Joined: 18/11/2015(UTC) Posts: 221 Location: Brisbane,Australia
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Hi all, I don't run Z scale but I have a couple of locos and a wagon I bought years ago. At the time Z scale was quite new and we wanted to promote it at the annual train show in Brisbane. No-one had any layout so I made up some demo pieces . 1. Layout in a leather suitcase powered by a solar panel. It worked fine at home but in the covered pavilion we had to cheat and use a plug pack power supply. We had the solar panel illuminated by a flood light but no-one guessed it wasn't functional. ( cheeky). This layout resides at a friend's place. 2. A diorama arranged in the powered drawer of a CD player. I gutted all the amplifier section and replaced it with a new power supply and a couple of small circuit boards, one for the timing cycle and one for the flashing lamps.    A short video. . 3. A circle of Z gauge track attached to the periphery of a 33 rpm record. ( remember them!). The original belt drive was retained but two new power supplies were fitted to control the platter and loco speeds independently. Two slip rings provided power to the track. We used a BR 18 at the time but it belonged a friend. I have used a Zeppelin which is a little harder to regulate.   A short video As an aside and in view of the varied opinions re track cleaners at present, have a look at the wheels of the Z gauge track cleaning wagon as manufactured and sold by Marklin. They must have had a very high opinion of their Z gauge track!   Thanks for looking. Howard.
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 6 users liked this useful post by ixldoc
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Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,509 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
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Originally Posted by: ixldoc  As an aside and in view of the varied opinions re track cleaners at present, have a look at the wheels of the Z gauge track cleaning wagon as manufactured and sold by Marklin. They must have had a very high opinion of their Z gauge track!
I don't know if you realise it but the cleaning wheels are arranged to turn at something like twice the normal speed for which the car is travelling. It is necessary to do this as Z gauge locos have always been very sensitive to the cleanliness of the track. Maybe this is why Marklin used code 62 track which looks so oversize - there are more than one guy in the UK who do fine scale Z gauge using code 40 track and it looks so much better than the Marklin track. Also like the other 'tricks' done with Z gauge in your pictures.
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 1 user liked this useful post by kiwiAlan
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Joined: 18/11/2015(UTC) Posts: 221 Location: Brisbane,Australia
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Hi and thanks for the comment. Yes quite a strange set up under there. In fact the rear wheel is a bigger diameter than the front wheel. The non flanged wheels are also driven and have pickups and rest lightly on the tracks.
Howard.
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