Hi, Train Gamers!We’ve just finished Railcon 2025, the last of our 2025 major tournaments. I’m going to post some results below. And also some extra added content: TGA news and upcoming regionals! Find your seats and get your tickets out!
Railcon 2025:We just wrapped up a fabulous Railcon 2025! We had 85 attendees, down from last year’s 101 for various reasons, but still, we played 368 games, not even counting all of the games on Wednesday. Our Puffing Billy Championship turned into a two-way battle for first place by the end of Saturday. The Challenger and the Iron Man were both decided the day before.Charlie Rucker, last year’s Puffing Billy Champion, did well enough to finish in the top 10, but the last two players standing on Sunday morning were Roger Jarrett, a repeat (and repeat, and repeat…) winner, and William Spear, who had yet to win a convention Championship. Roger was slightly ahead going into the Eurorails final on Sunday morning, and he finished 2nd to William’s 3rd.. So, Roger repeats. Again! And William will come back with a vengeance next time. Congratulations, Roger! Again.Overall, 19 total players had five category wins! Well done! Roger finished with an impressive 16.49 to Williams’s 16.31. Phil Cottrell finished 3rd, as the remaining player to finish over 16 points (16.08). The rest of the top ten were Charles Hooks, Jeff Jackson, Trella Bromley, Jack Burnham, David Belew, Charlie Rucker and David Beery. I fnished 11th. Sigh.The Challenger class winner (the highest ranked player who has never won a major championship or Challenger at a previous tournament) was decided earlier in the weekend. Three Challenger players had their five wins, but Jack Burnham was far enough ahead that he could not be caught on Sunday. The other top players were Steven Bill (14th overall) and Tristan Bushman (17th).As for the Iron Man, ten players played at least one game in all nine categories, tying last year’s record. That isn’t required in order to win, but it is both useful and impressive. This competition was also done as of Saturday night. The top players all competed in the Eurorails final, and aleady had wins. First place was a repeat Iron Man winner, (although it had been a really long time), Trella Bromley! The rest of the top ten were Charles Hooks, Roger Jarrett, Phil Cottrell, Richard Sheaves-Bein, Mark Liberman, Anthony Medici, Jack Burnham, Ken Bachman and Jonathon Lundy. The top eight played all nine categories, along with Remington Burnham (13th) and Bill Scatterday (22nd).
The full Railcon results are posted on our website if you want some more details.
And whether you attended Railcon or not, start planning now to be there next year! The contract is signed for a new location – larger playing area, free airport shuttle and more! Details will be announced later, but mark your calendar for October 14-18, 2026 at the Hyatt Place in Rosemont, IL.
Some news from your TGA Board of Directors:
Justin Moul has stepped down from the Board. We thank him for his years of service. He plans to continue contributing to the TGA in several ways. We elected Andi Wynn to fill the open seat. The others whose terms were up were reelected: Melissa Mendick and David Beery. Our officers for the coming year are Melissa Mendick (President), David Belew (Vice President), Brian Tipper (Treasurer) and Ken Bachman (Secretary).
Speaking of our esteemed Treasurer, Brian announced at Railcon that the annual dues will not be going up for next year. They will remain $20. So, you can go to our website and renew on January 2nd, and know that it isn’t costing you any more than it did this year! Woo!
Upcoming Regionals:
If you’re looking for a chance to play train games sooner than that, here are a few upcoming options:
— Euroquest Annapolis MD (confirmed) November 5-9, 2025, conductor Pierre LeBoeuf, TTR tournament run by Justin Moul. Details at EuroQuest 2025
— PAX Unplugged Philadelphia PA (confirmed) November 21-23, 2025, conductor David Belew. We could use some more help at this one! Details at PAX Unplugged
— Chattanooga (TN) Rail Gaming Challenge (confirmed) January 15-18, 2026, conductors Amy Beery and Jeff Jackson. Details at Chattanooga Rail Gaming Challenge
See the TGA website for the latest information we have on all the above and more.
Finally, for those of you who keep meaning to renew your membership for 2025, it’s not too late. Or consider splurging on a TGA Lifetime Membership ($500) and you can ignore all these messages in the future. They make great stocking stuffers!
Hope to see you at one of the Regionals, otherwise you’ll hear from me soon.
Ken Bachman
TGA Secretary