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Offline grahame  
#1 Posted : 22 April 2014 13:31:55(UTC)
grahame

United States   
Joined: 20/12/2013(UTC)
Posts: 141
Location: Houston
Dear All, I am looking at possibly getting an American Z loco. What do we think about this manufacturer versus Marklin? I would have to convert one of my wagons to a different coupler too, right? Is it easier to chnage the coupler or the whole bogie. I have the Esso wagon so a whole bogie would be possible.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marklin-Z-8626-4-axles-Tank-car-Esso-boxed-/190609832301

Thanks
Offline kbvrod  
#2 Posted : 22 April 2014 14:44:51(UTC)
kbvrod

United States   
Joined: 23/08/2006(UTC)
Posts: 2,597
Location: Beverly, MA
Offline grahame  
#3 Posted : 23 April 2014 13:08:27(UTC)
grahame

United States   
Joined: 20/12/2013(UTC)
Posts: 141
Location: Houston
Thanks for reply..they seem to have quite a wide range of American locomotives..how does the quality compare with Marklin?
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Offline grahame  
#4 Posted : 23 April 2014 13:10:59(UTC)
grahame

United States   
Joined: 20/12/2013(UTC)
Posts: 141
Location: Houston
Offline ozzman  
#5 Posted : 23 April 2014 13:45:28(UTC)
ozzman

Australia   
Joined: 23/11/2007(UTC)
Posts: 1,828
Location: Sydney, Australia
Hi Grahame and welcome to this forum. In my opinion before you go off buying this or that loco, you really need to decide what prototype you want to model - eg German/Swiss/Austrian etc on the one hand or US on the other. Marklin only make variations on the F7, whereas makers like American Z Line make a much wider variety (eg that GP38).

Also, do you want to go down the DCC path? Marklin Z scale locos are not made DC ready, whereas US makers (eg AZL) make theirs that way from the start. And to answer your earlier question, the two coupling systems are quite incompatible.
Gary
Z Scale
"Never let the prototype get in the way of a good layout"
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Offline Bigdaddynz  
#6 Posted : 23 April 2014 14:16:10(UTC)
Bigdaddynz

New Zealand   
Joined: 17/09/2006(UTC)
Posts: 18,659
Location: New Zealand
Originally Posted by: ozzman Go to Quoted Post
Marklin Z scale locos are not made DC ready.........


Confused

Don't you mean DCC ready? The one Z Gauge Marklin loco I have (V60) runs on DC, and I assume all the others do.

Originally Posted by: ozzman Go to Quoted Post
And to answer your earlier question, the two coupling systems are quite incompatible.


That would only be a problem if you wanted to run AZL rolling stock with Marklin locos and AZL locos with Marklin rolling stock. If you kept the trains brand specific, you still should be able to run them together on the same layout, assuming you were running the layout on DC only (or had decoders in the Marklin locos).
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Offline ozzman  
#7 Posted : 24 April 2014 02:20:29(UTC)
ozzman

Australia   
Joined: 23/11/2007(UTC)
Posts: 1,828
Location: Sydney, Australia
Originally Posted by: Bigdaddynz Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: ozzman Go to Quoted Post
Marklin Z scale locos are not made DC ready.........


Confused

Don't you mean DCC ready? The one Z Gauge Marklin loco I have (V60) runs on DC, and I assume all the others do.



Ah yes, of course. Good pickup there Blushing

By the way, that ESSO wagon is a typical European tank wagon. It's your railway, and you can run whatever you like with whatever you like, but be aware that you'd be running a Euro tank wagon with a US loco.
Gary
Z Scale
"Never let the prototype get in the way of a good layout"
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Offline grahame  
#8 Posted : 26 April 2014 04:16:07(UTC)
grahame

United States   
Joined: 20/12/2013(UTC)
Posts: 141
Location: Houston
"By the way, that ESSO wagon is a typical European tank wagon. "

True indeed.. I agree. Have not bought anything..just thinking....right now everything is European-German..with DB89.
Offline grahame  
#9 Posted : 30 April 2014 13:33:49(UTC)
grahame

United States   
Joined: 20/12/2013(UTC)
Posts: 141
Location: Houston
Is American Z knuckle coupler compatible with Micro Trains Z scale knuckle coupler?
Offline Chad0x78  
#10 Posted : 07 July 2014 04:23:35(UTC)
Chad0x78

United States   
Joined: 21/06/2014(UTC)
Posts: 36
Location: Chesapeake, Va.
Originally Posted by: grahame Go to Quoted Post
Dear All, I am looking at possibly getting an American Z loco. What do we think about this manufacturer versus Marklin? I would have to convert one of my wagons to a different coupler too, right? Is it easier to chnage the coupler or the whole bogie. I have the Esso wagon so a whole bogie would be possible.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marklin-Z-8626-4-axles-Tank-car-Esso-boxed-/190609832301

Thanks


I bought an AZL GP38-2 Norfolk Southern and I love it. It has a lot of detail for such a tiny train. But the train doesn't go as fast as a Marklin. Not nearly as fast. But it runs very smooth and is heavy and has good traction. I guess it's a give and take.
Offline ztrack  
#11 Posted : 05 August 2014 18:06:22(UTC)
ztrack


Joined: 25/11/2005(UTC)
Posts: 124
Location: Dublin, OH
Hey guys, I am the distributor for AZL and a LONG time Marklin Z enthusiast. AZL is definitely taking the lead on North American Z scale rolling stock and locomotives. They have quite the portfolio with even more coming.

Yes, you can use the AZL couplers with MTL couplers and Full Throttle couplers. The only difference is that the MTL couplers are Magne-Matic. No other couplers in Z scale work that way.

Using a conversion car is a great way to intermix Marklin equipment with AZL cars.

As for quality, let me mention the differences in AZL locomotives. I assume we all know the quality of Marklin's locomotives. Here is what differs AZL products: Coreless or can motors, dual flywheels, DCC ready, traction tires, many add-on details (depending on loco) and additional weight for better traction. As mentioned prior in this thread, the locos do not run as fast as Marklin. This is by design. AZL is trying to achieve more prototypical speeds.

Also take note that Marklin and AZL are not partners. AZL is producing for Marklin the upcoming E8 run. The Marklin offering will include Marklin style couplers. AZL will also release E8s, but with their traditional AutoLatch couplers.

If you getting started in AZL, try out one of their GP38s. This is their entry level locomotive. You also can't go wrong with the new SD70 series and GP7s. New versions are currently being released monthly.

Rob Kluz
Ztrack Magazine Ltd.
The Magazine For Z Scale Model Railroading.
www.ztrack.com
www.ztrackcenter.com
www.ztrackresale.com
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