Welcome to the NASG Web Site (2024)

NASG Store News Events Clubs

Welcome to the National Association of S Gaugers' web site! The NASG is a non-profit organization that supports all 1:64, or S-scale, modelers, manufacturers, and vendors. We have a ton of content, so take your time exploring this web site.

To Get You Started...

...Intro to Scale Modeling
...Intro to Hi-rail Modeling
...Tell me about the NASG
...I'm new to this web site
...Search this web site

This is The S-scale Web Site

There are over 60,000 pages of content on this site!
We have over 16,000 products documented, many with photographs.
There is a listing of more than 570 "S" layouts.
There are over 600 manufacturers and retailers listed that carry S-scale products, today!
There are over 30 events coming up in the near future where you can see S in person.
We average over 450 news announcements per year.
This web site is updated nearly every single day! Yes, S is alive and thriving! Join us!

About the Home Page Photos

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.

Photo #1

The passenger train, led by a pair of Overland Models E6 A-units, leaves the station on Bill Lane's layout. The engines are brass models that were imported in 1984. Bill bought these second-hand. These were professionally painted and lettered for the B&O by the late Charlie Carangie. The head-end consists of an Overland Models M53 wagon-top box car and a River Raisin Models ex-troop sleeper car. The passengers cars are all by American Models. An interesting thing to note in this photo is that a model of the famous painter, Bob Ross, can be seen center right, painting the face of one of Bill's Dachshunds. The 3D-printed model is available from CatzPaw Innovations, but Bill commissioned co-owner, Sherri Johnson, to paint the model as you see it in the photo, including the portrait. Models of Dachshunds are also available from that company.

Photo #2

One of the younger members of our S community took this photo of his Grandpa's River Raisin Models Pioneer Zephyr. The model was photographed on the Houston S Gaugers' modular club layout set up at a local show.

More information about this engine

Photo #3

An east bound Great Northern Mikado has a string of Western Fruit Express reefers in tow in this scene on Steve Lunde's layout. The steam engine is a Lionel 2-8-2 which Steve repainted and decorated for the GN. He also converted its wheels to scale by turning down the wheel flanges. The tender is a brass model produced by SouthWind Models that Steve painted and decorated as well. The reefers are Pacific Rail Shops kits and the plate girder bridge is by Bark River Scale Models. The passenger train on the upper track is the west bound Empire Builder pulled by FP7 A and B units. These were made by American Models. The main span for the west bound upper bridge is a Walther's HO-scale item while the girder bridge on the short approach span is from banta modelworks. Steve uses code 100 wheels and the track is Fox Valley Models, which uses code 138 rail. This photo appears on the inside cover of the August 2024 issue of the Railroad Model Craftsman magazine in the NASG promotional ad campaign.

More information about Steve's layout
Bark River Scale Models
Would you like to have your photo in an upcoming NASG RMC ad?

Photo #4

Tom Roell sent us this photo of his layout. He models western Pennsylvania. His layout measures about 17' x 21' in an around-the-room design. It has three levels with a peninsula jutting into the center of the layout. There is visible and hidden staging. The interesting story behind Tom's layout is that he commissioned SMARTT (Scale Models, Arts, and Technologies, Inc.) to build the layout for him. They constructed the layout in a modular fashion at their facilities and then transported those modules and installed them in Tom's home. Because Tom wanted to be able to run both A.C. Gilbert, hi-rail, and scale equipment, SMARTT custom-built the hand-laid turnouts to accommodate the different wheelsets. The structures, scenery, and backdrop where all custom work done by SMARTT. You can see more details of Tom's layout on his layout's page on our web site, which includes a link to SMARTT's web site covering his layout, and to an onboard video taken of the layout.

SMARTT's Web Site
Tom's Layout Page

Photo #5

Bill Winans recently had the opportunity to visit Geoff Hamway's Sn3 layout and took this photo. Geoff models the RGS Telluride Branch set in 1905 in his 12' x 20' layout space. The layout has two main decks, and a third lower deck used for staging trains. All track is code 55, except for the hidden track, which is code 70. The layout is still a work-in-progress, and you can see photos of the completed sections as well as glimpses of how Geoff constructed his layout via his layout's page on this web site, which includes track plans.

Photo #6

This photo, taken on Jim's home layout, shows a Canadian National 4-6-0 built up from an S Scale Locomotive & Supply kit's parts by Simon Parent.

Photo #7

This A-B-A set of American Models Alco PA locomotives show the handiwork of Ron King, an NMRA Master Model Railroader. Ron super-detailed the consist by adjusting the roof contour over the windshields, filing portions of the truck sideframes to better emphasize the individual parts, and re-building the pilot coupler openings. He also added many details, such as piano-wire grab irons, lift rings, scratch-built windshield wipers, air hoses, coupler cut bars, diaphragms, and cab interiors. The photo shows Ron's train visiting Gaylord Gill's "Buffalo & Chautauqua" layout, passing the small PRR freight house at Angola, NY. Ron's own layout is a beautifully-built HO-scale one that features the Erie Railroad, but he has been a member of Southeastern Michigan S Gaugers for many years, and he generously applies his skills during work sessions at the layouts of his S-scale friends. The photo was taken by Brooks Stover on an iPhone Xs Max, and it appears on the inside cover of the July 2024 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman magazine in the NASG promotional ad campaign. For information on how you, too, can have a photo of your layout appear in one of the NASG ads in RMC, see this page.

Photo #8

Sam Powell was well-known in the S community. He wrote many magazine articles, built beautiful layouts, gave clinics at the NASG Conventions, and shared his knowledge with others. On the "S-scale" mailing list hosted by Yahoo Groups at the time, in late 2015 he was sharing photos and details about a new project he had started, which was a PRR E6 4-4-0. Sam shared that he was starting this project from an American Models 4-6-2. He scratch-built the cab, and got parts from various sources, including from Bill Lane. Then, in January 2016, we received word that a snow storm had hit the area where Sam lived, and while clearing his driveway, he had a heart-attack and passed away, which shocked us all as he appeared to be in good health. Bill was eventually able to obtain Sam's uncompleted project and has been steadily working on completing it. Sam was not a "rivet-counter", so Bill's objective is to build the model as Sam might have completed it. Over the intervening years, while Bill has worked on this project from time to time, he also has asked and received help with this project from several other individuals, which included the construction of the tender body, and the addition of brass walkways and compressor. This photo shows the model with the engine mostly complete (handrails are still needed), but the tender still needs more attention. As Bill notes on his web site's page dedicated to this model, Sam's last layout was moved to Tri-Town Area Historical Society in Dawson, PA, and one of the members there discovered a tender in the collection of items that came with the layout, which appears to be a chopped-up Industrial Rail O-27 tender that they, speculate, was likely to be the one for this engine. You can see information about Sam's Penn Creek Valley layout and his version 2 on this web site.

Photo #9

Bill Winans had the opportunity to visit Bob Farmer's Sn3 layout recently, and took this great photo. Bob has a 16' x 16' freelanced layout that is based on the northern California coast-line area, but he extensively uses D&RGW equipment, mostly for the ease of modeling. Bob's layout is still pretty much a work-in-progress, but he has completed several areas, such as the one shown in this photo. You can view a few more photos of Bob's layout on the dedicated page we have for it.

Featured Video

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.

June 16, 2024: Terry O'Kelly produced a fantastic video detailing the history of EMD. He uses a mix of prototype and S-scale models to narrate the story.

Layouts Product Gallery How-to Resources Site