Hello all ive always had trains growing up fro ho scale to n and a recent Santa train ride with my daughter made me realize how much i missed having my toy trains. Since space is limited i would like to get into z scale. Ive noticed the starter packages that azl offer and they seem like my best bet, but are there other companies that offer starter sets like this with track and controllers? I wanted to go with a military theme but it seems they dont make a set anymore so that being said, I always remembered the blue conrail trains going by my house growing up I wish i could find a starter kit that had a conrail engine with it! also what kind of maintenance goes into z scale? I under stand keeping track clean and what not but what else? Thanks for any input i get!
Welcome. You will like z scale. There is a lot to offer. I would suggest looking at MicroTrain Lines (MTL) for a starter set. I think I have even seen a Conrail Tabletop starter set. There are a couple of manufacturers making military-themed loads such as tanks, personal carriers, etc...3-D printed items are also available. MTL's starter sets do not include the power pack, though they make a modified MRC one suitable for z. I'm sure some of the other helpful members will add other ideas. The most important thing about z maintenance is dust and debris on the rails. It is very important to keep the rails clean. Z's small size is unforgiving when it comes to dirty rails. A track cleaning car will help. Have fun. Ask questions. Take care and Merry Christmas. Jim
It depends on how quickly you want to dive in. The AZL starter pack is a good value (e.g. the basic starting price for an AZL gp7 is about $150). With their starter kit you get a geep, 3 freight cars, track and controller for under $200. MTL, also a good vale, offers their table-top sets with an F7, 5 freight cars, track( some w/o track) but no controller for sub two hundred to $225. So there's a bit of a trade off. You can also piece together a collection by online auction but will take a bit more time. However, you can find some decent bargains out there. Good Luck!
A GP or geep is General Purpose locomotive that looks a bit like this: https://www.american-rails.com/imag...www.american-rails.com/images/FRPRT163564.jpg They came in several dozen models, increasingly more powerful. Some of the more popular models were: GP7, GP9,GP20,Gp30,GP35,GP38 and GP40 Mark
Thank you! I know i have a lot to learn and i did forget to mention the other main reason im going z scale is that i have 4 3d printers and plan to design and print my whole layout!
I would definitely go with the AZL set. Contact AZL and see if they will substitute a Conrail GP30 in place of the other roads...I believe they have done this for folks in the past so maybe they will again. Welcome to Z!
Awesome I did just that! I hope they will, I have such fond memories of the blue conrail locomotives going past my house growing up!
