Robert! That sounds like a great idea!! Is Sunday a good day for that? Saturday's the fiancee's birthday party. I'd definitely be down to come by and shoot the breeze! (We've chatted in the past over your old N cale NP layout!) Of course, I don't think they'll let me light up a Cuba Libre in the event hall! hmm...... Brian
Sunday's just fine. We can put a throttle in your hand and a train on the tracks so you can get the feel of Z too!
Robert you are the true ambassador of Z! I don't know how many know how much your really help people behind the scene. Keep up the great work!
Adam, Please make it a point to introduce yourself next February in Portland. We're finally going to have a beautiful venue to show in when WGH comes to Portland. The convention center is so much classier that the Expo. That was where I first showed any Z at all after getting into the scale. As I recall, there were uniformed folks ushering and directing folks around. Sounds right to me as we are classy folks, right? See you there?
HA! I am so excited about all this.... I need to figure out where & what my first layout shall be! I have the track seen there, plus a bunch more curves and only those two straights. I think I'll work on doing some kind of over/under twice-around loop, with a lake and a mountain. Won't take up much space..... maybe in one of those ikea glasstop shadowbox tables? Or perhaps in a smaller, lower table I could use to store my humidor and scotch stash! This one is cool- Photo courtesy of Jeff, AKA SJ-Z Man in an older TB post: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?115394-Coffee-table-layout..../page2
Make sure you come down to San Jose Sunday and see our Z-Bend Track modules, and you will walk out with lots of layout ideas!
First off, I must say a BIG THANK YOU TO THE BAZ BOYS!! I had an absolute BLAST! Robert, you really are the ambassador the Z guys accuse you of being The whole team was great (Hein your work is mind blowing!) and it looks like you guys really have a good time with it. Also, I had some really good interactions with folks in the swap and elsewhere at the show, really good vibe there at the GTE show. Now that I have some North American prototype rolling stock, it looks like I am on-track to have a nice NP train coming soon! (yes pun intended!) I did absorb some awesome ideas of where and what I'd like my first layout to be, so I'll be back posthaste with news of procurement and design!! I also took a long ~5 minute video of the layout, perhaps I should get it up on Youtube? Pics to follow as well after I get some steak & eggs in me.
Welcome Brian, the newest member of the BAZ BoyZ, who after discovering the vitues of running Z Scale firsthand, has decided to convert to Z!
Touring the GTE spread.... This pretty much sums it up- [video=youtube;X4k8zpfN6qU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4k8zpfN6qU[/video]
I had heard that bit of news, and it makes me very happy..... Any word on what NP paint scheme we might see gracing those F3's? I've literally got more Northern Pacific F units in N scale than I can string around my layout. It's an addiction.....
I am really looking forward to AZL NP units, and another Z Scale convert of mine, Seth Abrahams, is into NP and has 6 NP GP9's so far, so he will be jumping on the Mikes and F3's too. You can mix the Mikes, F3's, and GP9's and still be in era with NP.
Sorry for coming in late. Hope this is helpful... Loads of resources for American prototype products, including all known manufacturers, plus retailers and sources of more information: http://americanzscale.org/ Lots of track plans here, from simple ovals to door-sized empires, with an emphasis on compact plans, complete with parts lists: http://jamesriverbranch.net/plans.htm May be worth perusing the posts at this blog in your spare time; you'll find observations on the ins and outs of Z Scale model railroading: http://1-220.blogspot.com/
