The NASG Dispatch

The Dispatch is the bi-monthly magazine of the NASG published in January, March, May, July, September, and November of each year. Each issue is full of information about the NASG, news relevant to S modelers, and modeling topics that cover standard-gauge modeling, narrow-gauge modeling, hi-rail modeling, and American Flyer collecting and operating. The Dispatch is included as part of your NASG membership.

Each issue contains over 30 pages with color photos, professional-quality track plan designs, editorials, how-to modeling articles, layout feature articles, and several regular columns. The Dispatch is professionally printed on high-quality paper and mailed in a protective plastic cover. Pictured on the right is the current issue.

For NASG members, who have also signed up for access to the "Members Only" portal of this web site, the PDF of the new issue will be available as soon as the webmaster receives it from the editor.

Contact person: Dan Dawdy

Back Issues

We have our complete collection of Dispatch back issues available on this web site. Printed copies of back issues may be available by contacting the NASG BOT. However, the older-than-one-year digital PDF versions are freely available.

View Back Issues Listing

Article Index

All of the publicly-available Dispatch issues have been indexed. This means that each article is documented in the listings below, and a brief summary of its content is provided. As new issues become publicly-available, their articles will also be documented.

Pop Valve

The Dispatch's "Pop Valve" is somewhat similar to letters-to-the-editor type of columns you'll find in other magazines. This is your opportunity to submit your thoughts, comments, questions, ideas, and suggestions related to the NASG, the NASG BOT, "S", the Dispatch, the NASG web site, and/or a message that you would like to share with fellow NASG members. Please send your thoughts to the Dispatch Editor, Dan Dawdy, and he will make a call as to which ones to publish, and, of course, if he has the space to do so. Let's make the Dispatch a "publication of the members, by the members, and for the members"; we want to hear from you!

Get Published!

We invite you to write an article, submit a photo, or even consider becoming a regular columnist. The NASG does not pay for articles published in the Dispatch, but it is a great place to gain experience if you've never written an article before.

We have two assistant editors available to help you with writing an article, or to offer a second pair of eyes to help proofread your article. If your content is mostly A.C. Gilbert American Flyer or hi-rail oriented, we invite you to contact Terry O'Kelly (e-mail: okellys@msn.com). If your content is mostly "scale" oriented, we invite you to contact Phil Scandura (e-mail: pascandura@suddenlink.net). Of course, you are welcome to contact Dan Dawdy as well.

Publishing Deadlines

Articles/News

Deadlines are only applicable to time-sensitive material; all other content submitted for possible publication are published at the editor's discretion.

February 1 for the Mar/Apr issue.
April 1 for the May/Jun issue.
June 1 for the Jul/Aug issue.
August 1 for the Sep/Oct issue.
October 1 for the Nov/Dec issue.
December 1 for the Jan/Feb issue.

Columnists

Dan asks that columnists send in their column during the first week of the month two months before the magazine's date. The columnists' content is given a high priority and their size may have an impact on which articles can be run in a particular issue, so Dan would like to have the columns early to help him plan better.

first week of January for the Mar/Apr issue.
first week of March for the May/Jun issue.
first week of May for the Jul/Aug issue.
first week of July for the Sep/Oct issue.
first week of September for the Nov/Dec issue.
first week of November for the Jan/Feb issue.

Logistics

You can send Dan, for his consideration, your article and/or photos via e-mail or by using DropBox (for the latter, you may want to contact Dan via e-mail first).

Dispatch Advertising

To inquire about rates and arrangements for advertising in The Dispatch please contact the advertising manager, Merlyn Jarman (mjarman1@comcast.net).

About the Editor

Dan Dawdy is the editor starting with the July/August 2022 issue of the Dispatch. Together with his wife, Amy, they run The Model Railroad Resource, LLC, which is a company that publishes the bi-monthly S Scale Resource and the O Scale Resource digital magazines, on alternating months, as well as sells S- and O-scale 3D-printed parts and details. Both of these magazines are available for free from their web site for reading or downloading. They are "scale" oriented only.