The National Association of S Gaugers is a non-profit corporation that supports all "S" (1:64) modelers, manufacturers & vendors.
SCALE MODELING
standard-gauge
narrow-gauge
HI-RAIL MODELING
AMERICAN FLYER
We have a ton of content, so enjoy exploring this web site.
Below is a bit more detailed information about the photos shown in our home page's rotation. Click the photo to see the larger version used on the home page. To help keep this listing fresh, please consider sending the webmaster a photo of your layout, diorama, module, model, or an S-scale event.
Bill Lane had an opportunity to visit Stan Stokrocki's layout and he shared the photos with us. Stan's "Hudson Central" is best described as an urban switching layout. Portions of this layout go back to over 40 years now. The layout's Sherwood area, for example, is based on the "Switchman's Nightmare" track plan from Kalmbach's 101 Trackplans, which is a 2' by 10' section that Stan documented in his 1981 article in the July issue of S Gaugian. In December, 1994 an article appeared in the S/Sn3 Buyers' Guide, where Stan had expanded his layout into an L-shaped one. The photos Bill took show that Stan has continued to expand his layout over the years.
A N&W Type A shatters the peaceful and quiet as townsfolk enjoy being out and about on a warm summer evening. This photo, by Bob Werre, is a tribute to famous railroad photographer O. Winston Link. Bob, a professional photographer, is a long-time fan who followed Link's contributions in Life Magazine. Link created the original scene by presetting an array of hidden flashbulbs to capture a N&W type A rushing a passenger consist past a small crossroads village of local characters. When the locomotive entered the camera's view, Link had one chance to capture it. The posed local citizens, who were filling their gas tanks or just hanging out to see what the fuss was all about, finished the scene. This scene on Bob's S-scale layout was captured using a 4x5-view camera and a light brush device which uses a flexible tube that beams directed light into the scene. Bob painted the scene with light in a totally darkened room. Polaroid test shots were used to determine the length of time each part of the scene needed to receive light. Several attempts were needed to get the desired result with each attempt being unique. Some of the village's finest citizens (Artista and SSL&S figures) are posed with a Railmaster and a vintage Dick Tracy vehicle. Building & Structure Co. and Finest Kind Models offered the kits from which the structures shown were built. The N&W Type A locomotive is a brass model imported by Overland Models in 1988 which was custom-painted by Roger Huber. This photo appears on the inside cover of the December 2024 issue of the Railroad Model Craftsman magazine as part of the NASG's promotional ad campaign.
The Houston S Gaugers were set up at a local train show in Pearland, Texas in mid-November 2024. Pearland is a small town just outside of Houston-proper on the southeast side. Club member Rusty Paulus is setting up an SP passenger train on the layout. These are American Models cars. The club tends to run passenger trains on the outside track and freight trains on the inside track, running in opposite directions, so that there is a high likelihood that visitors will see a train passing by. A visitor to the show took some very nice video of the layout, which you can see via the first link below.
Bill recently completed repainting and detailing an American Models GP35 (plastic) for the Norfolk & Southern. This model had been converted to the high-hood version by its previous owner. He then had a collection of five reworked and detailed "high hoods" to pose for this photo. The other models are a Greenbrier Railroad Models GP30 (brass), two Overland Models GP38-2 (brass), and an Overland Models SD40-2 (brass).
The Canadian Pacific 2-6-0 #88 passes over a creek on a trestle bridge on Jim Martin's "Port Dover Branch" layout. This engine was made from S Scale Locomotive & Supply kit components. The model is powered via an internal battery.
The circus is coming to town! The 0-6-0 NYC Switcher #232 is spotting the Ringling Brothers Circus advertising car #2 on the team track of the town where the circus will soon perform. The scene takes place on Ed Loizeaux' 20' x 30' "NYC Valley Division" layout. The locomotive was made by Boo-Rim Precision, Korea and imported by River Raisin Models. The advertising car is an American Models coach car, which was custom-painted, decaled, and fitted with a detailed interior. The structures are from a variety of kits. Circus trains were a unique and colorful experience for everyone. Two weeks prior to their arrival, the advertising car came to town filled with posters, complimentary tickets, signs, and all kinds of promotional materials. Every vacant square foot of space was soon covered with a poster or sign, local politicians were given free tickets, retail merchants displayed circus-related materials in their shop windows, and so forth. The excitement was stimulated to a fever-pitch culminating in a parade once the circus train itself arrived. Advertising cars were typically parked on any convenient siding near the downtown area. This photo appears on the inside cover of the November 2024 issue of the Railroad Model Craftsman magazine as part of the NASG's promotional ad campaign.
The Special S-scale Issue!
The November 2024 issue of Model Railroader magazine is out now. Several NASG members got together and reached out to Model Railroader
magazine and proposed a special issue focused on S. Their editors liked the idea. Roger Nulton prepared a feature article on his Monon layout, a photo
of which wound up being used as this month's cover. Paul Washburn wrote a terrific article on how he scratchbuilt three ATSF wooden reefers. Brooks
Stover wrote an overview of modeling in S-scale today. We encourage you to get a copy of this historic issue and share it. Copies can be found at your
local book store or newsstand, as well as be ordered online.
Frank Titman built two of these Central Railroad of New Jersey 4-6-2 Pacific locomotives. Bill Lane had one of them. At the 2024 NASG Convention, a handful of modelers showcased models they owned that were scratch-built by Frank. The other CNJ Pacific also made an appearance, and Bill was able to negotiate a price with the owner to finally own both of these models. The consist is shown running on Bill's home layout. The train the engines are pulling consists of Trainstuff passenger car kits, also built by Frank.
A while back Tom Roell shared some photos of his professionally-built model railroad. In among the photos he sent was this one. Tom bought the Pittsburgh Railways trolley from Pennsylvania Heritage Models sometime in around the year 2000. These are 1:50 scale Corgi models for which PA Heritage created a custom chassis that had S-scale trucks, used a can motor, and was built for AC power. The Corgi car was part #US55018. Corgi was a British company and this model was released in 1997.
We want to reward you for scrolling all the way down to the bottom of this page by offering a featured video. This video will be replaced from time to time as S-scale modelers make new ones available, so scroll down here every so often! Contact the webmaster if you would like to nominate a video.
November 3, 2024: Well-known author, Tom Barker, shares a video of his journey into American Flyer repair. This is a professionally-made video telling the story with lots of video, original vintage photos, rare interview, and providing many historical bits of data. If you were alive in the 1950s or are interested in the history of model railroading, regardless of scale, you will enjoy this 30-minute video.