Hello All, I am new to this forum, and to Z scale. I am not totally new to model trains, as my father has been building and collecting trains since before I was born. When I was in grade school, my brother and I created a rough layout on particle board and played with my fathers hand built brass trains! Much to his chagrin. My favorite is the CNJ Camelbacks. Well about the time Z scale started to appear on these shores, my father got involved with a group of individuals who started up Rogue Locomotive Works. My fathers involvement was helping to develop masters for casting and molding. He ended up creating masters in metal and plastic of steam and diesel. I even helped him by creating silicone molds for hoppers and passenger cars. Recently I became interested in a local railroad, and decided to work in Z scale. My father was happy to hear I was interested and we went thru his collection of Z scale. Now most of what he created is after the era I am focusing on, so I talked him into letting them go. His collection includes every model train scale, G to Z. As well as live steam. So I don't think he'll miss some Z. PRR and LIRR G5 If any of you are interested, there are a few master steam pieces I will place in the swap section.
Mikado Light 0-6-0 Baldwin Tank Loco Detail Parts I was thinking about my earlier post, and wanted to point out that these master castings were done to work out problems for mass producing these locos for kits and off the shelf units. Some of these castings have not gone thru the refinement process. It is my intention to sell these to people who are willing to clean-up and assemble them. Also note, that these locos are not 100% accurate, in that the goal was to have them fit over existing Marklin chassis. Domes on top of the boilers have been rearranged to accommodate the screw into the chassis.
Whoa... interesting thread that closes an open loop for me here ... I came across one of these a few years ago ... and it was snatched up so fast when I listed it at eBay ... somebody knew better than me what it was. The massive added weight made it have really great traction. Really a nice operating unit even for an old 3-pole motor.
Also, not meaning to plug my business, but I do have a few remaining sets of the steamer extras set from Marklin (#196596/E196596). This might be a good off-the-shelf complement to the 'kit-bashers' ... the red arrows show what comes in the pack 1. cow catcher 2. bell 3 boiler cover The factory is out of stock at the moment, unsure if they will source them again.
I also acquired from my dad, some plastic cars direct from the initial molds created by Nelson Gray for MT. My dad said that Nelson was the master tool & die maker for Micro Trains. I am not sure how my Dad came to own these. The gray tank car is missing it's end caps. The stock car has a cast bottom.
As I was looking through some more items, I found these hoppers. I also found some paper work that went along with them regarding their development. It seems my dad was working with a gentleman named Jerry Hodgkin who was molding the initial runs. Their correspondence covers molding and material issues. Well here is a look at those hoppers. There are two "short", USRA 70-ton hoppers. There are three to four "long", N&W-PRR hoppers. I've attached a photo of the long hopper.
Wow, this is really something: a look at some of the early history of American Z scale... ...very cool. Mark in Oregon
Nelson Gray was a true Z scale pioneer. He created an independent line of Z scale locomotive shells and rolling stock. He did see these items direct prior to Micro-Trains purchasing the line around 1985. We have run a very information article on Nelson in the January/February 2007 issue of Ztrack. We also have additional information the the January/February 2018 issue of Ztrack after he passed away. The article does include behind the scenes photos of his shop and offerings: https://www.ztrackmagazine.com/product/january-february-2007-volume-13-1/ https://www.ztrackmagazine.com/product/january-february-2018-volume-24-1/ The steam shell that Frank showed is from ISM (In Service Miniatures). They were a very early Z company that offered heavy cast shells that were to fit on Marklin chassis. I know very well the guys from Rogue. So I have to ask who is your Dad? I pretty much knew everyone who was in back in those day. It was really a wild west time in Z scale. Rob
Here is a picture of the "In Service Miniatures" 0107 Alco Tank Loco Conversion Kit for Marklin 8800 or 8805 The instruction sheet is very basic it sais " Gently pull the Buffers out of the Marklin Loco Frame with Needle Nose Pliers Set the Shell Straight Down onto the Frame, Push in the Retaining Pin with a Small Screwdriver. "
Here are some more views of what my father was working on. There are differences between this and what Frank posted. This tank loco has the light above the smokebox, no pump on the side, and no rivets across the top of the cab and the top hatch is in a different location. My father's version looks closer the ISM version than the one in Frank's post. I put these in post #7, but not sure everyone knows they are there.
Some more castings. I am not sure what the trucks belong to. I am also not sure what the bottom casting belong to as well. looks like hoppers and boxcars, but not sure.
Just a thought, but it seems a shame to break up an important collection like this. If it were me, I'd make an effort to keep it all intact and set up some kind of "museum"- type thing...or sell it all to a group who would keep it together and display it as such. I think this is an important piece of Z scale history... Mark in Oregon
Mark, I agree. Rob Kluz of Ztrack magazine has a Z Scale museum in the office. I would like to see these items there too.
Mark, I understand your thoughts and concerns. Most of this has been stashed away, and it is only at my insistence that my dad and I are going thru it. There are all the other scales that will need to be gone thru as well. At this point no one is benefiting from it. I feel that with the lack of steam in Z scale, some of these items need to be made available to train modelers. I think I can be persuaded into setting aside some of the original masters and paper work, but I want to share some where duplicates exist. For instance, there are more of the saddle tank locos and the one I have shown was made for me by my dad. I am in contact with Rob and will ask about your thoughts. Thank you for your ideas, Scott
Hi Scott: Thanks for posting this important z scale history. What did you end up deciding? Thanks again! Rory