Track Plan

Hi,

I 'm a newbie in Z scale,i started to buy some material( NCE Power Cab,some book et etc) and now i ready for the construction of a track plan.
I have Marklin PDF trackplan in Z scale ,but i would like to use an N scale track plan,exist some software that transforms N trackplan to Z scale?

Thanks a lot

Giacomo

PS : sorry for my english

Hello Giacomo,
xavierx6699 wrote:

I have Marklin PDF trackplan in Z scale ,but i would like to use an N scale track plan,exist some software that transforms N trackplan to Z scale?

I don't know of a conversion software for a complete track plan. There are conversions for the messurements around, but then those are simple mathematics. Take for example the radii of a N scale curve, multiply it with 160, and devide the result with 220. Then you get the radii in Z.

I don't think that you will find a perfect match for a certain N-scale radii in Z-scale. There will always be a more or less little difference.

So the best idea I can give is take the track plan you have in mind, figure out which space it covers in Z-scale, like 825 mm x 1650 mm in N is 600 mm x 1200 mm in Z. And then try to create a similar looking track plan on it with the Z-scale sections.

Another thing I've learned this way is to use flextrack to cover the gaps that happens when using a converted track plan.

PS : sorry for my english

No need for apologize. This group is an international group, and we all are speaking only one language: Z

Thanks for the explanation, but i think that sets a trackplan of Marklin because it might be too difficult for me to convert N scale trackplan without a software that does everything automatically.
I do not have sufficient knowledge in this hobby,
I am beginning and i would not make a mistake that stopped the whole layout if not converts trackplan in N scale in the right way.
Better to choose the road safely

Ciao

Giacomo

Hello Giacomo,

don't be afraid of layout planing.When I got my first start set from Marklin of course I did set up the layout according to the plan that came with the set.

Then I got more track sections, and it looked like this:

[img]http://www.zcentralstation.com/components/com_joomgallery/img_pictures/general_z_scale_1/Uwes pictures_14/test_layout_20081130_2091256095.jpg[/img]

It served mainly for testing of wiring different components like turn outs, a reverse loop and track sectons that could be switched of from the controller to park a train. I also installed a second controller, and I for some sections I could choose from which controller they were controlled.

Then I wanted a real layout, and I went looking for some plans. In an old Maerklin book I found this:

[img]http://www.zcentralstation.com/components/com_joomgallery/img_pictures/general_z_scale_1/Uwes pictures_14/0322_page_114_20081130_1435463469.jpg[/img]

The layout was drawn for a suíze of 95cm x 55cm. Since I had about 115cm x 75cm available I could make a few changes and thus reduce the grade, and he strict parallel lines of the track plan. Now it looked like this:

[img]http://www.zcentralstation.com/components/com_joomgallery/img_pictures/general_z_scale_1/Uwes pictures_14/final_layout_20081130_2097210593.jpg[/img]

Currently I'm working on this (and yes I knew, it is taking a lot of time... ).

Here you can find some basic geometrys of the Maerklin track sections:

[img]http://www.zcentralstation.com/components/com_joomgallery/img_pictures/general_z_scale_1/Uwes pictures_14/track_geometry_20081130_1605259027.jpg[/img]

If you like you can send me the N-scale plan with the basic size of the plan area, and then I could try to convert it to a z-scale layout plan.

Thanks for your offer, but I do not want to disturb, use the Maerklin Z club layout, there are many beautiful and simple,like this.





I think that no have a problem from this pictures.

Also your layout is very good,but yopu have found this trackplan on Maerklin old book for Z scale,or for another scale?
If for Z scale you tell me the title of the book?

Thanks

Giacomo

Hello Giacomo,

the old Marklin book I mentioned goes under the item# 0322. It is written by Bernd Schmid and the title is "Märklin-Spaß mit mini-club". If I read the imprint correctly my copy is from the 1986. I got it via E-Bay a few years ago. It is about half of a letter size page, and the cover is in a brown color. Here you can see it:

0322 Mini-Club Book .

Another source for Z-scale track plans are the two track plan books:

0290 from 1975 and
0294 from 1998

if I remember it correctly the last one is also available in English, but I don't know the item# for it.

And finally there is the book 07770 mini-club-Praxis from Karl Albrecht published in 2003. This is only available in German.

Except for the last one, which I bought new, I got them all via E-Bay.

About the offer to convert a N-scale track plan. This won't disturb me at all. I would take it as a training in doing this. So I would benefit from it too.

Hi,

Sorry for the delay answer,okay,
which email address that i use to send the track plan?
I did not hurry because i started the trackplan Maerklin,
and i have already understood that the implementation of the layout deal "a lot of time" , so you can study them with calm.

Thanks

Giacomo

I'm also new to Z and am still deciding if I want to model in it. I found the track planning software to be excellent for taking layouts in other scales (for me, it was Marklin HO layouts as well as general HO layouts) and trying to adapt them to Z. I use XTRkCAD, www.xtrkcad.org/Wikka/HomePage . Using sectional track, I do find getting the track branches (from turnouts) connected back so the lines are continuous to be more difficult than I expected.

Dan

Hello Dan,
Writhdar wrote:

I'm also new to Z and am still deciding if I want to model in it.

Well, it's definitly worth the time to get used to the smaller size and the details that are different from bigger scales. Just to being able to do what we can do in a certain space compared to what can be done in the same space at any other scale is amazing.

I use XTRkCAD

Personally I like Raily 4 best, but that might be because it was the first software I got, and it does all what "I" want. For someone else another software is the better choice. Unfortunately it isn't possible to exchange track plans from one software to another, like a document in Word to OpenOffice or something like that.

Converting an existing track plan from another scale to Z isn't that hard to do. The track plan that started this thread was in N-scale, and I was able to convert it into Z with out any big problem. Perhaps Giacomo can post a picture of the final track plan here. Since it is his plan I think it is his right to do so.

The way I went was calculating the sections from N-scale plan to real size by multipling with 160, and then dividing with 220 to get Z. Then I only had to compare which Z-scale section, or which Z-scale section combination, was closest to the result. The N-scale plan was 2340 x 1350 mm and the resulting plan in Z was 1850 x 1150 mm.

I could connect the N-scale track sections to the existing Z-scale sections relativly close, and the resulting track circle in Z closed with a difference of 3mm sideways and 10 mm in lenght. The 3mm sideway difference wasn't to bad because it was a relativly big layout, and the 10 mm difference in length can be solved with a rail cutter in a few seconds... Besides, with a piece of flex track or two those differences can be solved much easier anyway.

To all beginners the offer to help converting a track plan from another scale to Z is still open.

Hi and happy new year everybody,

Sure, no problem to post the track plan, a question, it's possible post the trackplan format PDF to forum? i try with PNG.

Giacomo

This trackplan is just beginning, now i just bought some Maerklin track, the current economic situation does not help

I hope to have all the track ready for the end of January, early February.

Giacomo


PS:Hi ULie,all good?

Hello Giacomo,
xavierx6699 wrote:

the current economic situation does not help
[...]
PS:Hi ULie,all good?

Besides the economic sitiuation I'm having a good time right now. X-mas, birthday and all the other partys are over, my laptop is back from repair and the weather is fine. Nice and cold so my son can go scating (they flooded a play field in our village, since the ice on the lakes isn't really strong enough), and almost no snow, so we don't have to shovel our way to the street...

I hope you can make progress with your layout, just don't go to fast. Make pictures to show here. Lately I forgot that again when my wife was modeling the hill/mountain on the right side af our layout.

Hi,
Here much much cold and much snow, but the situation now to be better, in these days very cold night (-10 ° c),but stop snow.

As soon as i begin to assemble the trackplan post the photos on the forum, i hope to be able to do something good.

Giacomo