The 46th NNGC is Being held September 2-5, 2026 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and Convention Center, Bloomington, MN. In recent conversation with premier modeler and long standing SWSM enthusiast Mike Engler, there plans to be a healthy contingency of SWSM forum faithful at the show this year. From the sounds of it, Mike is lining up the “red carpet” treatment for the SWSM crew with a hospitality room for a “meet and greet”, room to display SWSM builds outside the actual contest room, and potential hook-ups for dinner plans and other after hours activities.
I’m really excited about the show and will be doing a clinic as well as having several of my builds displayed in the clinic room and the show. For those that are going, apply a good dose of peer pressure and try and get as many SWSM fans to the show as possible. With the pandemic and the Fine Scale Model Railroad Expo no longer in play, this has been a long time coming for this group…so lets get together!
Post your thoughts here regarding the show and any questions you may have…take it away Mike and thanks!..
Ken, great post, and thanks for getting this started. I look forward to meeting you and attending your clinic. Also, I’ve spent time the past 4 or 5 years reading through the SWSM Forum, what a bunch of great modelers. It would be a really great opportunity to meet this community of modelers. In addition to the clinics there is a nice lineup of very nice layouts (both narrow gauge and standard gauge) that I think match up well with any in the country.
While I had plans to be a vendor at this show…teach 2 clinics…and participate in the model contest…I think its not going to work out at this time. I have 2 family trips I’m financially committed to…one in August to California and Utah…the other in October to Florida. The cost of the trip has skyrocketed due to the gas prices…and I don’t think I can budget enough for a third trip to Minnesota in September…in fact…I’d have to rush home from Utah and turn and burn to the NNG. So…I think I’ll have to wait until Hickory next year…I need to make a decision. And quickly…
Sounds great Ray and look forward to it as well. Just remember I’m a modeler not a public speaker, If it wasn’t free to attend, I would have refused to do it! lol
Ken, where were you last year? I went to St. Louis last year as it’s only 3 hours from where I live. I did attend the last convention in MN. It was a good convention. I’d love to attend this year, but it’s a 10 hr. drive for me and as others have stated above I am committed to a big trip in July. I thought about attending, but the price of gas has gotten out of sight. I hope you guys have fun. Please take a lot of photos of the contest room and post them for us to see. I would love to have seen your builds in person.
Ahh, sorry to hear Curt. Was looking forward to knocking elbows with you guys! Now come on!..someones got to pop in here and say they’ll be there with bells on!
Sorry, Ken, I would love to come along and heckle you from the back , but the logistics are just a bit too formidable at the moment. I have always enjoyed my trips over to conventions and hopefully I will make it back, but not at the moment.
That’s just great Nick, another slacker! Where is the sense of SierraWest Scale Modeling patriotism with this group? We issued a “call to arms” to defend our modeling way of life, to rise above the cluttered bench and stand in solidarity and proclaim we will not go quietly into the night but band together as one united front, to take what is ours at the NNGC!..Ken…Ken…wake up! What, huh…oh sorry, what were you saying Nick?
You’re right , Ken, I have been showing a distinct dereliction of duty. Let me get a few things sorted here and I shall pop over the Pond and make amends. However, I shall need somewhere to stay until the event so make sure the spare room is ready and I shall forward a list of dietary requirements for you to absorb and act upon . I will require picking up from the airport and I could probably do with having access to a car for personal use . Don’t think I shall be coming over just to freeload off you , I do have certain skills in construction so could probably put an extra model display shelf up for you . As long you don’t want any guarantees of it staying there .
Maybe you had better drift off back to sleep as my presence could be thought of as a living nightmare ! Oh, and, just remember, …..I know where you live !
Ken thanks for posting this- I’m sorry I’m late to my own party! it will be fun. We first did this in Minnesota in 2018 and it was very successful. It’s important to point out that the National Narrow Gauge Convention is not just for the narrow-minded. It has great appeal for all model railroaders and railfans. The model contest at the NNGC in my opinion is usually worth the price of admission. It will also be great to see in person some of Ken’s incredible skill. I’ll chip in some other reasons to get you there. One of the first ones will be to come up with a boat load of incentives to get guys like Sir Nick-O across the pond tariff-free. Getting Art here will be a special project.
Ok…after a chat with Mike…there is now a much better chance of me attending…and being a vendor and clinician…and a contest entrant. But it’s going to be interesting…I’ll be unloading my car from my 3 week trip out west…and load up my other car for a trip to the middle north west…one can only hope fuel costs drop. We talked of trying to get Brett to come…I’m going to book a room…and watch the prices…