(This is a nice Thread, thanks John for posting this.) I would have been an addict since 1995, if it wouldn’t have been so dam hard to acquire material in the 80 & 90’s, Montreal had only 2 small Marklin reseller’s but only had HO Stuff, Z was way out of their knowledge base. So no Hobby stores had any Z in my 200 miles radius. Even when I worked in Germany in 2002, all stores around my hotel in Hamburg did not have any Z, but I had the great chance to visit “Minitur Wundeland”, now it is 4 time bigger than it was in 2002. Even if it’s HO, this layout is a must to see. It’s only when I finally decided and had the courage to purchase from the web that I was finally able to acquire a “few things”:bear-cute:. So Animekmodels was establish in 2005, and then I became a Zscale fanatic. Ben
I bought my first Z-scale startset early in 1984 and when I together with my wife and 2 friends did a weekentrip with the ferry between Oslo, Norway and Kiel, Germany later that year, and I then discovered how cheap everything were compared to the norwegians prices, I got the feeling in my body you may remember from Crhistmas Day when you opened that really wanted items you have been wanting for a long time. I got the feeling like my hands was shaking and went crazy in the store. Finally I needed to divide all I bought into 4 bags, so I was not doing anything wrong going into custom in Oslo when we went back. None of us got over the free limit before we need to pay VAT/customs, but it was close. After some years I discovered the american railroads and sold all my non-american items to invest in US-american Z-scale only. And the story continue from there..................
1984 Hanau Germany. The 060 steamer with banana wagon car and gondola starter set. (How many started with that one?) I then got the Prussian set. Last year I picked up the old starter set at a junk store, with the stick pin with the wheel included. I was clean for a long, long time, when I seen what kind of progress Z had made while I was cruising the internet. GPs and buildings! I got a Z scale Jones.
Suckered in by the ZoCal guys including Bill Hoshiko, Lajos Thek and John Duino at the January 2007 GTE show in Anaheim, CA. It was their first show on their own. It was like the proverbial Chinese fire drill. Modules wouldn't fit, wiring had shorts, some un-named soul lost the expansion tracks, etc. I immediately decided these are my kinda' guys! Have never regretted joining this bunch of crazies. Love the seemingly lack of ZoCal "organization", openness of the Z-Bend concept and the ability to talk with show goers.
I have something with trains as long as I can remember... Started with Märklin HO model trains at 5 and switched to Märklin Z-scale in 1988. In 2006 I saw a Z-scale MTL UP GP35 @ Caboosehobbies in Denver durring a business trip, that's when I started with US Z-scale. According to my wife the disease is getting worser with the years... although it is not dangerous.
In automn 1972 I bought the first delivry of the small roster of locomotives 8801 and 8864 ,some flat waggons and gasoil tanks. I have them always. It was an atomic bomb in the railway scene, nobody was thinking before that such small size could be produced on a commercial base. The BR98 was produced till today in 5 millions exemplares! It could be the most produced locomotive on the world. Unfortunatly the genius of the first designers was a little bit lost in the company.
For my 7th birthday, I wanted an electric model railway. I actually wanted it in N scale, but for limited space my mother made it Z scale. That was in 1977. I got the basic start set of this time with the BR 89. After switching to US style a couple of years ago, I still own quite some stuff by Maerklin. And still, my 103 from the late 70s is still one of my best runners. Greetings Mattias
Since 1997, when I purchased a MTL Warbonnet F7, a few freight cars and a bunch of Peco Flex. Static display at first, the loco and its short train lying on a piece of Peco flex top of a chest of drawers. A long time "armchair modelist" until I started (slowly) building a layout in 2006 - 2007, depicting a free-lance shortline in the Mojave Desert. Since then the layout has been slowly in progress but the trains run, mostly consisting of MTL and AZL motive power as well as MTL, AZL, FR Models, Uncle Will and Penzee rolling stock. Dom
The rest of my story from 2008: I was at the local GATS (now GTE) train show showing off my N scale layout. As I walked around the show, I saw these guys running these even tinier model trains. But the main thing I noticed was the possibilities of Z bend. My N scale layout was looking at a dead end. I did not want to join Ntrak. But those ZoCal guys "showed me the light" and I was saved! I must be addicted because I think I was one of the first to put sound in a Challenger. Big Boy will be next!
I think you were the first. I also think I was the second. And I think my next will be the AZL Dayligth GS3/4. I have the sounddecoder on my desk.
I first got into Z Gauge in the 90's (Better Late than never) My First Train set was a HO Double loop that my Dad built in 1959 - With my hand on the throttle I could stare at the Pennsy Diesel go round and round for hours. So I was a addicted at a Early age. Oh and by the way - I think Men are Hypnotized watching a train go round and round like they are staring into a Campfire with a Beer in their hand - Just a thought. When my Sons where little I got into LGB - Absolutly loved them - My Sons where not that thrilled. So I Ran HO,G,O,and now Z -And I love these Little Trains - Kinda like tiny little fine Time pieces. My Wife and I moved to a small house so I gave up the large layouts. I recently started building a 20" x 20" Box framed layout - It is coming along slow and as money allows (I am out of work) but hope to have much of it done by Christmas. I am not so much into the scale and proper scenery as a lot of modelers are but I absolutely appreciate and respect the time and work they put into their Layouts. I am more into the Old Wanamaker's Lionel Store layouts with all the lights and moving accessories. I could spend a afternoon staring through that pane glass. So this is my first post - Hope their will be many more. And I am glad to be here. Oh and Shamoo - Thanks for the kind words about my layout on another forum - Since you where the only one kind enough to reply! Ken
