Hi guys,

just out of curiosity, I ordered a Z starter set and a few extra tracks to have ~170cm wide dogbone track.

I'm quite sure that in the future I will move from H0 to a smaller scale, but not yet sure if it will be Z or N. Both have their cons and pros. I'm really interested in analogue, though I'm having a blast with my digital H0 layout (which is also under construction), so that's one thing to consider. Although there seems to be a couple of decoder options for Märklin Z available...

Anyways, I'll build the track on to foamboard. Just a temporary solution, no scenery or anything like that (well maybe a grass matt), but I guess I have to fix the tracks to the foamboard anyways. I will store the whole board in up-right position, so the track has to be fixed. Also what I've seen on youtube, the track is a bit wobbly, so that's another reason.

However, even thou this little amount of track is not that expensive, I'd still like to be able to use them later on, if I choose to go with Z all the way and build a proper layout with it.

What would be the best solution to have a good fix, but still keep the tracks in good shape? I guess glue is out of the question here...

Best regards,

-Eino

Well that’s an interesting idea. I’ve never hand held anything Z scale, nor have I seen them live, so it will certainly come as a surprise to me how light they must be.

So a tape could actually hold the tracks I guess.

Thanks!

-Eino

Thanks Dwight,

I'm a bit far from building a full blown Z layout at this point, since I'm going to finish my H0 layout first anyways, but curiosity took the better of me, so I thought spending roughly 250 €, in order to have experience wheter Z is what I want in the future or not, would be a great idea!

If I someday choose to go with Z, it'll be 3 meters by 1 meter. However what I'm after now, is just an experiment in order to have some first hand experience with the Z gauge. I'm most likely going to have similiar experiment with N also.

-Eino

For the benefit of anyone interested, this is the latest data

Part No Description Weight
(g)
8874 BR216 (V160) B-B Diesel Hydraulic 37
81071 BR218 B-B Diesel Hydraulic 24
81176 BR V200 31
81450 BR232 Co-Co Diesel Electric 33
81551 BR111 B-B Electric 23
81870 BR 111 B-B Electric 24
88025 Klv 20 VW "Bully" 8.5
88131 BR234 Co-Co Diesel Electric 36
88132 BR W 232.01 Co-Co Diesel Electric 34
88133 BR232 Co-Co Diesel Electric 34
88136 BR W 232 Co-Co Diesel Electric 54
88150 V188 70
88167 BR 798 railcar 18
88203 BR220 (V200.0) B-B Diesel Hydraulic 33
88234 Class 1293 Bo-Bo Electric 32.5
88227 BR 194 "Crocodile" 38
88353 BR14 B-B Electric 29
88501 AE 6/6 C-C Electric 30.8
88699 BR212 B-B Diesel Hydraulic 26
88740 BR 64 2-6-2 21
88742 BR 64 2-6-2 21
88780 BR218 (V164) B-B Diesel Hydraulic 26
88783 BR216 B-B Diesel Hydraulic 23
88784 BR216 B-B Diesel Hydraulic 24
88786 BR218 (V164) B-B Diesel Hydraulic 24
88803 V80 B-B Diesel Hydraulic 21.4
88804 V80 B-B Diesel Hydraulic 21.5
88807 BR218 B-B Diesel Hydraulic Cotbus 26.24
88889 BR85 2-10-2 33
88931 BR85 2-10-2 33
88942 BR 94 0-10-0 31
88943 BR 94.5 0-10-0 31
88956 BR 130 2-6-0 28
88962 BR 86 2-8-2 25

In my experience, there is some correlation between pulling power and weight, but not a direct one. In particular, the pony trucks of stem locos detract significantly from the effective weight, so my 0-10-0s at 31g pull much (three times?) more than my 33g 2-10-2s.

Hope this is of interest


Chris

Increasing mass.

I have done lost wax casting with silver and also centrifugal lost wax casting to increase fine detail. Quite enjoyable and satisfying but long process from start to finish.

I would use the brass loco and place the parts in casting silicone. Vacuum set to remove air bubbles, easy to do with water venturi, but just another important step.

From the silicone moulds would create a wax equivalent. Adding casting spurs as required.

Set wax object in mould, burn off wax in kiln.

The part which hurts the most, having bought platinum... AND the extra required for spurs. Let's say a minimum on 250 grams for the 168 grams for the actual casting.

So at AU$53 per gram, that's AU$8,900 just for the loco itself, the spurs can be recycled for the next casting, another AU$4,300. So about AU$13k of platinum to get going. It is a treadmill of spurs, but the more locos you do the more you can amortize the cost of the spurs over many castings.

Then add traction tyres!

Here’s an additional question.

In the book ”Electronics and wiring for model railways” by Andrew Duckworth, there is this concept of ”Passing loop” where turnouts will cut power from a track segment where the turnout is not switched to.

Does Märklin Z turnouts work this way or what would the common practice to build stations and yards that are controlled with only one speed controller?

I’m from the digital world, but so interested in going analog.

-Eino

Oh this is great! Thank you!

-Eino

So guys, the starter set arrived today, and it's both a bit disappointment and great joy at the same time.

It is the cheapest starter set, but I guess starter sets should work well as standalone products...

The loco does not have enough force to pull the other of the wagon. It struggles a bit with the other too, but manages. Have a look at this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UbpaxboqxiI

So is there a trick to get this set working?

Anyways I'm really pleased with the scale now that I've seen Z live and the looks of the models and rails are fantastic too. This is definitely something I will pursue in the future, after I've driven my H0 layout enough. Also a great thing is that since I'm already in the hobby and very pleased with my H0 layout (although retrospectively, I should have started with a smaller scale in the first place), I stay calm and keep buying Z things with a reasonable pace and not go into insane shopping frenzy.





Thanks, this answers the previous question. :)

Best,

-Eino

It's hard to tell from the video but when the power is applied but the train's not moving are the loco's wheels turning? When Z locos are "overloaded" the wheels spin on the track, I've never been able to stall a loco by putting too many coaches in the train.

It almost looks to me that the second truck is shorting out the rails. (I've never heard of that before but Z scale is full of unexpected surprises!) It could conceivably be a faulty controller too - you could try connecting a 9V battery directly to the track and observing what happens then.

Good luck


Chris

The wheels have a plastic bush on one side that insulates the axle from the wheel. I'd suggest you remove the wheelset and inspect it under some magnification - I suspect there is a sliver of metal causing the short. Failing that, a good clean might just do the trick.

This seems very fixable to me - don't give up!


Chris

Hello. Hope you are well

I have never seen any problem like this one. I remove, clean and reinstall wheelset all the time. I mix them up and just put them back on without issues.

Did you get other wagons with your set. There should be a green low board wagon. Leave the other wagon aside for the time being. Put on the other wagon. What happens? Does it short out also? If the wagon is added at a point other than the terminal track, what happens? Inspect the terminal track, any issues with it?

Where was this set purchased? From a dealer? The set is under warranty if you did and might need to be switched with another one.

This is a very strange problem, unseen by me at least.

This locomotive should pull up to 5 or 6 wagons on a flat layout easily. Maybe more.

Take good care. This might just be some bad luck. These set are usually relatively easy to get working.

Dwight

Anything with 3 or more axles, only the 2 end axles are actually driving. All the intermediate axles are raised about 0.5mm. So a 6 axle diesel only has 4 axles in contact with the rail, the 2 outer axles on each bogie.

I love the 2800 x 800 mm layout concept presented on pages 84-87:

"Old and New Main Lines on a Layout
While a modern train such as the ICE is at home on the upper line, older models can also be run on the lower, existing line. Past and present come together on one layout - certainly not an everyday theme for a layout."