Foreign Beginner In Z... Or N?

Metal_Rex Aug 16, 2015

  1. Metal_Rex

    Metal_Rex TrainBoard Member

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    Hi guys,

    coming from Germany and loving the american country I want to begin my first right model railroad (had a simple TT rr in my childhood).
    I've a space of 4' x 2' and want to use N or Z to run my first model railroad and I like Z really much when I see what ppl do with small and large spaces in that scale buuuuut I'm scared about the availability of z scale products - justifiably?
    Maybe I do something wrong but if I'm searching about structures, vehicles and DCC controlles I really find as well as nothin about it - is 3D printing not established? So building up a urban scene seems to be a horror for me not only because there's virtually no shop for us z scale here but I don't find shops in america too (besides AZL..).
    Moreover I just wanted to know if switching is doable in z scale because i sometimes read no or yes Rokuhan (don't they sell DCC controller?) works very good.

    I hope you have a solution for my problems :)
     
  2. markm

    markm TrainBoard Supporter

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    Rex,
    Welcome to the group and to Z. There really is quite a bit in Z. AZL and MTL (Micro Train Lines) are the big manufacturers of Z rolling stock, and there are smaller companies with a more focused line like Full Throttle. Various companies make track. For structures, I'd suggest checking out the Monster Z site. The German companies also have a wide selection of buildings that can be used on a U.S. layout. The Walthers site comes to mind as a source.
    Z scale pushes most of the commercial 3D printers to the limit so you don't see as much as you would in larger scales. The most frequently mentioned site of Z scale 3D is Shapeways.
    Switching is quite doable in Z. I do it with an AZL GP38-2 and a Rokuhan throttle (which are DC units) and can get the scale speed down to about 2MPH. The MTL coupler (which can be retrofitted to many other manufacturers' units) seems to be the preferred coupler for switching.
    Hope this helps,
    Mark
     
  3. ztrack

    ztrack TrainBoard Supporter Advertiser

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    Rex,

    There are two very large US Z scale dealers in Germany. Check out this link to a PDF listing AZL dealers. I believe both of these dealers also carry Full Throttle and MTL. Here is the link:

    http://www.americanzline.com/locomotives/azl-dealers/

    DCC is getting more and more established. All of AZL's new locomotives come DCC ready. Both Digitrax and TCS offer drop in decoders for AZL. These decoders are a direct replacement for the AZL PCB.

    In Germany, Noch is a distributor for Rokuhan track. I would highly suggested starting out with Rokuhan. It has a more extensive line of track than Marklin offers. But Marklin is a very good choice and should be easy for find.

    A 2' x 4' layout is a very good size and you will be able to do operations and switching. MTL couplers are the only couplers that are Magne-Matic which allows for automatic uncoupling.

    There is a very large US Z scale module group. You may want to see what they are doing. It is very impressive! Here is one video from 2012. They have added more modules since then.



    Rob
     
  4. Doug A.

    Doug A. TrainBoard Supporter

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    I think it truly may boil down to what equipment you are looking for. If there's some specific loco or freight cars you are wanting and they aren't in Z, that complicates matters. Shapeways/3D is definitely an option in some cases, but I still think we're maybe a year or three away from it becoming legit from a function, form, and price point. We also need to see more options for decals before 3D printing becomes truly an easy path to get freight cars and loco shells that we want.

    I can speak to this well since I model both N and Z, but have only been in Z for a very short time. I have been focused on the Z side of things though, and here is my layout info: http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/the-trinity-rail-link-in-z.83168 . It is just a hair larger than your criteria, coming in at about 2ft x just under 4.5ft. The fortunate thing for me is that for the era and locale that I am modeling, MTL and AZL offer virtually everything I need to create a very close roster of freight cars and locos to what the real line encompasses. Of course there are a few things I would like to have, but nothing that creates some big glaring hole.

    In N of course, the cupboard is full. (again, for the most part) The only negative for you in N would likely be the 2x4ft space. That's not much room in N to have any sort of ops. You're practically looking at 11" radius being the absolute maximum and that is with a very tight layout edge that doesn't give you room for error. (i.e. derailments that result in an unfortunate test of gravity. There ARE ways to mitigate that though.)
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2015
  5. ddechamp71

    ddechamp71 TrainBoard Member

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    I've no experience with N.

    Speaking of Z, things have been widely improving within the last 10 or 15 years. Choice of rolling stock and motive power, structures, etc. As said before, many Z scale locos are now DCC-ready.

    Myself I'm often performing switching sessions on my layout. The only obligation if you want to do that "hand-free": to be MTL coupler-equipped. For that purpose, it's better to run one's trains with a snail controller (or DCC). Then you need to spot undertrack magnets (or better: electro-magnets, mandatory if switching is to be done elsewhere than on a spur).

    In my opinion, the only drawback of Z scale is the lack of factory made prototypical power-routing turnouts (power routing = powered frog, not insulated frog). Currently there are only 3 brands of factory made turnouts: Marklin, that are toy-like in my opinion (a 43-year old design that has never been updated) and insulated frog equipped, Micro-Trains which are more prototypical but that mostly disappointed me as trains stall on many of my samples when I run at low speed, and Rokuhan, that are known to be very reliable, but that are not very prototypical in my opinion.

    But nothing like what is available for other scales: a simple power-routing turnout, with no plastic roadbed and no side mechanism, such as what release Atlas, Shinohara or Micro-Engineering for N and HO. Waiting for that to be eventually available for Z, I've no other choice than making my own turnouts with a Fast Tracks gig...:rolleyes:

    Dom
     
  6. Metal_Rex

    Metal_Rex TrainBoard Member

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    Doug A. I already saw your layout and find it quite good, something I would like to do. Dividing is a good method to have different places.
    I think I've found many sellers for Z scale now, it's not that much like HO but enought to build up anything I guess (I don't want to build any speciale routes etc.) and what I saw from other modelrailroader it's confirmed.
    But where I'm struggeling now is a DCC controler because there seems to be no one to buy without changing the electric power of it? Street lights or signals are not that available as well? Btw. how can they cost about 50$ o_O
     
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2015

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