News: Our Community
S-scale has a relatively tight-knit group of people, where a lot of us know each other via local clubs, train shows, e-mail, discussion groups, or various forms of social media. This page covers information about specific individuals, clubs, train show reports, personal web site updates, etc. Click photos to visit the web sites.
May 2026 Model Railroader Cover Story
Brooks Stover has the May 2026 Model Railroader magazine's cover story. It's an article in which he describes modifying an American Models Baldwin switcher. The five-page article covers how he used commercial and scratch-built details, custom decals, and weathering techniques to create a representation of B&O #9271, an engine that operated on the BC&G in the mid-1970s.
Doug Sassman
Doug Sassman passed away on March 23, 2026 at the age of 82. He was a long-time member of the NASG. According to Vic Cherven, Doug joined the Inland Empire S Gauge Association of the Pacific Northwest in 1975, and the Spokane, Panhandle, and Palouse Model Railroaders in 2011. The Northern Pacific was his favorite railroad and he built two hi-rail versions of it during his life, calling his layout the Little Northern Pacific. There is a photo of his first layout, and a description of his plans for the second layout, in the February 2012 issue of the NASG Dispatch. We offer our condolences to Paul's family and friends. The last two photos are courtesy of Vic Cherven.
Merv Afflerbach
Mervin Afflerbach, Jr. of Quakertown, PA, passed away on March 24, 2026 at the age of 83. He was an NASG member for over 20 years. We offer our condolences to Merv's family and friends.
Sn2 Set-up at Midwest Narrow Gauge Show
The Sn2 group is a very loosely-affiliated bunch of guys who build Free-mo-style modules at home and take them to various shows. One such show is the annual Midwest Narrow Gauge Show, this year held in Washingtonville, Ohio on March 21 through 23. It is sponsored and organized by Portland Locomotive Works. This year the group had 85 feet of modules set up in a Y configuration. The modules are in various stages of completion. David Keith maintains a web site devoted to Sn2, and he shares photos taken at this year's event.
Dale Kreutzer On Building Ute Junction Coal Chutes
Dale Kreutzer recently did a short presentation about how he built his Ute Junction coal chutes for his Sn3 RGS Second District layout.
Larry Blank
Former NASG member, Lawrence "Larry" Blank of Muskego, WI passed away on March 18, 2026 at age 81. Jeff Madden indicated that Larry was a member of the Badgerland S Gaugers club. He had a basement-filling layout, which was featured in the December 2014 The S Scale Resource digital magazine. The article is 11 pages long. He used to take a sizable section of his home layout to local train shows. We offer our condolences to Larry's family, the BSG club members, and his friends. Jeff remembers the many club meetings they held at Larry's home.
David Sachse
We received word that David K. Sachse of Cookeville, Tennessee passed away on October 24, 2025. He was a long-time NASG member. We offer our condolences to his friends and family.
Harry Noble
We have received a belated notification that Harrell "Harry" Noble II, of Xenia, Ohio, passed away on December 22, 2025 at the age of 88. He was an active NASG member for the last few years of his life. Be sure to read his beautiful obituary. We offer our condolences to his family and friends.
Muncie and Western Train Show Video
Austin Birkey visited the Muncie and Western Train Show in Muncie, Indiana and shares a video of the show. The Miami Valley S Gaugers' club layout is shown starting at about the 2:40 mark into the video.
James Dundon
James Arthur Dundon, of Jacksonville, Florida, passed away on January 15, 2026. He was an NASG member for over 25 years, and loved American Flyer trains. We offer our belated condolences to James' family and friends.
Visits to Bill Bartlam's and Gaylord Gill's Layouts
After the introduction, both Bill Bartlam's and then Gaylord Gill's S-scale layouts are featured in this video, which was taken in July 2025 during the 2025 NMRA Convention.
Alvin Clapp
Alvin Clapp, of Spencer, Ohio, passed away on February 12, 2026 at the age of 86. He was a long-time member of the NASG, and of the Northern Ohio S Scalers club. Alvin was a fantastic modeler, winning several contest awards at NASG Conventions. He had a 12' x 54' layout, some photos of which can be viewed on this web site. John Henning provided three new photos that were the last ones Alvin had shared with him. Over the years, Alvin provided a large number of photos for us to use in this web site's "Product Gallery" of kits he had completed. We offer our condolences to Alvin's family and his many friends.
A Brief Visit to Bob Stelmach's S Layout
This video was taken in July 2025 during the 2025 NMRA Convention, where Bob's layout was open to visitors.
Russ Segner Presents his Sn3 Layout
Russ presents his "Morton Branch and Coal Creek Lumber Co." 16' x 19' Sn3 layout.
Charles Wohlfert
We were notified that Charles H. Wohlfert passed away on July 8, 2025. He lived in Port Crane, New York. He was an NASG member for over 15 years. We offer our belated condolences to Charles' family and friends.
Bob Brown
Bob Brown, founder and editor of the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette, passed away at the age of 93 on January 31, 2026. He was a major force in drawing attention to narrow-gauge modeling in general, and was always eager to feature Sn3 models and layouts in his magazine.
Parts Business for Sale
Bill Lane posted this recently:
There is a line of S parts that are truly critical - mandatory to many projects, that is slowly being retired. Once something sells out that is it - no more. I think they need to be kept active. The parts line can be purchased so it can be continued. I am looking for some sugar daddies to throw some money at it as a GIFT. You will get nothing besides a thanks for it. I am not looking at $25.00 donations unless we somehow get a whole LOT of them. $1000.00+ each is probably more like it. No money will be collected or held until the purchase price has been met. Payments will be made directly to the current owner. I don't want to touch any money. I don't want to be the "owner" of it, if the purchase of the line is actually made. But I have some ideas on how to get them made and keep them in stock.
Contact Bill via e-mail if this is something that might interest you.
Start an e-mail message (bill@lanestrains.com).
A Conversation with Bill Banta
In this Q&A-style video, Bill briefly mentions his employment history, and that he started "banta modelworks" in 1995. He explains the history of the S/Sn3 product line temporarily switching over to another company, but now he has it again. He offers a few tips for assembling his kits, and announces that his web site has been completely revamped, listing more of this products.
Ken Garber
Kenneth Murray Garber, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, unexpectedly passed away on January 9, 2026. Ken was an active member of the Southeastern Michigan S Gaugers club, crossing the border each time he attended their monthly meetings. He was also a member of the NASG, and contributed many photos, instruction sheets, and other data to supplement the content of this web site. We offer our condolences to Ken's family, his club members, and his many friends.
Christmas Layout by Jim Strompolis
Jim Strompolis shared a couple of photos of his 2025 Christmas AF-based layout. The photos are a bit blurry, but you can still get a good idea of his wonderful set-up. Lots of lights!
Ross Ames Builds A Test Stand
Buying a locomotive test stand can be expensive. Ross Ames shows how he built one from scratch for his Sn3 locomotives. The concept can be used to build a standard-gauge version as well.
Jettie Padgett
Jettie Padgett, of Plant City, Florida, passed away on January 14, 2026, just about a month shy of his 85th birthday.
Most everyone in our scale knew of, or knew, Jettie. Jettie joined the NASG in 1983. In 1984, he was one of the members of the NASG's "Brass Car Committee" who commissioned Overland Models to produce two S-scale brass hoppers. At that time, Jettie was an employee of Overland Models. Jettie and Billy Wade started SouthWind Models in 1985 to produce S-scale brass models. Billy left the company in 1996 taking with him the brass parts portion of the business to supplement his company B.T.S. Jettie focused on producing ready-to-run engines and cars. He produced box cars, cabooses, flat cars, PRR hoppers, milk cars, the PRR scale test car, many light- and heavyweight passenger cars, NYC & PRR express reefers, various steam locomotives (and separately-available tenders), tank cars, separately-available caboose, freight, and passenger car trucks, and transformer loads. Not only that, Jettie was commissioned by the NASG to make the official S-scale standard-gauge gauge that we likely all have sitting on our workbenches. S-scale is certainly blessed to have had Jettie in our ranks.
We offer our condolences to his family, and his many friends.
The photo is courtesy of Bill Lane, when Jettie operated on Bill's layout. It was taken in 2013. See the YouTube link to Bill's video taken during Jettie's visit.
Bob Board
Apparently Bob Board, owner of Bart's Pneumatics Corporation, and the very large "All Aboard Railroad" American Flyer layout, has passed away recently. The layout page on his web site disappeared a month or more ago, and now his web site's home page states that his property is up for auction in March. Bob's 24' x 46' all-AF layout featured A.C. Gilbert and GarGraves track and tons of trains. It was a fully-scenicked and detailed layout that had just a bit over two thousand feet of mainline track! He opened the layout during each Christmas season for all to enjoy. Classic Toy Trains recently put together a downloadable book called "S Gauge Masters of Hi-rail", which is a compilation of some of their S-scale hi-rail layouts they have featured in their regular magazine, which included Bob's layout. So far, no known video of the layout has been found. A visitor in 2022 shared a couple of photos on the OGR Forum web site (see second link). Bob's layout was featured in episode 310 (season 3, episode 10) of the PBS series "Tracks Ahead" (2013).
Stuart Gordon
Long-time member of the NASG, Stuart Gordon, passed away on December 26, 2025. We offer our condolences to Stuart's family and friends.
Brian Nicholson
As reported to us by fellow Canadian Jim Martin: The S Scale Workshop is saddened by the sudden loss of valued member Brian Nicholson. In addition to being an expert modeler (see the March/April 2017 NASG Dispatch), Brian was a talented musician who enjoyed entertaining locally in the Montreal area pubs. A long time employee of Pratt & Whitney Canada, Brian was an aviation buff, golfer, outdoorsman, birder, and expert nature photographer. Brian appeared hale and hearty when most of us saw him this past summer, but he was taken from us in early December by a rapidly moving cancer. Among his last words to his social media friends: "I've had a great life! I'm still positive and continue to find joy every day. Enjoy every day. You just never know." Rest in Peace, Brian. We offer our condolences to the Canadian team of S modelers and to Brian's family.
Alan Loizeaux on Off The Beaten Path
Alan Loizeaux, of Empire Trackworks, walks through the various custom turnouts and trackwork that he offers. He does both scale and hi-rail, anything from code 55 through code 148 rail.
Bill Morris
William Charles Morris, 73, of Rutland, MA, passed away on November 27, 2025. Bill ran NE Prototypes, which offered a large number of S-scale decals for various types of freight and passenger cars, as well as for the Divco milk trucks. Bill bought the official rights, tools, inventory, and parts of Kinsman Scale Models from Don Heimburger in 2009, so he continued that product line of kits and kit replacement parts. We offer our condolences to Bill's family and all of his friends.
Matt Covington Presents His Layout
Matt Covington shares his background, interests, and his Sn3 logging layout in this YouTube presentation. The video has great still shots of his layout, and covers his plans for expanding it.
National Narrow Gauge Convention Review
The co-chairs of the NG Convention share their observations of the event. The presentation shows the models that won in the contests. Of note are Jeff Boock's S-scale steam donkey (~9-minute mark), Warren Judge's Sn2 module (~10:10 mark), and Jeff Boock's Hyde Tannery structure (12:50 mark).
Paul Riley
Life-long member of the NASG and the Bristol S Gauge Railroaders club, Paul Riley of Peabody, Massachusetts, passed away on October 19, 2025. He was a co-founder of both DMK Scale Models (wood/resin hopper kits) and Modern Models (brass extended-vision caboose). Dick Karnes recalls that Paul was into S-scale modeling already while in High School at around the age of 15, producing quality track work for his home layout. We offer our condolences to Paul's family and many friends.
Chuck West
Jim Kindraka informed us of Chuck's passing: Charles R. Wielosinski, a.k.a. Chuck West, passed away on October 15th. He was 83 years old. Chuck's name wasn't widely known, but to modelers, pilots, hobby shop owners and railroad aficionados all over the Chicago area and upper Midwest, for close to 30 years every Saturday night his well-built S-scale layout was a homey, friendly gathering spot. Countless people were exposed to S-scale at those basement gatherings, operating and repairing models at Chuck's layout and workbench. "Fixing things" was always in Chuck's blood. He helped all who asked get their models running flawlessly on the unofficial "Des Plaines Valley" layout. Chuck was one of those few truly good people, who made model railroading and indeed life, much richer. All who came in contact with him are better for having known him and have lost a decent and true friend. He will be sorely missed. Chuck was a long-time member of the NASG. Photo courtesy of Jim Kindraka.
Memphis Model Railroaders Club
The Memphis Model Railroaders is a new club entry added to this web site after learning from one of its members that this multi-scale club has a very nice S-scale layout. The club occupies the second floor of a manufacturing facility (AZO). They have layouts in every scale, including an S-scale hi-rail layout set up on hollow-core doors. The layout uses S-Helper Service track and turnouts and (new for 2025) Empire Trackworks turnouts. Locomotives are by S-Helper Service, Lionel, and American Models. The U-shaped layout features several loops and a large staging yard. The bottom of the linked-to web site has two videos that give a good overview of the layout. If you right-click (Windows) or control-click (Mac) on the videos, you will see a menu, one option of which states "Full Screen", which enables you to see the video much better. If you are in the Memphis, Tennessee area on November 22, 2025, they have an open house on that day from 10am to 3pm. The club has TCA and NASG members. The club is open on Saturdays to members of the club to work on the layouts. If you are interested in attending on a Saturday (to lend a helping hand or to run an engine), contact a member well ahead of time, as the gates to the building are locked. There is no admittance to the layouts on other days.
Connecticut S Gaugers
The Connecticut S Gaugers announce their newly-designed web site for their club.
Joe Scales
Joseph Scales III passed away August 8th, 2025. He lived in Ridgeway, Virginia. Joe was one of the guys who had a major impact on S-scale in the days following the demise of A.C. Gilbert, when the future of S looked bleak. He was a member of the NASG from 1982 through 2001, which is presumably when he switched modeling scales from S to O. According to Jim Kindraka, Joe's property in Virginia was right on the border with North Carolina, adjoining land owned by the Miller Brewing Company's Eden, North Carolina brewery. Jim states that Joe spoke with a wonderful, soft Virginia accent but he was not soft spoken! If you met him, you likely wouldn't forget him soon, there was never any question when Joe was in the room! He was a fan of, and modeled, big steam locomotives, and his favorite railroads were the Southern, N&W, and the Virginian. When Overland Models came out with their E3/6 diesels, Joe painted one in Southern's green & white almost immediately (somebody may have that one in their collection). He was also involved in "live steam". The obituary web site has a couple of photos. The second photo shown below has Joe teaching a young man how to run Joe's "Big Mike" Southern live steam locomotive. Jim recalls running into Joe over the years at local O-scale meets where Joe was still "Joe"; always available to help people learn more about the hobby and his favorite steam engines. Joe was instrumental in some of the drive design features when Dan Navarre and Jim built the River Raisin Models' C&O 2-6-6-2 locomotives, especially, the mechanism to re-center the longer boiler after the locomotive went around a curve. Joe was part of the group of guys who created patterns for Claud Wade's S Scale Locomotive & Supply venture to provide scale modelers with parts. Joe was a former member of the Connecticut S Gaugers, when he worked in Connecticut as a gunsmith. We offer our condolences to Joe's family and his many friends for their loss.
Charles Rider
We were recently notified that NASG member Charles D. Rider of Disney, Arizona, passed away on November 10, 2024. We offer our belated condolences to Charles' family and friends for their loss.
Grant Mears
Grant Mears of Sioux City, Iowa passed away on August 31, 2025. He was an NASG member for the past 15 years. We offer our condolences to Grant's family and friends for their loss.
Rolf Johannessen
We were notified that Rolf J. Johannessen, of Meridian, Idaho, passed away on February 2, 2025. He was an NASG member for the past 10 years. We offer our belated condolences to Rolf's family and friends for their loss.
Scratchbuilt SW Diesel Engine
Carey Williams found an old scratchbuilt EMD SW switcher engine, and shares a video of it running on his layout.
Southeastern Michigan S Gaugers Layout Video
Jeff Schultz, of Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine, took a tour of the Southeastern Michigan S Gaugers' club layout set up at the recent NMRA National Train Show. As a fellow exhibitor, he took the video before the doors opened to the general public, affording him the opportunity to record the entire layout.
The Great Northern in S-scale
Terry O'Kelly has made another fantastic presentation, this time presenting a brief history of the Great Northern as showcased using S-scale models.
Jerry Brewer
The Houston S Gaugers morn the loss of Jerry Brewer, one of its founding members. Jerry passed away on July 5, 2025 after a long battle with Parkisons disease. He lived in Katy, Texas, and was a long-time member of the NASG. Jerry was a professional model builder. Yes, they do, or more accurately, did, exist. Back in the day, he was commissioned to build scale models for various enterprises. Needless to say, his S-scale models were beautiful, many of which he showed on the Houston S Gauger's public modular layout. Jerry was in the Vietnam war and was quite a story teller. He had a great sense of humor, and even joked about his Parkisons disease, as he stated that he was now available to help other modelers with their model paints, as his heavy trembling hand functioned great as a paint bottle shaker! Photo is by Peter Vanvliet, taken during one of the Houston S Gaugers' layout set-ups at a local show. We offer our condolences to Jerry's family and his many friends, and we'll miss his jovial presence.
Ed Loizeaux
Alan Loizeaux informed us all of the sad news that his Dad Ed Loizeaux passed away on June 24, 2025, after complications of a dog bite and a compromised immune system. He was 84. Ed was one of the most well-known names in the "S" community. He served as the NASG's president from 1985 through 1989, and as the western vice-president from 1976 through 1983. In 1989 he started the 3/16 'S'cale Railroading magazine. In 2012 he was the principle leader to start the NMRA's S-scale SIG, to help promote S-scale modeling to the rest of the NMRA's membership. Ed was a prolific author, having been published in his own magazine, the NASG's The Dispatch, Railroad Model Craftsman, 1:64 Modeling Guide, S Gaugian, and S/Sn3 Modeling Guide. Ed was involved in creating the NMRA's DCC standards. Our condolences go out to the entire Loizeaux family for their loss. The photo is courtesy of Alan Loizeaux.
William Weissman
Bill Lane recently discovered that William Weissman passed away on April 29, 2023. William was an S-scale modeler (and an NASG member the last year of his life) from Holland, Pennsylvania. William had a layout in a basement that he dug out from under his house.
Milinda Griggs
Scott Griggs, owner of Trainz.com, announced that his wife passed away due to an accident while on vacation in New Zealand. Milinda was a partner in the company. We extend our condolences to Scott and his family for their unexpected loss.
Kent Singer
Through the grapevine we learned that S-scale modeler and NASG member Kent L. Singer, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, passed away on November 23, 2024. Kent won the NASG's Bernie Thomas Memorial Award in 1991. In the 1980s and early 1990s he was the NASG's Contests Chairman. Hoquat Hobbies commissioned Kent to design their pickle vat car kit back in 1986. From the 1980s until the early 2000s, Kent wrote numerous articles for the 3/16 'S'cale Railroading, the S Gauge Herald, and the NASG Dispatch magazines, covering a wide variety of topics from beginner to advanced. We offer our belated condolences to Kent's family and his friends.
Shelburne Museum Photos Added
Chris Monje provided two photos he took of the S layout at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont.
If you are planning a trip to another part of the country, you may want to check the "Permanent Displays" sub-header of the main "Clubs" section of this web site. We've documented all known long-term S displays around the country.
Sn3 Symposium Report by Toy Man Television
Toy Man Television attended the 2025 Sn3 Symposium in Sandy, Utah in late-April. The couple shows the contest models at the Symposium, and they then visit Gil Bennett Sn3 "Lost Creek Branch" layout (the visit starts at the 6:30 mark).
The West Michigan S Gaugers Club
Austin Birkey visits with the West Michigan S Gaugers club.
Frankie Merson
Robert Frances "Frankie" Merson passed away on February 24, 2025 while attending a train show in Allentown, PA. He owned American Flyer Depot, based in Clements, Maryland, which focused on repairing A.C. Gilbert products, as well as buying and selling parts. He was a recent new member of the NASG. We offer our condolences to Frankie's family and many friends.
Be sure to see all, or other, products announced over the past year via the main News page.