Named after one of the PRR's lesser-known passenger trains, the 2024 NASG Convention was held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from July 17th through July 20th, 2024. The unique aspect of this Convention was that this was the first time that we held two Conventions back-to-back in the same location. A total of 209 people attended the event, which was about the same as last year's attendance. The Convention was brought to you by the Lehigh Valley S Gaugers.
Most photos can be click to see a larger version of them.
See the September/October 2024 issue of the NASG's The Dispatch for two reports about this Convention, one from a "regular" and one from a first-time attendee.
The event was held at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey, in Harrisburg, PA.
Because the focus of the 2024 NASG Convention was the Reading railroad, the Convention group commissioned American Models to create two Reading Convention cars. They were a green and a red Reading box car, class XMwa. These were part of the 110-car series of class XMw box cars that the Reading rebuilt starting in 1953. These were 40'6" cars with a 10'6" interior height, and had 8-foot, 7-panel Superior doors. They were rated to carry 50 tons and had a 3,898cuft capacity. These cars had the large, orange-background "DF" label on them, which indicates that they had the damage-free loading system by Evans Products, Co. installed in them. These rebuilt cars lasted for another 20 years. Two cars were commissioned, one was the green car, #18088, rebuilt in 1956, and the other the red car, #18034, rebuilt in 1953. They were available with either hi-rail wheels and couplers or scale wheels and couplers. Both cars sold out during the Convention itself. A limited re-run was commissioned after the Convention due to their popularity.
The Vendor Hall is, of course, one of the big attractions for the NASG Conventions. Both manufacturers, retailers, and individuals offer their wares for sale. You'll never know what you'll find. Vendors in attendance were as follows (in alphabetical order):
Ben Trousdale is considering making his 3D-printed hoppers available through 3D Central. No formally-announced plans at the Convention. However, they were later formally released (see this page).
Simon Parent displayed his 3D-printed ACF Type 27 (ICC103) riveted shell tank car. It is an early version, and the final kit is expected to be sold through Pre-Size Model Specialties. No formally-announced plans at the Convention. However, they were later formally released (see this page).
This all-day tour visited Amish country, which included a tour of an Amish farmhouse and school, lunch at a Pennsylvania Dutch smorgasbord restaurant, and a tour of Amish farmlands.
This afternoon tour of the Stewartstown Railroad, a historic Pennsylvania short line just 48 miles south of the hotel, featured a 7.4-mile line that was chartered as a "farmers railroad" in 1884 and is a common-carrier still operating under that charter. After a hiatus in the early 2000s, it is being reconstructed by an all-volunteer labor force to continue serving the community. The chartered train consisted of the 1943 Plymouth "Mighty-Mo", an open car (with roof), and a caboose. The ride was planned to go to the current end of Class-1 track, which includes the dramatic Deer Creek Valley, where the line is cut into a shelf in the steep valley wall, with a 2% grade back to the station. However, it was cut short due to a storm hitting the area the night before the excursion and a large tree having fallen across the tracks. The planned photo run-bys and the tour of the historic 1912 station were still able to be done.
A great place to meet all of the attendees in a more casual, relaxed environment.
We took a bus to Reading, PA, then boarded the RDC cars of the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad to visit the railroad shops at Port Clinton. After a shop tour, we boarded the train for a further tour of the railroad to the Reading Outer Station and the town of Jim Thorpe. You can see a slideshow & video by Hugh Sinn on YouTube of portions of this trip.
Each NASG Convention always has something for the ladies who accompany their "train nut" husbands to the Convention. These may also include non-rail-related extra-fare events, such as the Amish Tour this year. Helen Robichaud, Bristol S Gauge Club Vice President, provided this report about what the ladies did at this year's Convention.
Helen noted that a Women's Hospitality suite had not been designated at the Convention. She contacted Jamie Bothwell, who was quickly able to remedy the situation and identified a room for them. Thursday evening, several ladies were able to gather for spontaneous and spirited card games while the vendor hall was open. The same room could not be used the next two days due to the Convention clinics, so Helen enlisted Jamie's help again in identifying another room which could be used for Women's Hospitality suite for the rest of the Convention. Signage and word-of-mouth helped notify Convention attendees of the new location. Others were able to use the air-conditioned room to do some reading and cross-stitching while the vendor hall was open. Local shopping was a choice for several women who met at the suite.
Since the NASG, Inc. is a corporation, it is required to have an annual membership meeting. At this meeting the NASG Board of Trustees (BOT) reports any decisions made while they themselves had their annual private BOT meeting, pass on any other news, and open the floor up for any member discussions, questions, and issues. If a vote is taken during this meeting, it becomes part of the official NASG records.
The banquet kicks off the last evening's activities with a delicious first-rate meal. Members get to know each other and visit with friends during the meal. The banquet is followed by an auction, hosted by Jamie Bothwell.
The NASG offers awards for outstanding service in which members have participated, helping the NASG and S-scale grow, during the previous fiscal year. You can see all of the details about these awards by visiting this page.
Members are encouraged to bring items to the NASG auction, which takes place immediately after all of the formalities of the last evening of the Convention have completed. Ten percent of the proceeds of the auctions provide additional revenue for the NASG, but it is really the entertainment value that makes it all worth while. Jamie Bothwell, our auctioneer, is hilarious!
Dave, a very accomplished turnout builder, showed how he builds turnouts, including dual-gauge ones.
The original S diesel switcher was based on an early ALCO S4. Jace addressed the variations that came about in this legacy model.
Darby provided an update related battery-powered locomotives.
Jim expounded on the advantages of modeling a short line, offered a survey of the real ones with an emphasis on those in Pennsylvania, and discussed how to model them in S-scale.
Bill guided us through one of his special-interests with great photos and lots of information.
With new techniques in mind, Willy showed how to build light-weight portable modules that can be transported anywhere.
Stephen took us through the United States Military Railroad's connections during the Civil War from Harrisburg to the National Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Mike took us on his journey to refresh vintage American Flyer equipment including re-imagining the models and making improvements to the electronics of these classic trains.
Michael covers his personal and family history with railroading, working on a track gang, and civil engineering for rail construction projects together with lifelong modeling.
Jim provided some background on hauling steel coils by rail and the different kinds of cars used from the 1990s to 2019. He also talked about working with Scott MacKenzie to design files in 3D to build S-scale models of different coil car designs.
James addressed these three subjects in short segments. They are all extremely important things that we need to consider.
James provided an in-depth discussion of the tools he uses to cast parts for model railway purposes.
See the September/October 2024 issue of the NASG's The Dispatch for more photos.
Bill Lane and Hugh Sinn decided to have a special table featuring models built by Frank Titman, creator of Lehigh Valley Models and owner of the famous Spiral Hill S-scale layout. Frank enjoyed the Reading railroad, so this seemed fitting.
Bill Boucher's Royal S Circus train was displayed thanks to the Bristol S Gauge Railroaders club.
Both the Southeastern Michigan S Gaugers and the Pittsburgh S-Gaugers brought their layouts, set up in the vendor hall in the hotel. The first set of photos are of the Pittsburgh S-Gaugers' switching layout.
This photo of the Southeastern Michigan S Gaugers' club layout.
These are photos of Willy Monaghan's S/Sn42/Sn3 portable switching layout, which he brought to the show. Willy focuses on the turn-of-last-Century modeling.
The end-of-the-line for this year's Convention.