Worth taking up Z-Scale?


Orgnoi1

Railroad Photographer
I have a local seller here selling a layout (incomplete) and some rolling stock... for about $200 the layout is 2'x8' and he said only just needs wiring and track laying...

My question is... I am a BIG D&H fan... and I dont see much in the lines of D&H Z-Scale stuff around...

So in anyones opinion would it be worth the undertaking? I also dont have the physical room for much more than Z Scale right now...
 
Sounds like it might be interesting, how much is invested in it so far? Maybe you can talk him down, due to the fact that to get what you want out of it, you'll have to invest way more.
 
Sounds like it might be interesting, how much is invested in it so far? Maybe you can talk him down, due to the fact that to get what you want out of it, you'll have to invest way more.

Honestly I havent seen the layout yet... I am going wednesday or thursday to look at it... from the sounds of it all the ground work is done... the electrical will be needed and the track laying will be needed. He also told me that the engine has issues... so it will mean I would be buying an engine (which I would be doing anyways probably)...

My real problem is I havent modeled since I was a young kid... and that was HO... so I am flying relatively blind going in...
 
If I ever modeled Z scale I would have to have a strong magnifying glass for starters just to work on it. Then I would have to have tiny hands to lay the track. Z scale is limited to what you can buy. Can anyone imagine scratchbuilding a rail shanty or a toer in Z scale. I have seen some real nice large layouts in Z in an open brief case. 2 by 8ft would be a giant layout in that scale. $200.00 seems like a lot of money. About "o"$ would be tooo much for me in a small scale like that. "N" would be a much better choice & you can put a nice layout on a 4X8 sheet of plywood & buy many many buildings to go on it. Even N is to small for me, but I've been in HO since 1961 & have tons of rolling stock & engines & enough structures to fill up a 24X8 ft trailer w/4ft sides.

Larry
 
LOL thanks guys =)

Yeah I am very aware on the size, and its going to DEFINATELY add to the difficulty of doing this if I decide to undertake it. I already have some of the tools needed as I dabble in gunsmithing when I get a free second from everything else. I decided on this I am going to take a look.. but I agree that $200 is a lot of cash. N-scale actually is EXACTLY what I would like to do ... but with not having any room for that size layout really its out of the question, and I know myself, I would never be happy with 2 circles...LOL
 
LOL thanks guys =)

Yeah I am very aware on the size, and its going to DEFINATELY add to the difficulty of doing this if I decide to undertake it. I already have some of the tools needed as I dabble in gunsmithing when I get a free second from everything else. I decided on this I am going to take a look.. but I agree that $200 is a lot of cash. N-scale actually is EXACTLY what I would like to do ... but with not having any room for that size layout really its out of the question, and I know myself, I would never be happy with 2 circles...LOL
You don't need all that much space for N scale. I have a 9" radius and if you lay the track really good some of the six axles can make it around it. I have the layout on my desk, hence the 9" radius.

FWIW, I am going to be doing a A-B-B-A set of Z scale F units and if you want i'll take some pics for you so that you can see how small it actually is, if you haven't seen it before.

-Smoke
 
Here are the pics. These are Micro-Trains F-7 units.

All five together,
IMG_1090.jpg

That is the tip of a pen in the picture,
IMG_1092.jpg

With a dime
IMG_1094.jpg

And with a quarter,
IMG_1095.jpg

lastly with my N scale SD35
IMG_1096.jpg
 
I'm thinking of adding a Z-scale figure-8 to my HO scale layout as a representation of the Willow Creek RR - a "really large scale" (7 1/4" I think) layout in Brooks, OR (http://www.willowcreekrr.org/) along the WPRR mainline.
It's a little oversized for it, but shouldn't look too bad.
 
i had a marklin Z set when i was about 12 years old. even then it was insanely tiny. i wish i still had it.
 
You're heading for 'Cape Disappointment' if you try Z.

Trackwork has to be perfect, or else the trains will stall constantly. Better to stick with HO, or even O if you can.

I messed around with N while in the service, then built my trains from LEGO until recently, when they discontinued their line of electric trains.

As of now I'm taking my chances with O-27 (i.e. Williams, MTH, and Lionel)
 



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