I have a lionel O layout.

As the designated train guy I was given an old marklin Z scale train by my wife's family after her grandfather's death last year. I was supposed to set it up, and got as far as ordering some Z flex track and a Z power pack. I know shit about Z scale--O scale is totally different --three rail that snaps together, this stuff is two rail and has to be trimmed and joined and flexed. I also don't know what the layouts should look like in terms of turns, or even what looks good, and I sure as heck don't know how to wire it.

The wife's family has just made a big deal about coming here for Christmas at our house, and they really want to 'see Grandpa's train' running.

Anyone have some good, fast advice? Websites to point me to? Some sort of common how-to books or magazine? I looked at Model Railroader magazine at the book store today, but it didn't cover this size. I also couldn't find any Z books at the store (B&N).

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/z_scale/

Google search turned up a shit load of sites.
It's just like N scale just smaller. Looks to me like pos & neg power hookup. 1 hot 1 neg.
Good luck. It shouldn't be hard.

What he said! It's [b]real[/b] small. Put an oval on a coffee table. [:D]




[devil]

[url]http://forum.atlasrr.com/default.asp?CAT_ID=3[/url]

I only work the real thing, but as has been said, there is no shortage of model railroad websites.

The first Z I saw was built into a salesman's briefcase... no kidding.

Popular at one time was glass top coffee tables, with N or Z layouts under the glass.

Z should be no different than American Flyer, Ho, N or your Z.  Your biggest problem will not be wiring but laying track the train will run around.  If you want to do some special stuff, you will have problems.  DCC was developed for the bigger stuff.  You can even wire DCC for N but I don't think Z.  This, as you must know, is very tiny.

Put it on eBay and buy more O Scale.  Seriously, Z is very expensive.  Engines are more than $200.  And it is very finiscky.  The 2 reasons it exists are people with ridiculously little space and as a curiousity (like in briefcases).

I might as well plug my HO stuff...  here's my site.  Been doing this for a while.  Cost is very comparable to gun collecting.  Doing both at the same time is not advisable for the fiscally faint of heart.  I do it for the history.  My grandfather worked for the N&W in the late 40's after he got home from all over the Atlantic and Pacific in the early forties.

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