As others have pointed out there is a Ztrak group and magazine. Also Yahoo has a 2000 member group online caled z_scale its a 1:220 Model train community forum. As others have said its a small group; mabye getting larger over the years with the advent of American “Micro Trains” z scale and American z scale line and marklin trains z.
George
Z scale is very rare to find in America, there is some of it in Europe but rarely America.
I remember that one. It was of the giant portion of a modular RR.
MR, is NOT a true Multi-Scale publication, and would be more appropriately named “HO & N Monthly”.
I recall that article but,I also recalled some of the early N Scale layouts that was publish in MR which IMHO was at best a token effort at introducing N Scale.
I see a lot of potential in Z but,its worst enemy is the price…$195.95 for a locomotive is a shocker…
Since MR is in the business of selling magazines and HO + N amounts to 90% of the market, it would be a very poor move to give more than occasional token page space to the remaining scales. It has been demonstrated a number of times over the years that if a publication strays from what the vast majority of the readership wants the magazine to address, subscriptions are lost. In the current state of a contracting hobby I think MR is doing an excellent job of balancing how often to cover the various minor scales.
CNJ831
Well,we all know MR caters to HO always did and always will in the years to come.Seeing HO has the larger slice of the pie,it only makes good sense for them to cater to HO…
The other scales accounts for around 10% of the articles and N Scale is above the other so called “minority scales”.
Of course N Scale has 2 magazines and some of the other scales has their mags as well.
I would not be surprise to see a magazine covering On30 in the years to come.
It’s not that a loco costs 200 bucks, it’s that for 200 dollars you get a basic DC only loco. I’ve seen HO scale locos with DCC and sound for less than that.
I think Z scale is the big killer. It is for me at least. Looking around one car can cost anywhere from $20 (no big deal there) to $30. Engines range from what I’ve seen $170-$200, and again DC only. And as for the serious layout, come on it’s Z scale. A mid-sized dining table could be turned into a serious Z scale layout. I don’t it’s that MR is anti Z, I think it’s just the fact that as said in one of the first posts, only 1-2% of hobbyists dable in Z scale, and as a latter post mentioned american stuff in Z hasn’t been around that long. Looking through some of the train mags, MR, RR Model Craftsman, N scale, it seems that American train hobbyists really only model American style layouts. But then again Between last years MR issues and the ones this year so far it would seem European modelers like to model American style layouts only. I also believe that cost will hurt Z scale with this economy. It seems more and more people move to rental houses/apartments where less hobby space is available so I think HO and N will see a slight up kick in sales once people realize their own fear of spending money is what’s helping the economy go down. Part of the reason I’ve agreed with my gf on finding a cheaper apartment is so I can spend more money on a layout. She doesn’t know that though so sssssssssshhhhh. And don’t tell her if we stay where we are now I plan on overtaking most of the spare room. Don’t tell her that!!
Well,I know some N Scalers use Z Scal
Actually, Light Iron Digest comes pretty close to On30 only. Once in a while, an HOn3 tidbit finds its way into the magazine, but everything else is On30. And Carstens has been publishing the On30 Annual for several years now.
Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette does a pretty decent job of covering narrow gauge (and occasional standard gauge short lines) across the range of scales/gauges, including On30.
Fred W
This applies to all model magazines, not just MR. During my 16 years as editor of Model Railroading I only published one Z-scale layout feature…it was the only one I ever received. Jeffrey White’s Z-scale Union Pacific layout was featured in the October 2005 issue of Model Railroading, and is included in the BIG BOOK of Model Railroads digital book.
Randy Lee
Stationmaster
Highlands Station
I feel that Z-scale is definitely considered to be model railroading. I think we need to take a step back and see where it fits in its relationship to other scales.
It may not fill the need of the model railroader in which prototypical operation, amassing a fleet of highly detailed rolling stock and switching are important, but it’s perfect for the modeler who wants to do something different, someone that is tired of all the trends in the hobby toward hyper-realism and prototypical accuracy.
Anyone that’s had their layout or trains criticized by a visitor for one thing or another may want to consider Z-scale. Other model railroaders may look at as a novelty or ‘toy-like’, but that’s fine. Granted, it’s diminutive size isn’t for everyone, but I think it seems to be a rewarding scale regardless of popular opinion.
No! N stands for Noble and HO still stands for Horribly Oversized.
My question
from my first posting was not meant to be a modern day disparagement of Z-Scale but was meant, rather, to impart my first impression upon encountering it in a hobby shop in Kaiserslautern, Germany in the early '70s.
As stated in your posting:
Z-Scale has, indeed, grown up and become respectable; thirty-plus years following its introduction it has, however, grown at a significantly slower pace than N-Scale grew following its introduction in the early '60s. Z-Scale is probably here to stay but much to the chagrin of several crystal ball gazers of late it is not likely to ever supplant HO-Scale or N-Scale as the nation’s #1 or #2 scales: there is what I regard as a sound reason for that_: Z-SCALE IS SIMPLY TOO DARNED BIG_! or, to restate it: IT IS SIMPLY NOT SMALL ENOUGH!
Z-Scale is just about 25% smaller than N-Scale which, by a quirk, is almost the exact reduction of TT-Scale to HO-Scale. TT-Scale was an attempt to mollify those modelers who were being forced into smaller living quarters following Big Brawl Two. Its size–1:120–was determined by the availability of motors at that time. TT-Scales reduction, I feel–and I got this years ago from an acquaintance who had spent his teenage years in the 1950s modeling in
american Z scale locos as follows,
American Z line: F59PHI, SD70M, SD75I from $179 to $220
Micro Trains: F7A from $95.85 to $110.95, also F7A and F7B dummy units; GP35 from $165.95 to $195.95
That’s where the major kill for me is. I did take a look at Z scale, and a very good look too. The range in availalbe motive power is extremely limited, but I’m not worried with that. I forget who, it’s in the front of the latests MR issue, but someone has made an RS2 body shell that will fit on Micro Trains GP9 chassis for $65. To me the kill is the price. From the prices an AZL and MT the average price is $167.06, and thats for basic DCC. NONE of them, even the 196 dollar ones, was DCC, just ‘ready’ for it. Just as a comparison a brand new DCC/sound equiped FP45 from Athearn goes for $229.95 from them, and I’ve seen N scale DCC/sound equiped locos listed as low as 55 bucks (Bachmann 44 tonner) on trainworld.
The second biggest killer is structures. Ironically, there is plenty of detail parts like towers and people and benchs and stuff that are American style, but not so many buildings. If you stick with a theme anyways, if it doesn’t matter and you just want american style buildings your ok. This translates to probably 90% of your buildings being scratch built. I go that low because one company makes all their N scale houses in Z scale. I’m sure if scratch building almost everything is something I want to do when it’s my first time around.
Now here’s the part that intrigues me enough to consider Z scale over N scale (even though I already have about $250 invested in rolling stock for N). I will limit this somewhat because I’m sure a Z scale loco can’t haul the same equivalent 20-25 cars that an N scale loco can, but for poops and giggles a 15 car consist of 50’ PSI’s and a GP35 in N scale would take up about 45 inches, while the same consist in Z scale would take up about 32.
AZL is bringing out a GP30,they are re-introducing the Rougue GP38-2,MTL has the GP9,and a SD40-2 in the works.If memory serves me right MTL has an E-8 in the works.
For rolling stock,AZL has enclosed autracks on the way along with a modern tank car ,PS-2 covered hopper,and a 4 bay center-flo.MTL,ZTRACK,and ED Models have modern intermodel cars.AZL and ED Models both have 3 bay center-flos.
Biggest problem I can see for Z beyond the cost is there are not enough modern North American buildings,there are some but not nearly enough.We could definately use some more and better looking American vehicle models in Z too, my preference would be some fairly late model ones,but all eras are needed.
Once upon a time, MR used to assign staff writers to cover layouts.
That way, they didn’t have to rely on submissions for 100% of their content. They could find and report on trends in the hobby–like modelers using Z scale–that were intresting but didn’t supply them with articles.
Those days are gone, I guess.
Not true, one of the MR staff members just took a day trip on Monday to photograph a layout.
Sincerely,
Neil Besougloff, editor
Any idea when they would come out with these? I know the GP30/35/38 were based off the same body designs so I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult to buy an existing GP35 in Z and kitbash it to match. Should even eaiser since it is Z scale and would be too small to model the tiny variations that made differences. As long as the prices stayed under 200 I could deal the cost. I was even thinking about this on and off all day today at work and finally decided I would just stick with my N scale and then I came here and saw what you wrote. Now you got me all wondering again. Darn you. I think you owe me a beer [8D]
A few weeks ago I went to the local train extravaganza at the Cow Palace just south of San Francisco. Mostly it was not much. There were some pretty neat layouts in HO and N; but what go me most enthused was a modular Z scale layout. The feeling of the layout was “vistas”. You know, lotsa scenery and not lotsa track. VERY presentable. I also noted a roof mounted working flasher on a diesel and also, I think, a working Mars light on an F unit. There was also a stretch of mountain road across a river from the tracks that had cars moving on it. With no guideway–just a flat road. Nice!!
There was certainly not going to be a lot of switching or way freight operation on this layout. I don’t recall much of a yard. I think pretty much it was all going to be “continuous” running. Which, on a display layout, usually wins the prize. At least for the civilians. The trains ran reliably–I didn’t see any derailments, and I don’t recall a lot of “joggling”.
Now, as far as serious modeling, I don’t think that’s going to work. I work in HO, where I can just sorta actually manipulate all those little bits. When the bazillion dollar check arrives, I’ll definitely go with O. It’s got real authority, and you can just about do bolt for bolt modeling–it’s really a model maker’s scale. Unless you go to 1/2". Yeah, right.
Anyway, After my visit, I decided that I could take Z scale seriously. But it’s not for me. I’m too much into pretending that I’m someday actually going to do all the modeling projects stacked around here. But if you have fun runnin’ trains continuously around lotsa nice scenery, it’s a creditable choice.
Good work Z guys, Ed