East Texas man converts three-bedroom home into public train museum packed with hundreds of models—
MAYDELLE, Texas (KTRE) – A three-bedroom home across from the Maydelle VFD is home to hundreds of miniature train models running through walls, across mountains and into every room.
And it is open to the public for free.
John Hawkins and his wife, Penny, own the Train House Museum, a self-funded collection built in memory of Hawkin’s late brother, Larry.
Hawkins said he and Larry spent most of their lives collecting miniature trains and model cars, drawn in part by how affordable the hobby was.
“They’re fairly cheap gifts. People could give you all these,” Hawkins said.
The brothers had an agreement: whoever died first would leave their collection to the other.
“He was almost a father figure to me for a long time. So, you know, I looked up to him a lot. So, his passing was difficult, but at the same time, we can rejoice that he knew where he was going and we got all the trains.”
The house contains an estimated 100 to 200 trains, with more still in unopened boxes.
Displays include trains running in and out of walls, hand-built mountains and figures, and interactive buttons for children.
The collection spans multiple scales, including O gauge, HO gauge, N gauge, Z gauge and G scale. John said the Z gauge models — roughly the size of a thumb — are among the smallest working models in the collection.
G scale trains are planned for an outdoor display.
Hawkins said he’s even building a new layout featuring a real waterfall with water cascading through mountain tunnels, a beach scene with figures and boats, and a track that passes through a wall into another room and loops back.
“We bought it for another purpose, but we had so many trains. We said, and she (his wife Penny) actually suggested it, ‘Well, why don’t we put your trains in there?’” John said.
John said the museum’s primary goal is to teach visitors, especially children, about the history and evolution of locomotives.
“I want to teach kids about how locomotives, how engines were first created — steam engines — and then the evolution of them into what we’ve got now,” John said.
He also connects the collection to Cherokee County’s own railroad history, including the Texas State Railroad, which he said was built around 1913 to transport iron ore from the Rusk penitentiary and produce from the Jacksonville area.
The line was later revived as a passenger excursion railroad and continues to operate freight service.
“People, I think, need to know, especially kids need to know the history from where they came from. So that’s what all this is about,” Hawkins said.
John Hawkins, 76, and Penny Hawkins, 79, fund the museum entirely themselves — covering the home purchase, maintenance and ongoing construction.
They do accept donations but do not require them.
“The whole thing is to share it with the community. It’s our gift to it,” John said.
The Train House Museum is open Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. and by appointment.
It is located across from the Maydelle VFD. Visitors can call 903-795-3349 or visit thetrainhousemuseum.com.
