Z-scale in Australia?

Hi all,

This weekend just past was Hobart's Annual Model and Hobby Expo. Since my early teens I absolutely adored the expo; it was about my only real chance to see 'proper' model trains in action. While the scene here in Tasmania is predominately HO with the occasional S or N layout, usually in various narrow-gauge combinations*, there was one guy with a Z layout.

This is where the seed was sown for me regarding Z; his (I'm presuming it was a he) layout was small, glass enclosed, and both my mother (who does artisan-level miniatures in 1/12th scale, and had work exhibited at the Expo this year) and I marveled at the jewel-like precision of this miniature railway. I was months away from building my first proper layout and Z would have ideally suited my rather small bedroom, but lack of availability at the local hobby stores, as well as the lack of inexpensive options for locos and rolling stock meant that I'd settle on N instead.

Having now begun my Z odyssey, some 15 years later, I was chomping at the bit to meet up with this guy. I'd missed the past 8 or so expos due to living interstate for several years, and then just bad scheduling, but assumed he'd still be there, ready to bombarded with questions! Unfortunately he was nowhere to be seen, and nor was anything Z-related for that matter. Just the guys from Tas Railway Modellers (check out for an example of an excellent Tasmanian prototype layout) a few mainlanders and the usual large scale Hornbys, steam ride-ons and a few LEGO trains. Everything was O, HO, OO or N. Very disappointing.

This is very much typical of the scene in Tasmania; none of the local hobby stores stock anything Z and have no desire to do so. They claim there's no market for it here, but of course there'd be no market if there's no easy way to buy it. It seriously would not be that difficult to set up a small layout to show how small it is and pip people's interests, then and have a few starter sets for sale. I always thought wise retailers created demand for a product rather than merely meeting it, but given I don't own a hobby shop myself I should probably just shut and accept the fact I save a small fortune buying directly from the US rather than getting reamed locally

Anyway, there was a question at the end of this rambling. What is the state of Z modeling in Australia? What prototypes are people modeling; German/European, US, or Australian? Is there any kind of club cooperation going on, or are the few people into Z acting alone?

Ben, Hang on. There is Z scale in Australia. They will see this title and get to you. Cheers, Jim CCRR:)

Sorry forgot to add the footnote:

* Significant parts of Australia's rail infrastructure have been, or are still, narrow gauge. This is particularly true in my home state of Tasmania where everything is now narrow-gauge. As such, it is no surprise to see so many layouts running narrow gauge, in particular Sn3 1/2 and HOn3 1/2. If anyone's interested there is an excellent site covering the scene in Tasmania (as well as broader info on the actual railways) at www.railtasmania.com/modelling/layout.php. Obviously it isn't Z but the work is high quality... it's inspired to me to hopefully one day recreate some local areas... will involve a helluva lot of scratch building though! ;-)

Of course is some Z in Australia, not much, I know (only by name) maybe 1/2 dozend as far as I remember from NSW and QLD.
I'm not doing or having any layouts. Just one reason: no time, too busy to super and modify US locos and rolling stock for Z guys all over the planet...Maybe when I retier one day...

Hello! I do know of one very active Z scale dealer in Australia. They are:

Gauge Hobbies
SHOP 10 - 1329
Hay St.
West Perth 6000
61 93212555
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mike is the owner. They do stock American Z Line products and sounds like they have a few active Z scale customers.

Rob

Ben, This link does not seem to work?? Cheers, Jim CCRR:unsure:

Socalz44 wrote:

Ben, This link does not seem to work?? Cheers, Jim CCRR:unsure:

Jim -

Go to www.railtasmania.com/ , click on "Modelling the Railway of Tasmania", then on "Layouts". I don't know why the link doesn't work, because you end up on a page with the URL provided.

Mike

Hi Ben

There is definitely me, and a few dedicated others that I haven't seen anything from for a while. I should explain that I also belong to the Marklin Users group but even there, in a worldwide forum, there aren't all that many members into Z scale. Although, having said that, a few people have recently said that they're starting Z layouts.

Anyway, I live in Sydney and have started a DB Era 3/4 layout. It will host visitors from the SBB and OBB too. I've bought almost all of my track, trains and accessories through the net, both dealers and eBay. There are two (and maybe a third) Marklin dealers in Sydney who have some Z, but their prices are quite high. And they wonder why they sell so little Z scale! There's also another in Queensland. I can give you the URLs if you're interested.

FYI, there is a small German maker who produces Zm track and turnouts (that's 4.5 mm), and another who produces a small, and VERY expensive, range of Swiss Zm trains.

Sorry this link is:

www.railtasmania.com/modelling/layout.php

Don't ever put full stops near your links!

Nice layouts there Ben. Thanks for sharing.

Ben,

Thank you so very much for sharing. I spend about 2 hours surfing through your link.
Am I correct that there is no passenger train service on the island?

Robert

G'day Ben , as Jim said ; there are Z scalers in Australia . The two I know that post are Gerd ( z friends europe ) , and ausman2001 ( märklin user group ), as well as being members of this forum.H'mmm who else ?
Z turns up in surprising places , for instance in Toowoomba about three years ago (?) there were two very cool Z layouts that a former Ozzie Z modeller went and had a squizz at,said, were really cool(NevW)
Other then that...... a bit stumped mate.
Dealers. As Gary said there are a few ; but not so interested in Z and my opinion is that there are not a huge amount of sales to be had.
I'm into europeon Z so I get my gear from the Märklin dealer in Brisbane Nathans Trains, and using exchange rates , Toot Toot in NZ and Euro Model Trains in New Jersey .
Like you said about you and your mum mate ; that is what got me ; these tiny little models doing there thing in the small scale.It's only my opinion but to "get into Z " from Oz you might use Google with the usual search term , but add "Z" or "220", etc..
This will give you a magical mystery tour of what the inhabitants of the third rock from the sun are up too. It's pretty awesome.The world shrinks and you can get anything posted to Tassie so look around 'cause it's all there mate.
What's the state of Z in Oz ; I don't know , but interest is increaseing.
I try attending the Brisbane and the Ipswich model railway shows and people are more aware of Z and retailers are supplying Z ( trees , ballast, underlay ) , while it wasn't long ago it was what is "Z".
You were asking if Z in Oz were folks that are acting alone; well yes and no. I don't see much Z in Brisbane but visting the Z community on the internet brings you inside what is happening with this scale. You are not alone !
.... but in Oz it doesn't exactly fall off the plate mate.
Ben I'd love to see some Tassie narrow gauge railways , hey , promoting Z in Oz ; yes I know it might not be 220 scale but the gauge of 0.256 in. is enough for me. I don't know what others would have to say , but it is Z enough for me.
I am reading the other posts and I have mainly been speaking from the märklin view point. As Rob ( Z Track) notes the American Z models are well represented in Oz , for instance 9 miles away I have the Märklin dealer and one and a half miles away is Austral Modelcraft which is full too bursting with North American model railroad gear ,of which some is Z . Orient Express in South Australia is another I find quite helpful.
Gary ( ausman2001 ) noted that on the Märklin User Group forum there is not much traffic . Juhan , the bloke that runs it deleted the Z forum and re named it "small scale" . H'mmm ; Juhan is one of the dudes in model railways that deserve a big medal for his dedication in promoting the hobby but I didn't think that was a cool move. That is the way it is though.
Not much in the way of posts!
Z in Oz .... alive and doing fine ..... small but growing ....from little things , big things grow .... it just doesn't fall in your lap.
Get into it Ben , you'll love it cobber.
Best wishes for Easter, g'day Gary and Gerd.
:::::::::::::::::

Hi there Rowan, good to see a post from you. And a great Easter to you too!

I'm not particular with Z scale dealer in Australia, pardon me for being ignorant.

Basically, Z Scale is even smaller than the others. Their ratio to the prototype locomotive is 1:220. Imagine that! This scale means that our 50-foot locomotive is only 2 ¾ inches long in the "Z" scale. The gauge between this model's rails is 6.5 mm.

Hope that helps for your Z scale creation.

Commonly, it takes up to 9 volts to move a "Z" scale model train

Hello craftsmaster and welcome to this forum. Would I be right in assuming you don't live in Australia? Do you have a layout, or are you at the curious/investigating stage?

Hi ausman,

I'm based in Gold Coast Qld Australia. I'm half way done with my N gauge. Trying to finish everything before the Great Train Expo on July 10-11, 2010 at California.
________________
Each individual has compelling reasons to love model railroading. But beneath these varied reasons are common threads that make it an awesome hobby everyone.

The Australian Model Train Guide

craftsmaster wrote:

Hi ausman,

I'm based in Gold Coast Qld Australia. I'm half way done with my N gauge. Trying to finish everything before the Great Train Expo on July 10-11, 2010 at California.
________________
Each individual has compelling reasons to love model railroading. But beneath these varied reasons are common threads that make it an awesome hobby everyone.

The Australian Model Train Guide

Well, my apologies for thinking you weren't in Australia. Do you plan to build a Z scale layout? Good luck with the Expo!

Yes I am. Thanks ausman2001
__________________
Each individual has compelling reasons to love model railroading. But beneath these varied reasons are common threads that make it an awesome hobby everyone.

The Australian Model Train Guide