News: NASG

Andy Malette, the NASG Secretary, has made available the January 2026 and February 2026 BOT meeting notes. The PDF file can be viewed by active NASG members via the "Members Only" portal.

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The 2026 NASG Convention group is happy announce that the Convention web site has been fully updated and both registration and Convention Car purchase is now available.

There are two major changes to the web site from previous years. First, the registration form is accessible via the "Register" page, but the Convention Car order form has its own dedicated page now, "Car". You can register and buy the car together, though. When you register, your registration will be added to the built-in shopping cart. You can then go to the Car page and order the Convention Car by adding it to the shopping cart as well. Of course, you can do one and not the other. Once everything is in your shopping cart, you can check-out. We offer PayPal as a convenience for those who want to pay by credit or debit card, and we also offer the option of postal-mailing a check or money order. When you get to the shopping cart "check-out" step, all information will be provided.

The second big change is that the NASG Board of Trustees has voted to allow non-members to attend this year's Convention. NASG membership is not required. Note, however, that non-members are not allowed to purchase the Convention Car and some activities (e.g. the Annual Membership Meeting held at the Convention) are off-limits.

The 2026 group is looking for attendees to volunteer to do a clinic at the Convention. See the "Clinics" page on the web site for more information.

Another new feature in this year's Convention web site is that the "Vendors" page is dynamically updated as vendors, and individuals with sales tables, register to attend. So, visit that page from time to time to see who all is planning on being there.

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We commissioned American Models to do another supplemental run of this 2025 (last year's) Annual Member car, because we got more pre-orders than the original commission. Those pre-orders have now all shipped so we have a few left over. First come, first serve. At any point in time we may only have 1 of these left!

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Andy Malette, the NASG Secretary, has made available the December 2025 BOT meeting notes. The PDF file can be viewed by active NASG members via the "Members Only" portal.

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For the first time ever, the 2026 NASG Convention will have a "Convention Locomotive". View the page to read all about them, and to see the restrictions and deadlines. Due to the short notice of this project, we are announcing it now, to be able to have them produced by the time of the August 2026 Convention. Other Convention details, including a Convention Car, are forthcoming.

Update:
The project is a GO! Thanks to all of the early commitments, the 2026 NASG Convention group is happy to announce that the minimum has been reached and the project is officially going to happen. If you have not yet ordered yours, follow the links to get your name on the list as well.

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• Austin Birkey's How-to Video

We are pleased to announce the 2026 NASG Annual Member Car. This year's car is the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac (RF&P) 40-foot box car. The RF&P was a 113-mile railroad that connected Richmond, Virginia to Washington, D.C. The railroad lasted from 1836 through 1991. Its slogan was "Linking North & South". The railroad carried both passengers and freight, and served as a bridge or through line. The tracks are still in operation today, but are owned by CSX Transportation.

The box car was built in 1952 and features the paint scheme it had through the early 1970s. The models will be produced for us by American Models. They will be available in with either hi-rail or scale wheels and couplers, as per usual. There will be two road numbers produced. Our models will have blue doors, tall ladders, and a roofwalk, as shown in the prototype photos. A model with this paint scheme has never been commercially produced in S-scale.

The prototype photos are courtesy of George Elwood, owner of the Fallen Flags web site, and the photos were taken by Leroy Dozier in 1967; used by permission.

Some logistics:

Active NASG membership is required to be able to purchase this car.

If you order one car, the road number you will receive will be determined at shipping time, based on availability. If you order two cars, we will attempt to provide you with one of each road number.

Please note that if you order four or more of these cars you will get duplicate road numbers and you will be asked to contact NASG Company Store manager, Chris Crnich, to first obtain an additional shipping charge.

If you pay online via PayPal, your method of payment will be charged right away. We do not know when American Models will fit the production of these cars into their schedule. If we learn anything about that, we will keep you informed via this web site. If you prefer to pay by check or money order, contact NASG Company Store manager, Chris Crnich (companystore@nasg.org).

Click either photo below to select your version (hi-rail or scale) and to place your order.

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The 2025 (last year's) NASG Convention Car was so popular during the "pre-order" phase that we received more pre-order payments than we had commissioned from American Models. To satisfy the shortages, we commissioned American Models to do another small run. Those who pre-paid for their cars, should have already received them or will receive them shortly. Do NOT re-order if you have already ordered yours but haven't received it yet!. So, the second run gave us a handful of additional cars that are available now. Please note that they are in very short supply and can be sold-out at any moment. You can place your order for a car via this web site and pay via PayPal, as per usual. If you want one and you want to pay by check, please contact Roger Gerhart (NASG Treasurer) immediately, so he can set one aside for you. Roger has them in stock, so he is the only one that can give you availability information.

Caveats:
- First come, first serve! (based on e-mail date/time or PayPal payment date/time)
- Hi-rail or scale option may not be available, based on demand.
- Desired road number may not be available, based on demand.

Start an e-mail message (treasurer@nasg.org).

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Andy Malette, the NASG Secretary, has made available the November 2025 BOT meeting notes. The PDF file can be viewed by active NASG members via the "Members Only" portal.

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Chris Crnich, manager of the NASG Company Store, has received the 2025 Annual Members Car shipment from American Models. The cars will start being shipped to those who ordered them, this week. Chris will be using UPS this year as USPS has become too expensive. Chris took photos of the car for us to catalog them on this web site. They are gorgeous. Please note that these cars sold out in September, and were only available to NASG members. Shameless plug: Join the NASG if you wish to purchase these types of never-produced cars in the future (e.g. AM has never produced a Monon box car, this paint scheme has never been produced in S before, and AM created the new-to-them Superior door for this project).

Monon #1 with Superior Doors
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Monon #907 with Commonwealth Doors
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Andy Malette, the NASG Secretary, has made available the September 2025 BOT meeting notes. The PDF file can be viewed by active NASG members via the "Members Only" portal.

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Some preliminary information about the 2026 NASG Convention in Dearborn, Michigan has been added to the Convention web site. Most importantly, the information about the hotel, the hotel room rate, and the hotel web site link to use to place your reservations has been added.

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Andy Malette, the NASG Secretary, has made available the August (Convention) 2025 BOT meeting notes. The PDF files can be viewed by active NASG members via the "Members Only" portal.

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The NASG Board of Trustees announces that the NASG is now the official new Special Interest Group (SIG) within the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA). The previous S-scale SIG disbanded when their web site maintenance became onerous. Since the NASG already fulfilled all the requirements of the SIG program, it made sense to apply and become the replacement organization to represent S-scale interests. What does this mean? The NMRA will list and promote the NASG both on its web site and in its newsletter, and any group of S-scalers can meet at an NMRA convention event and get space for discussion and socializing, or even a display booth. This SIG link on the NMRA's home page of their web site takes you to a page that lists the NASG.

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On page 17 of the current September/October Dispatch there is a completely false statement about ScaleTrains.com stopping production of S scale. To the contrary, their current run of S-Helper Service wood-side reefers has been completed and is in the process of being shipped to the US; they are projected to be available in September. To order them, visit their web site. The NASG regrets this error and any confusion it may have caused.

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Andy Malette, the NASG Secretary, has made available the July 2025 BOT meeting notes. The PDF file can be viewed by active NASG members via the "Members Only" portal.

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Darby Marriott (as of yesterday the former Eastern VP of the NASG) has created a survey. His message is as follows:

We are conducting a survey aimed at newer converts to S Scale who can help share their experiences in S. The objective is to make this journey easier in the future for other prospective modelers by finding common areas of success as well as challenges. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

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Andy Malette, the NASG Secretary, has made available the May and June 2025 BOT meeting notes. The PDF files can be viewed by active NASG members via the "Members Only" portal.

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NASG Election chairman, Jamie Bothwell, officially announced the 2025 election results for the NASG's Board of Trustees, effective in two weeks at the 2025 NASG Convention. The positions are as follows:

President: Jim Whipple (incumbent)
Treasurer: Roger Gerhart
Eastern VP: Mike Byle
Central VP: Brian Jackson (incumbent)
Western VP: Clay Buckage (incumbent)

The positions of Executive Vice-President (Lou Templeton) and Secretary (Andy Malette) were not up for election this year.

We wish to thank Michael Ferraro (treasurer) and Darby Marriott (eastern VP) for their years of service on the BOT. Enjoy your retirement, guys!

We welcome Scott Lister as the new NASG Service Committee chairman. The Service Committee is a committee that is decreed by the NASG's Constitution, but its chairman position has been vacant for a long time. According to the NASG's By-Laws, the Service Committee "establishes and coordinates services to be rendered to the membership."

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Andy Malette, the NASG Secretary, has made available the February and April 2025 BOT meeting notes. The PDF files can be viewed by active NASG members via the "Members Only" portal.

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We have received word that American Models has started the production of this year's Annual Member Cars. Last week the Annual Member Car committee asked to put a temporary hold on accepting any more pre-orders, as the total number of pre-orders already received were rapidly approaching the pre-arranged quantity agreement with American Models. After consultation with American Models, an agreement has been reached for an additional number of cars to be "tacked-on" to our order. So, you can now place your pre-orders via the web site again.

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Andy Malette, the NASG Secretary, has made available the March 2025 BOT meeting notes. The PDF file can be viewed by active NASG members via the "Members Only" portal.

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