Welcome to the Bristol S Gauge Railroaders!
The Bristol S Gauge Railroaders are dedicated to S scale (1/64 scale) model railroading. Formed in 1948, we believe we are the longest running S scale club in America! We are located in Eastern Massachusetts, and also have members in Southern Maine and New Hampshire.
Members are interested in most branches of S scale, including, but not limited to, Scale, Narrow Gauge (Sn3 and Sn2), Hi-Rail, and American Flyer operating and collecting. Our major goals are to learn from each other and have fun doing it.
New Members are Welcome! We are anxious to share the fun of building and operating S scale trains and layouts, as well as collecting trains and models. There is a Membership Application to join us, or if you have any questions about the club, or want to get a message to any member, please email me at President@bsgr.us
Recently we lost a valuable club member – Don Haiges. He was involved with the club in several ways; from setting up bus contracts for all tours at two of our Bristol hosted National Conventions, hosting our summer Club picnics, scheduling support staff for shows, to assisting with setup and teardown of our Club layout at shows. Don also got involved with other club members and their layouts and created a superb layout of his own.
His message “God is good”, will come to mind when we remember the wonderful guy that was Don Haiges. To view his obituary, go to https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/search?query=Donald+Haiges
Club Activities
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The Hooksett Train show is where we displayed our smaller 1950's American Flyer layout. The show was Sunday April 26th from 10am to 3pm at the Cawley Middle School in Hooksett, NH. It was a fun day. Below are a couple photos - one showing set-up with Leo Liias, Rich Reeve and Doug Peck and the other photo shows the layout running with Doug over seeing operations along with Bill Tarbox, Bill Chase, Leo Liias, Cecile Peck and Rich Reeve proving support for the sales table and the show.
Setting up the Layout and Doug Peck viewing operations.
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On March 21 and 22, 2026 we brought our large 30 foot layout to the Greenberg Train and Toy show that was held at the Shriner's Auditorium in Wilmington, MA. The show was well attended despite the cloudy, sometimes drizzle weather. We did a raffle for an American Flyer train set and James was the winner! He was not there on Sunday when we drew the winning ticket so unfortunately, no photo of the winner this time. We had several different engines on display, such as Dick Connor's Doodlebug and kit built snowplow. Our battery operated diesel engine ran coal cars to the coal dump. We also had our Bill Boucher Circus train cars on display.
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We had two potential new Bristol Club members playing with trains at the recent Railroad Hobby Show sponsored by Amherst Railway Society January 24-25, 2026. The little guy was running a battery operated train and worked it both inside the layout as well as following it outside the layout. Connie had an opportunity to run the animated dinosaur car that George Reneris made and brought to the show for us to enjoy. Both adults and kids alike were surprised by the dinosaur!
The heavy snowstorm that came early on Sunday limited the event for many vendors and attendees. We look forward to entertaining attendees at next year's show.
An image of our layout setup at the show with Bill Chase and Helen Robichaud and Tom Fuller working behind the oil derrick. Here’s a photo of our anchor men, Don and Dale Hazensahl, who safely bring our train layout to each of our shows. They are shown, in the snow, just as they closed up the packed trailer. Thanks to everyone of the Bristol Club and members of the Pioneer Valley S Gaugers who assisted us with this show.
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B&M Quad Hoppers for Sale!
There are still some cars available.
For our 75th Year Anniversary milestone, we are offering B&M Quad Hopper cars featuring the "Minuteman" herald which were produced by American Models. These car models are available with three different car numbers (8000, 8248 and 8323). These numbers are from the March 1929 and February 1930 range from 8000-8999. The Original 1929 quad hoppers were later "re-shopped" with the "Minuteman" herald from the 1940's.
Each car number will be available in both scale and high-rail. Due to limited quantities, we reserve the right to fill orders for either one or two cars with car numbers of our choosing. Orders for three cars will receive all three car numbers. Photo above is similar to production car.
Click B&M Quad Hopper Order Form to place your order NOW!
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