Atlantic Coast S Gaugers - ACSG "Promoting S Gauge along the East Coast"

The Virginia Central Division was one of the original Atlantic Coast S Gaugers divisions and covers the south central part of the state of Virginia.
Please contact Marvin Thiel if you are in the Central Virginia area and would like to join the club.

This is the second show in which the Atlantic Coast S Gaugers ever participated. It was presented by the Neuse River Valley Club in Raleigh, NC. It was the first time they had ever had S Gauge participation. The layout was a combined effort of the Virginia Central and Carolina Central Divisions. Members present were most of the charter members of the Club. Within a year of this picture the club had about quadrupled in size.

From left to right: Mike Myers, Ernie Stinson, Joe Haenn, Wayne Beachy, Tom Davis, Pete Hildenbrand

This photo was taken at the Great American Train Show in Richmond, VA in August 2000. This was the third anniversary of the club. This photo shows a famous New England grain train bringing famous New England grain to the mid-west. Ernie Stinson and Wayne Beachy combined their SHS, AM, and Lionel covered hoppers. The train is pulled by a Lionel American Flyer EP5.

In January 2001, we took the 4' X 8' layout to the Greenburg show in Virginia Beach. The accessories were Wayne's, some of the Plasticville was Wayne's and the rest was Mike's. The trains this day were Jeff Hill's and Mike's. We wanted to recruit new members for a proposed Tidewater Division at this show, but only a few Virginia Central members were available to run, so we took the 4' X 8' layout. As can be seen by these faces, 4' X 8' S gauge is still fascinating.

This photo is from our second special show for the children at Children's Medical Center at Medical College of Virginia Hospital. Stuart Gordon, Nick Colleran, Tom Riddle, and Ernie Stinson are completing setting up a 6' X 14' layout. We allow the children to run the trains and operate the accessories.

Every October, the Village of Midlothian has a celebration called Midlothian Village Days. In 2001, the Virginia Central Division set up in the Midlothian Fire Station which is across the street from the festival. We ran a 10' X 14' layout which took part of one of the bays of the apparatus area. Stuart Gordon (camouflage shirt) is in the background as the LTI Santa Fe passes the Plasticville station.

The September 2002 Science Museum show was in the main atrium of the former RF&P Broad Street Station in Richmond, VA.

The Science Museum has large windows in the top of the atrium. Here, a large sunbeam illuminates Sam Williamson's custom Royal Blue and Ernie Stinson's AM C&O freight as they pass through Wayne Beachy's Plasticville on his button module.

The VCD's 4th anniversary show was the Great American Train Show held at the RIR complex (formerly State Fair Grounds) in August 2002. The show has just opened and a few people have made it to the layout. Ken McNelly and other members of the Tidewater Division are helping visitors operate the accessories on their new "button modules."

In July 2003, the VCD of the ACSG ran a massive 22' x 34' layout in the Great American Train Show at the Richmond fairgrounds. Assisting at the show were members from the Carolina and Tidewater Divisions. The VCD ran it's PA traincam, thanks to Nick Colleran, which was a huge hit with the crowds.

The layout had a "T" section that separated it into two distinct segments, which allowed the Tidewater Division to have a small layout at one end that utilized their modules, accessories, and the Jr. Engineer's Cab. The outside track, however, ran around the entire layout, allowing for some rather impressive consists.

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