We are members of the RASG (Rochester Area S-Gaugers) in upstate New York. We are always looking for new members and welcome anyone interested in any type of S-scale modeling or American Flyer. E-mail our contact persons at the bottom of this page if you have any interest or curiosity.
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Click the links below to find out more about us, see pictures of our layouts, and visit our favorite sites.
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Our club has a modular layout that we set up at shows several times a year during our active season that runs from September to June. We also have an "Action Layout" that we set up at some of the shows to entertain children of all ages. See our layout page for more on this subject. On this page we would like to introduce some of the personalities that make up Rochester Area S-Gaugers Club.
The RASG Club Welcomes New Members
The following e-mail was from Charles E. Smith on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 to S-Scale@yahoogroups.com and S-Trains@yahoogroups.com and carbon copied to club members with internet access.
We need to recruit some new members. Yesterday we attended a train show and only had enough manpower to display our interactive kiddie layout and one sample module. We are looking for new members in the Rochester, NY area who are willing to help maintain the club modular layout, which is built to S-Mod standards, and help set it up about 4 times a year at area train shows. The layout uses code 148 ballasted track and runs both scale and hirail. Switches are moving frog to accept both scale and hirail. The layout is up and running in the Medley Centre in Irondequoit in the back room of a storefront that the n gauge club uses. We are open Tuesday nights from 7:00 to 9:30 for work sessions. The layout is 10 by 20 feet right now- 6 straight modules, 4 corner modules, 2 bridge modules and 4 yard modules that fit in the center operating pit.
(Webmaster's note; our club has moved since this email was written. See our Schedule of Events page for our club's new location.)
Pictures and info. about the club are on our club website at
http://www.trainweb.org/rasg/ and my website.
We currently have about 8 active members, no dues, and promote cooperation among the scale, hirail and Flyer guys. We need at least a couple more people to help set up at shows. We intend to find some ways to overhaul our modules so they set up faster. S-Mod standards are great when we interface with the WNYSGA (Buffalo club) but seem to be somewhat labor intensive for 1 day shows.
Contact Chuck Smith if interested and if you provide your phone number I will call you with any information you would like.
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Club History
The Rochester Area S-Gaugers club (RASG for short) was founded in the early to mid 1990's by Ted Larson and Chuck Smith joined the club short time later. For a short time, only the two gentlemen composed the club.
Rochester Area S-Gaugers has been priviledged to have within its membership persons who hold or have held official positions in the National Association of S Gaugers, NASG for short.
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Ted Larson who founded the RASG club has become an alumni of our club since he has retired from Kodak and returned to his home state of Minnesota. In addition to founding the RASG club, Ted is a moderator for the S-scale Yahoo e-mail list and occasionally writes for the NASG Dispatch magazine. When there are questions on the e-mail list about the NASG S-Mod standards, Ted has many of the answers.
Chuck Smith is one of the lead persons of our club. He has also volenteered to be the club treasurer. Chuck also has a nice Hi Rail layout known as the Chemung Valley Lines.
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Ted Larson (left) and Chuck Smith at the RIT Model Railroad Show, March 2006 in Henrietta, NY. |
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A SD60 in CSX colors by American Models on Chemung Valley trackage |
Both Ted and Chuck have personal webpages. Click on Members' Pages for an introduction and links to their websites.
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Club Personalities
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George Cole's favorite prototype railroad is the New Haven Lines. He has several nice locomotives and rolling stock models of that railroad. He also has some nice models of other prototype railroads. George is in the process of expanding his American Flyer layout.
Tom Kayser has had American Flyer trains since his youth. He is building a two tier layout in his basement. The upper tier will be a "G" type logging layout and the lower tier will have a Christmas tree type American Flyer layout featuring the trains of his youth.
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George Cole (left) and Tom Kayser at the TTCS 2006 Shamrock show, Rochester, NY. |
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Duane Miner constructed the bridges for the RASG layout's two foot bridge modules. Duane has American Flyer equipment.
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RASG's Chuck Smith and Duane Miner (Right) at the TTCS Shamrock show, Rochester, NY. |
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Duane Minor (right) constructed the bridge that is in the forground of this photo. There is another bridge like it that is painted silver. |
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Chuck Smith starts the break down process while Rick Isrealson (right) watches a NYC train make a last lap or two around the layout. |
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Rick Israelson, who is in the photo at the right with Chuck Smith is quite a kitbashing artist. He did a great job of building the diesel servicing facility module shown in the photo above from a HO kit.
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Jeff Faust has American Flyer trains that he has brought to several of the shows. Jeff wrote a book on operating AF trains, now out of print, which was published by Greenberg. He is also interested in "N" gauge and belongs to a local N-Trak club also. His son, Wolfgang, also comes with his father to some shows.
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Jeff Faust manning the controls at the TTCS 2005 Fall 05 show, Rochester, NY.
The power monitor in this photo at the left is a small example of Jeff's fine craftsmanship. |
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Bill Johnson has volunteered for the job of club webmaster. Working with computers and designing webpages has been a natural progression of his career as an electronic technician. Ever since he received his first American Flyer electric train set when he was four years old, he has had an interest in electrical things. He has a collection of American Flyer sets, rolling stock and plasticville structures that to this point have been set up as Christmas tree layouts. He still dreams of building a permanent layout. Maybe next year.
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RASG's Bill Johnson at the 2008 RIT Tiger Tracks train show, Rochester, NY. |
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Mike Shea who is a member of our club has also served as the treasurer at NASG.
This page will continue to be a work-in-progress type of document. Come visit us again to see our other members pictures and stories.
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For more information, join the club or report problems with a webpage,
contact us.
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