Z-Scale Continuation Page 1:

On the Z-Scale Continuation Page 2:

On the Z-Scale Continuation Page 3:

On the Z-Scale Continuation Page 4:

On the Z-Scale Continuation Page 5

Z-Scale Continuation Page 6

Freudenreich Z-Scale page:

On the Z-Scale Articles page:

Ztrack page:

On the first Model Railroad page:

On the second Model Railroad page:

You may also wish to see how I take the detailed photographs on the these pages; see my model RR page 4.

On separate pages:

Z-Scale model railroading, at an incredible 220 times smaller than life size, or slightly under half the size of the familiar HO scale, with rails only 6.5mm (~¼") apart, was started in 1972 by Gebrüder Märklin (Maerklin Brothers - der site ist auf Deutsch) in Göppingen, Germany, as "mini-Club".  It is now handled in the U. S. by Märklin, Inc., in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and their site has a Z page.  The renowned N-Scale manufacturer, Micro-Trains Line Co., in Talent, Oregon [itself a brotherly spinoff from equally-renowned Kadee Quality Products Co. (no website), the coupler manufacturer in Medford, Oregon], now has a large line of Z-scale locomotives and cars.

BUT - there are smaller sizes and scales!  Wherefore this page.  Let us shed a little light on such tiny trains with a Tiny Trains 1:900 TY lantern (this is for real!):

(Tiny Trains photo used by permission - all rights reserved)

Here's a teaser:

Micro-Trains® photo used by permission.

Z scale is about 2½ times smaller than HO!  In Z scale, a scale ¼-mile is exactly (and only) 6 feet; in other words, a mile is only 24 feet!

HO is a mix of metric and English measurements in a scale of 3.5mm to the foot or 0.138" = 1', which is about 1:87.1.  HO-gauge rails are 16.5mm or 0.650" (<3/4") apart.

Z is still the smallest production scale available today, but - - -

I had written, "don't tell anyone but there just MIGHT be a "Half-Z" 1:440 scale coming out of Germany, if they ever get it off the ground!  2' 4" Z-scale narrow gauge, anyone?", and that turned out to be true!

Z NARROW GAUGE

I was disappointed to note that Railex's Zf (Zn2) 600 mm (= 2') [2.75 mm (= 0.11") in Z] narrow gauge light railway set comes with an unmotorized locomotive!  Here it is, with a train and track:

---

More exactly, (TOO exactly!),

HO is 3.5mm = 0.1377953" = 1' (1:87.08571428571)
[Which might well turn out to be a repeating decimal].

Z to HO = 2.5262467:1 (use 2.5 for quick approximations).

HO to Z = 0.3958442:1 (use 0.4 for quick approximations).

For the other purist/perfectionist/maniacs out there, HO scale is exactly 3.5mm to the foot (3.5mm = 12 inches); yes, it is a cross-system dimension!  Dividing 3.5 by 12 inches/foot and then again by 25.4 mm/inch yields a reduction factor of 0.0114829 and inverting the result (on a simple calculator - I used a far more powerful one in my computer to get the full eleven decimal places, which appear to be a repeating decimal, 857142) gives the final inch-to-inch conversion factor!

That's how one gets to it, but I wouldn't sweat it if I were you!  1:87.1 is more than good enough.

Z Meter Gauge

A little birdie had told me that a small German manufacturer was coming out with a line of Zm meter-gauge track and equipment and another would have cars therefor.  Well, it's true (03 Mar 2002 - see FR Zm).

1:400 AIR-POWERED TRAINS

HALF-Z 1:440 TINY TRAINS

Der Herr Roland Kimmich in Stuttgart, Germany, builds Tiny Trains at the once-inconceivable scale of 1:440!  The only reference I could find was in the catalog of "Steve & Slim", Lilliput Motor Company, P. O. Box 447, Yerington, Nevada  89447 (1-800-TIN-TOYS).  Their Website includes their Tiny Trains (where 1:440 is no longer listed but 1:900 is) and Z (1:220) layouts, at Tiny Trains (click on Products and then on Toy Trains).

Lilliput showed a "stupendous" layout at 4½" x 24½", a typical "attaché case"-type of layout at only 4½" x 7½", and an almost-all-but-invisible circle, complete with mountain, tunnel, and waterfall, at a miniscule 4½" square!!!

There was more on this and 1:240 and 1:400 but my server blew all my work away before it was finished or backed up; I'll redo it soon (20 Dec 02).

TY-scale 1:900 TINIEST TRAINS

    Talk about "inconceivably" small!

Of course, in case you hadn't guessed, this is a wee bit hokey, but very real, nonetheless.  A web friend in Norway sent this actual photo and the information that the (in)famous Herr Kimmich (NOT so - he was NOT the manufacturer) had done it again in 1997, showing a 4"-square layout with 1:900 trains running around; they were pulled around by a string from below but they were running!  Hey, it's a hobby; loosen up!

Slim (Justus Bauschinger) at Lilliput now carries some of these layouts, as noted above.

AHA!  Now it comes out!  Tiny Trains is a firm up in the Black Hills at Lead, South Dakota, run by Tim and Laura Dillon (formerly of Colorado), making a wide range of 1:900 (NOT from Herr Kimmich and NOT 1:440) locos, cars, layouts, and detail accessories since about 1996 and they explain that the trains are NOT powered but are run by a plastic belt:

                    Prototype    HO        TT         N         Z           TY
Total span            1,000'  11'5-25/32"   8'4"      6'3"      4'6-33/64"    1'1-1/3"
Rise of bottom chord    220'   2'6-5/16"   1'10"     1'4½"     1'             2-1/3"
Width (truss to truss)   60'     8-17/64"    6"        4½"       3-17/64"       2-¾"
Clearance above water   135'*  1'6-½"(+)  1'1-½:"   10-1/8"     7-1/3"        1-¾"(+)

Here's the whole bridge (not to scale, which would be 13" across the springings):

(cropped Jan 86 photo courtesy of Wm. Tokaruk - all rights reserved)

(cropped to fit TY at 1:900 on a 14" monitor)

(cropped and resized from Jan 86 photo courtesy of Wm. Tokaruk - all rights reserved)

More on 1:900, as promised:

(Cropped and altered from Tiny Trains photos used by permission - all rights reserved)

The top passenger trainset in the upper right photo is configured as an amusement park ride for an N-scale (1:160) layout.

Thanks to Tim, here's some better shots, starting with the amusement park ride for N-scale, an old-time steam passenger train, two strings of freight cars, and an Amtrakker:

(Cropped from Tiny Trains photos used by permission - all rights reserved)

In addition, Tim allowed me to reproduce another "finger" photo (presumably Laura's), from the other side (not reversed - check the finger nail vs. above):

(Tiny Trains photo used by permission - all rights reserved)

These little (TINY!) gems are made of cast pewter and finely decorated.  To show the 13-car string better, I've broken the string in two:

(Cropped and altered from Tiny Trains photo used by permission - all rights reserved)

(Cropped from H. Henkelman photos - all rights reserved)

(H. Henkelman Jul 2003 photo - all rights reserved)

Harvey's still at it; here are two photos he sent in Mar 2005:

(H. Henkelman Mar 05 photos - all rights reserved)

If you think that truss bridge is elegant (at 1:900), look at this tall viaduct on a "huge' Tiny Trains 14" x 28" layout:

(Tiny Trains photos used by permission - all rights reserved)

Now, there is also a famous 1900 Fabergé Egg that represents the Trans-Siberian Railway and has a miniature wind-up train inside it!

See the SCALE and GAUGE and the SCALE CONVERSION TABLE: on the main Z-scale page.

You might also like to look at José Lopez, Jr.'s The Scale Card, for a most extensive discussion of scales.  I have a write-up and photo of his Z-scale Scale Card and Scale Rule on my Z-Scale page 2.

(Berlinerwerke)

(Berlinerwerke-Z)

For the story of the Berlinerwerke-Z (my layout), see the Berlinerwerke-Z Saga page, et. seq.

For tall tales of the BW and its equipment and such, visit the Berlinerwerke Apocrypha page.

Should you run across a Z-Auction (I found it on the HotBot search engine), it has nothing to do with Z-Scale; it is an electronics, computer, and Beanie Baby (really!) auction!

Oh, Hell!  Wouldn't you know!  Amazon.com now has some feature called zShops, whatever they might be (I can't find any explanation on their site).

Best regardZ,  S.B.,III