The Tomball City Council took a large step towards bringing a major tourist entity to the city, when it voted to approve an agreement with the Houston Railroad Museum on it's relocation to Tomball.
"They are looking for a new home," said Tomball councilman Field Hudgens. "We have the space available and it makes sense for the two to merge together considering our history."
The Memorandum of Understanding is the first step in a process to bring the museum to Tomball. The agreement states that the museum would be located on the northeast side of the railroad tracks near the Tomball baseball fields.
Hudgens said the museum is a perfect fit for the city.
"It's a wonderful idea," he said. "It's a perfect match with Tomball's roots being set with the railroad."
The museum, which is run by the Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, has been closed for the entirety of 2012 while it searched for a new home. The museum's inventory includes several locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars and cabooses. There are also many railway artifacts.
The museum also provides educational tours and a scholarship to the National Park Service's Rail Camp in Scranton, Pa.
In other business the council approved a new sign ordinance which looks to eliminate the roadways of advertisements known as bandit signs, as well as regulate the size and scope of other signs within the city.
The next city council meeting will be Nov. 18.
