This NASG program was started in 2020. The current plan is to offer a car each year by any manufacturer. The cars will be offered with either American Flyer-compatible couplers and wheels (a.k.a. "hi-rail"), or "scale" wheels and couplers. These cars can only be ordered by active NASG members. The purpose of this page is to list all the cars produced under this NASG program.
Contact person: Norman Bos
Be sure to take a look at our Store page for what we currently have for sale.
The Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Railway (reporting mark MNS) was an 87-mile Class I, standard-gauge, shortline that connected Minneapolis, Minnesota and Northfield, Minnesota. The railroad lasted from 1918 until 1986, when it was merged and integrated into the SOO Line. The railroad's nickname was the "The Dan Patch Line", named after the founder's favorite horse, Dan Patch.
The model is a 50-foot ribbed box car manufactured by American Models. It was available with two correct road numbers, #49415 and #49897. The models arrived in July 2020 and the last one sold in November 2021.
For 2021 we have the Pullman Standard 4427cuft, low-side, three-bay, covered hopper. These PS-2-design cars have a 4-3-4 exterior rib profile. The cars were introduced in the early 1960s, carrying dry commodities, including grain, corn, wheat, flour, etc. These were designed by Pullman to replace the box cars equipped with grain doors which were so common for this service prior to these. The "PS-2CD 4427" cars were very successful and were seen all over the United States, and can still be found in active service today. This particular car is labeled for the General Electric Railcar Services Corporation's TLDX (formerly Transport Leasing, a Division of Pullman, Inc.), and decorated with "Gold Kist" "Atlanta, Georgia". Gold Kist was started in 1933 as a cooperative to help farmers in Georgia who raised chickens (e.g. providing them with chicken feed). In 2004 it changed to a for-profit corporation listed on the NASDAQ. In 2006 the company was bought out by Pilgrim's Pride Corp.
The model is a 50-foot, 3-bay, covered hopper manufactured for us by American Models. These have the original gold-colored sides and black ends. The cars were available with either of the correct road numbers, #5619 and #5623. The models arrived in July 2021 and sold out in January 2022.
The 2022 car is the 40-foot steel box car for the Canadian National Railway (CN). These cars were the 1980 rebuilts of the original 1955 box cars. They have the green maple leaf logo and a yellow wheat sheath emblem, and come with prototype road numbers.
The models were manufactured for us by American Models. This year we offered a single car, a two-car set, and a four-car set. The cars within a set each have unique road numbers. The models arrived in the first week of November 2022, and due to very strong pre-orders, the last one sold in mid-November 2022.
The 2023 car is based on the St. Lawrence Starch Company Limited (SLAX) single-dome tank car. The car was used for transporting the company's "Golden Bee Hive" corn syrup. The company was started in 1889 in Port Credit, Ontario, Canada, and was a major Canadian manufacturer of corn based starch, glucose, and feed products. Their large factory required rail service. The company owned ten of these unique tank cars, numbered in the series 5021 - 5024, 26101 - 26103, and 49101 - 49104. The company ceased production in 1990, and shortly after that the factory was demolished.
The models were manufactured for us by American Models. This year we offered two road numbers. The models arrived in mid-October 2023, and the last car was sold in April 2024.
This year's car is the Mathieson Dry Ice insulated reefer. It has an aluminum body color, brown ends, and black lettering. The car was owned by National Car Company (NX), which was a subsidiary of the Fruit Growers Express Company (FGE), and leased to Mathieson Chemical Company for use in a dedicated dry-ice hauling service.
The model will be based on the 2200-series of insulated reefers that American Models has produced. There will be two prototype railroad numbers available, namely #8842 and #8855, and they will be available with either hi-rail wheels and couplers or "scale" wheels and couplers.
Until we get photos of the models from American Models, we have two external links that show the prototype cars:
NX #8884 (photographed by Tom Madden in 1961)
NX #???? (photographed by Tom Madden in 1961).