It used to be pretty easy to see a picture, and see it’s not Z scale. With all the new locos and rolling stock, it’s harder to tell. This days, if you see a P42 and Superliner, can it be Z? Yes it can.
It's not that hard to tell, just look for the rail height or wheel flanges. But once you get above those, it is getting harder.
Jeez, whoever nominated Mark for the "Promoting Z-Scale" Committee should rethink things. John's positive post lasted a whole 3 hours before being shot down. I may be wrong, but I think John's premise was that if you saw a P42 and Superliner you could *eliminate* it being z-scale by virtue of the fact that....there was no P42 and Superliner available in Z. So it's more of a product availability qualifier versus a quality of modeling qualifier....i.e. "that looks like HO-scale!" due to the fine scenery and detailed rolling stock.
The IC train is part of a forced- perspective layout that was on display at the National Train Show in Indianapolis 2016. It starts out with HO accessories and people at the base and works it's way up to Z scale. The whole layout/ display is only 18 inches deep.
Yes John, you showed us how much detail can be included in a z scale layout. Now pan out to show us how small it is.
It seems to my eyes that Z has indeed achieved such detail that the scale cannot be quickly identified in pictures. The Z Scale photos I see here on Trainboard well illustrate what can be done. I've been in N Scale since the early days and it too went through a similar transition in its evolution. I could once instantly distinguish N in photos, but no longer. It's a credit to manufacturers and the modelers for bringing these scales forward.
There is some incredible detail in these pictures and, as said, they are credit to the manufacturers and the modelers who have created the scenes. When I first looked at the P42 with Superliners I was convinced it was N Scale as it looks identicle to my N Scale Kato P42 and Superliners. So in short, yep while a picture says a 1000 words, it doesn't automatically identify a scale any more.
Z or N? It’s from a show flyer. https://www.facebook.com/dfwtrainsh...741861.380442301859/10154831023636860/?type=3
That's wonderful Frank -- such great work. Photographs are a harsh critic, exposing and enlarging minute flaws to full scale proportion. Our eyes are thankfully more forgiving, blissfully enjoying a layout or module without precise focus. Thanks for posting these, your results are just amazing and I'll bet it runs as good as it looks.
If you go to his web page (which is listed at the end of his post), you'll can see many photos and much more information...I believe he says they are "Fast Tracks" hand laid turnouts with Code 40 rail. Whatta huge visual difference there is between code 40 and code 55. The height of the code 55 rail is usually (for me anyway) the only dead give-away; with code 40 you really can't tell the scale...super impressive! Mark in Oregon
Turnouts are nr8. I used the Fasttracks template for ties positioning and soldered the track using my own template. Track is Micro engineering code 40. Ties are Fasttracks.
