Mike Mackey's 39' x 19' Texas and St. Louis Railroad is an operational layout having many jobs to make the railroad come alive. Mike's layout is based on the history of the Texas and St. Louis (T&SL) which went into receivership in the late 1880's. The railroad emerged from bankruptcy re-branded as the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad. At one time it was the second longest narrow-gauge railroad in the United States. It stretched from East St. Louis, Missouri to Gatesville, Texas, all narrow gauge.

Mike's railroad models the premise that the government would not allow the railroad to abandon service on some narrow-gauge routes, and therefore, narrow gauge steam could be found into the diesel transition era in mid America and East Texas. Mike set the time of his layout as 1958. His motive power is primarily first-generation diesels with an "occasional steam engine" making an appearance. We use quotes in that last sentence because a look at Mike's layout photographs below brings into question the quantity meaning of "occasional steam".

The Texas and St. Louis layout currently allows for 4-6 operators with a dispatcher. All trains run extra with the exception of passenger service and the Blue Streak Merchandise. Construction on the layout began in March of 2019. Scenery is roughly 75% complete at this time. The trains are controlled by NCE DCC. The pike uses JMRI for dispatching and car inventory. Currently the narrow gauge is not in service pending additional expansion which should be completed by the end of 2022. Is this to hold "occasional steam"? There is a 10-track staging yard that represents Texarkana and points north. Trains arrive and depart Tyler yard where they are broken down and reassembled for departure.