Why Z scale ?...

[Tracklayer]

Who came up with Z scale and why ?.
I was at a hobby shop recently and saw a Z scale set that was priced at four hundred dollars. As I looked around the shop a while, I came across a few other Z scale accessories - all of which were also very expensive. The shop owner said he had stocked the items for a couple of years ago but none of it was moving, and that he was thinking about having a sale on it just to get it out of the store and get his money back out of it.

Tracklayer

[steveblackledge]

If the price was lower i would give it a try, but at present it's a big[tdn][tdn][tdn]

[mcouvillion]

I have enough trouble with HO. I had N for a while as part of a club and just couldn't work on it very well. Who wants to be a jeweler and work on what is essentially watch mechanisms? I'm impressed by the fact that they can be built, that they seem to work reasonably well, and that the detail is starting to get there, but it is way too small for me!

Mark C.

[SpaceMouse]

Why Z? I know an ex-college professor that had a Z layout in his pencil desk drawer. He would do ops while the class was taking a test.

No-no. He retired.

[csmith9474]

I have heard of a lot of modelers that work on the road that have the briefcase layouts.

[Tracklayer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse

Why Z? I know an ex-college professor that had a Z layout in his pencil desk drawer. He would do ops while the class was taking a test.

No-no. He retired.

SpaceMouse, I got a kick out of your reply!. That guy had it bad didn't he... [:p]

Tracklayer

[Anonymous]

Not all of us have tons of space to build our dream HO or O scale layout. I model N, but I barely have enough room for that. If I had 2 feet less than I do (currently 3'X6'), I would be giving Z scale a good hard look.

[Anonymous]

Well it's is a nice replacement for a fi***ank or the stack of tattered magazines beneath a glass top coffee table. lol

[MisterBeasley]

Don't laugh so loud. My LHS has a coffee table with a Z-scale layout under the top glass. Someone makes tables, someone else makes layouts, and they're available for sale.

[Anonymous]

I could never work that small. N scale is trying enough. But after seeing the Z scale layout at the National Train Show I don't have to ask why. The scale allowed for believable distances, realistic towns. It was really an amazing display.

But soooo small.

[Wdlgln005]

Z has ben around for some time. Too bad Marklin & MTL are the only mfr's of rolling stock. Lack of competition keeps the prices high. Some of the layouts look nice, if you don't mind running European railways.

Z is also used for Nnarrow gague lines. Use Peco trak with Marklin turnouts. It will be fun to see how MTL fares with their new track line. If they do some turnouts, it can be a success. MTL has produce some Zscale cars, and their F unit is nice. If I remember correctly, there was a Swedish company that had some Zscale molds that called them MicroTrains. MTL bought the company & the molds to produce some of the models produced today.

[Rotorranch]

I hope to get a z scale F unit, and a few gons one day, to put out on my HO scale layout. I want to use it for a ride at my train museum. Stick the top half of an HO scale engineer to the roof of the F unit, and load the gons full of sitting passengers. I think it'd be too cool!

Now just have to keep watching ePay for the "Deal". [:D]

Rotor

[skiloff]

We had a local hobby store/watch and clock sales and repair shop here for many years. He was from Germany and really enjoyed the model train hobby. He got into Z scale and had quite a layout. Alas, he retired and closed his shop as he couldn't find anyone to be a craftsman with watches and clocks. Its a dying industry and its a shame, because his work was amazing.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MisterBeasley

Don't laugh so loud. My LHS has a coffee table with a Z-scale layout under the top glass. Someone makes tables, someone else makes layouts, and they're available for sale.

Maine Trains?
I thought it was N after seeing what seemed to be a atlas Station

[leighant]

Quote "Who came up with Z scale and why ?. "
If Marklin did not "come up" with it, they were at least about the first if not the only Z scale mftr for years and years. I am going to assume it was "a German thing", needing small space.

I also suspect there was some proprietary competition about it. I am not sure who was first, but I think Marklin, long time HO manufactuer, saw Arnold Rapido having some success with a scale smaller than traditional and they wanted part of that market....but they wanted something different from what Arnold was doing. My guess...based on what I remember seeing in the late 1960s and early 70s.

[Tracklayer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Rotorranch

I hope to get a z scale F unit, and a few gons one day, to put out on my HO scale layout. I want to use it for a ride at my train museum. Stick the top half of an HO scale engineer to the roof of the F unit, and load the gons full of sitting passengers. I think it'd be too cool!

Now just have to keep watching ePay for the "Deal". [:D]

Rotor

That's actually a great idea rotoranch. Good luck to you with it.

Tracklayer

[underworld]

If he's selling it cheap I'll buy it!!!

underworld

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

Theres a guy down here in south texas who brings a modular Z layout to shows around here. It looks about 20x20 in an L shape and there are trains going all over the place! not very realistic track plan but the scenery is nice and the kids love watching all those tiny trains.

[emdgp92]

We should remember that the same comments about Z being "too small" were made when HO and N scale came out as well :p

I've seen N and Z scale equipment next to each other, and Z doesn't look to be that much smaller...but enough that very few people are into Z. After trying N scale recently, I wouldn't mind having some Z scale stuff to play with...but I can't justify having to pay the price for it.