I was thinking of making a z scale layout on a piece of driftwood. Any body seen or done something similar? Can you show or link me to some pictures? What is the minimum radius I can use for a Microtrains GP 9 and 40 ft cars? Terl
Teri, We printed a number of photos of Harold Stromberger's driftwood layout in the May/June 2011 issue of Ztrack. It is a beautiful piece. The driftwood really lends it's self well for a unique layout. Back issues are still available: http://www.ztrack.com/issues/issues_11.html Rob
Thanks for your reply. I just bought this issue, but couldn't remeber where I had seen the pictures. I thought I had seen them on the internet. This will be inpirational. Terl
Teri, Please share photos if you progress with the project. I have been tempted myself to do a small layout on driftwood. It really will be a fun project. The hardest part may be finding the right piece of wood! Rob
Terl, the minimum reliable radius would be something like the standard 195mm (or just over 7.5"). If you are using flex track, you could probably get it down an inch or so more. in any case, the flex helps as you can do transition curves, from the linear to the curve, in 'stages'. Another way with sectional track is to use the 490mm (19") between a straight and curve. This helps when one car/loco goes into the curve while the other is straight so the couplers get really limited in swing, in relation to the other car/loco.
Here are some pictures if I can do the posting of some driftwood scenes made by Doug Wright which I photographed at a Boulder CO show. They were done in HO scale. I like the texture the driftwood gives. I thought that Z scale would give me a chance to actually run a train. I am going more for a flower arrangement approach rather than modeling the prototype. I went to the City recycle center and hauled home a truck load of gnarly looking wood. I will definitely post some pics if I actually get some track down. TERL
