could bring special guests to Dallas on his private jet! As much a social gathering as swap and sales meet, Larry’s O-Scale hoedown continued and grew for many years, eventually becoming the Southwest O Scale Meet.
When Larry passed away, Southwest O Scalers did not want this once yearly chance to get together to end. The meet rotated between various cities, but eventually found a ten-year home in Oklahoma City under the sponsorship of George Wallace. Each year O Scalers would gather to talk, present slide shows, tell railroad tales, and swap and buy modeling supplies for the coming year.
At the 2011 meet, George “voluntold” the two Fort Worth “Mikes” (Mike Ross and Mike Walter) that it was their turn to take the throttle and keep the meet rolling along. From 2012 to 2019, O Scalers from all over the Southwest gathered every October in Fort Worth to keep the tradition alive. From 2020 – 2021, the meet was again held in Oklahoma City. In 2022 the Southwest O meet returned to Ft Worth. A meeting hall was found within a five-mile radius of three O Scale layouts, and the schedule was set so that everyone, including vendors, would have time to visit the home layouts. Other layouts in the Metroplex area were open for visits before and after the show. Every year the Southwest O Scale Meet grows larger and more exciting.