Trains.com

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

The History of Z Gauge

915 views
5 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    August 2006
  • 17 posts
The History of Z Gauge
Posted by Valley Rail on Friday, July 18, 2008 7:26 AM

I found this web page its pretty interesting and expains the history of Z gauge . Just wanted to share.Dont know if anyone else has seen this.Here is the link.

 http://hubpages.com/hub/Zgaugetrains

 

 

 

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Prescott, AZ
  • 1,736 posts
Posted by Midnight Railroader on Friday, July 18, 2008 7:37 AM
Wish the writer could decide if he wants to call it "Z gauge" or "Z scale." The words aren't interchangeable.
  • Member since
    April 2008
  • From: Los Angeles
  • 199 posts
Posted by Randall_Roberts on Friday, July 18, 2008 7:39 AM

Yes, it's surprising to see someone so knowledgeable about model railroading use the terms "scale" and "gauge" interchangably.  Of course they are used somewhat differently in the UK, and this reads like it might have been written by someone from across the Atlantic, or at least parts of it do. 

Interesting and well written piece.  It doen't mention any current TT scale manufacturers, sort of implying that TT scale isn't made anymore. But the fact that the author includes TT scale in the evolution of smaller model railroad trains is something I hadn't expected to see. It's also noteworthy that the author ties in Nn3.

Best! 

Randall Roberts Visit http://modeltrains.about.com Subscribe to the FREE weekly Model Trains newsletter.
  • Member since
    June 2004
  • From: Orig: Tyler Texas. Lived in seven countries, now live in Sundown, Louisiana
  • 25,640 posts
Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Friday, July 18, 2008 7:46 AM

I'll just make that link clickable.

 http://hubpages.com/hub/Zgaugetrains

 

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
15 year veteran fire fighter
Collector of Apple //e's
Running Bear Enterprises
History Channel Club life member.
beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam


  • Member since
    March 2002
  • From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point)
  • 11,439 posts
Posted by dknelson on Friday, July 18, 2008 8:14 AM

Even back in the 1930s, when HO was considered small and TT had yet to be invented, from time to time in old Model Railroader magazines you'd see some incredibly tiny scale models, smaller even than N scale, although perhaps not to Z scale's exact ratio.  These were more of the "can it be done/ship in a bottle" sorts of endeavors rather than real efforts to create entire working layouts, but the tiny things had motors and some degree of detail.  I particularly recall seeing something published from a modeler in Sweden.

So in a sense I'd say the history of Z or at least the general idea of a very very tiny scale goes back further than the history here assumes.

Dave Nelson

  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: The mystic shores of Lake Eerie
  • 1,329 posts
Posted by Autobus Prime on Friday, July 18, 2008 9:12 AM
 dknelson wrote:

Even back in the 1930s, when HO was considered small and TT had yet to be invented, from time to time in old Model Railroader magazines you'd see some incredibly tiny scale models, smaller even than N scale, although perhaps not to Z scale's exact ratio.  These were more of the "can it be done/ship in a bottle" sorts of endeavors rather than real efforts to create entire working layouts, but the tiny things had motors and some degree of detail.  I particularly recall seeing something published from a modeler in Sweden.

So in a sense I'd say the history of Z or at least the general idea of a very very tiny scale goes back further than the history here assumes.

Dave Nelson



On this subject, has everybody here seen these?

http://www.zen98812.zen.co.uk/aasherwood.html

1:480 scale electric models and 1:240 scale electrics and /live steam/. Lots of ingenuity used by the builder. What makes it even better is that he designed and built track and rolling stock as well, and ran them on a layout. The larger layout shown is the 1:240; the 1:480 layout was just a loop of track.

 Currently president of: a slowly upgrading trainset fleet o'doom.

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Users Online

There are no community member online

Search the Community

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!