There was a surprising amount of Z Scale at today's Columbia, SC train show. My cell phone camera struggled in the indoor light. I was surprised to find that the trains were all DCC. I didn't know DCC functionality was available in Z because of its size. I learned a lot from the two guys who'd set up the layout. Everything ran very smoothly and they ran the trains at nice speeds.
Thanks for the update. This is encouraging for Z-scale. Was at the train show here in Sioux Falls, SD today as well. While there were no Z scale layouts represented, there was one (just one) vendor who had 100+ new MTL Z-scale rolling stock and engines displayed for sale. He also had about 40 or so MTL Nn3 rolling stock, which was a surprise to see. Those Nn3 cars are realllly nice.
The Columbia, SC show as pretty typical of what I see in this region, with 60% Lionel, 25% HO and 15% N and Z on the vendor tables. There were layouts set up for O, S, HO, N and Z, but the N and Z layouts drew the largest crowds it seemed to me. The show was very well attended.
Same in regards to the Sioux Falls show- great crowd. Although in this region I see very very little Z-scale represented at any show. However for this guy to be there with a full table of rolling stock was a surprise. No accessories or anything of that nature though. N-scale has a respectable following in this region, so there was plenty of representation.
Pics look nice. There was a train show in Denver this weekend. The location was improved (versus pre-pandemic) to a larger venue at the National Western Stock Show Complex, which is pretty big. It drew lots of vendors from several states around. Notably more O scale than a few years ago. Quite a few layouts of various scales including HOn3 and On30. But surprisingly no Z this time. I'm working toward improving that statistic about Z on display here. I think 4 vendors had any Z.
I know that guy, that's John Duino who moved to the south from the SoCal area. Our club, the BAZ BoyZ, have displayed together at several national train shows with his club. John has a laser cutter to make Z Scale models too!