Patience is a virtue, or somethin' like that. I can remember even in the early 90's, N-scale was about the same as Z today. It was hard finding Milwaukee anything back then! Now I see that MT is now painting F-units in Milwaukee Road schemes!
Milwaukee Road you say? How about an SD45 from American Z Lines? Also, Märklin produced an F7 for Milwaukee Rd as well as a steam set. Very nice trains indeed. The Marklin F7 was a different version than MT's current one. Interesting enough, the Milwaukee Rd. has a large following in the Z community. I know of two Z modelers in Euope modeling the Milwaukee. One actually modified and repainted an AZL UP E8 to the Milwaukee. It looks great! - Rob Kluz
I think Z scale is about 10 years behind N scale, but it is catching up fast. The good thing is that it looks like Z scale is going to skip what I call the "J" class days that N scale had. They don't sell to many z scale trainsets with the typical N scale poor quality "trainset" loco. If somebody is getting into Z they know what they want, and are willing to pay for that quality. Some day I may look into getting into Z scale. Imagine Z in the same 20 x 20 space as my N scale layout! Were talking five or six levels as apposed to the three now, must keep same isle space of course. Brian
Brian, You are correct. There are NO poor running locomotives in Z scale. They are all of high quality. Of course, the prices do reflect this. Of course, it is also a great thing! For instance, the SD45 above can pull upwards of 40 cars. Now that is a sight! Wow, 20' x 20', that is nearly a mile x mile in Z. Any prototype short line you would like to model... too scale? Rob Kluz
Hi Rob, I'm going to test out my SD-45's pulling power this weekend. On another note, It seems like the Z-Bend Track movement is really picking up steam. This winter there have been a couple ZBT clubs formed, and lots of talk about modules. What is happening here, is the equivalent of the N Trak movement of 15 years ago, where clubs started popping up everywhere. It's a good time to get into Z -Robert
Robert, Have fun testing those two beauties. I think you will be amazed. AZL is my choice for running during shows. Good stuff with lots of power. Incidently, I have 1 one AZL's Rio Grande SD40T-2. I found out they are running these locos in Ohio. There is a short line that has purchased them and still has it in the original Rio Grande paint scheme. You are right. All the clubs are a huge boost to Z scale. I am loving it!
Rob, those SD45's doesn't look that much bigger than th F59-PHI. Will they go through the same curves. I have a small layout with sharp curves, and I would love to have one if could run it.
We ran trains today on our first GATS showing. The AZL SD45's and SD40-2's that we ran, ran fine on the inside track's through a 9" radius without uncoupling for 3-4 hours, then some little kid snapped a coal hopper off the tracks and derailed the train. It was funny because it was Jim Manley's train, and he was watching because instinct told him that kid was like a cobra ready to strike. haha! I am very pleased with the AZL brass locos. We ran my AZL Sounder for a coupple hours on the outside loop, and again, flawless operation. Z was a hit at the show, with a constant stream of people coming by and asking questions. -Robert
The SD45s and SD40s are similar in length to the F59PHIs. The big difference is the three axle trucks of the SDs, compared to the two axle of the F59PHI. All AZL's have been designed to go through 195mm curves (Marklin 8520s). We usually suggest the 220mm curves (8530s), but the smaller will work. Robert... That is great! Sounds like you had a wonderful first outing. Kids at shows and derailments are very common. Cattle prods help with crowd control - Rob Kluz
Sounds great! I'd love to see some pictures myself. By the way Robert, on your recomendation, I have a NP pacific on the way Tuesday! I can't wait.
If you ask any of the guys in our modular group, they will all swear by the 4-6-2 as being the best running Marklin American steamer. They pull pretty good too!. I'll post some pictures during the week of our first GATS show. I'm beat, but it was well worth it. -Robert
