Proposed layout

I have found it very interesting to look at other people's layouts and hope this will be useful. I am thinking of this as my first venture into Z. I've taken a Marklin HO plan, #27 from their 0700 book and used XTrkCAD to do it in Z. (The HO plan, using Marklin's M track is also posted at the end of this message.)



The layout uses MTL track with Marklin's 8592 adjustable track and one 8503. I have never used flex track and have stayed away from it here. However, I think I'll probably need to get familiar with it to overcome limitations. For example, I was not able to get as nice a lower center area (3 parallel tracks in the original HO) as I wanted. I also left out a section on the far left that connects the inner & outer loops - it would a polarity conflict.

The green diagonal representthe highest part of a raised level. I could eliminate the use of the 8592 & 8503 pieces by making the diagonal sinusoidal but I preferred it straighter.





Dan

Dan, Very nice proposed layout. I must say that it is an ambitious first layout in Z scale. I'm assuming that you have experience we don't know about in model railroading? This layout has many sidings and room for industries and small yards. I like that. There are ways to shorten MTL Micro Track (Check in Photo Archives under Socalz44 Misc.) thus eliminating the adjustable Marklin piece. Either way works, it is the blending of ballast that may bug you. In a few places you have three consecutive turnouts lined up. This can cause some problems. Slow speed operations through multiple turnouts (MTL or Marklin) tend to be stalling areas. Usually some speed must be maintained to make it through. I've been to a friends house and his N scale locos are not much better than Z going through multiple turnouts. Something to think about. Wiring this layout will be a challenge, but certainly doable. If a client asked me to build this layout for him I would suggest taking out the inner rail of the mostly three parallel tracks in the bottom center. This would eliminate some turnouts and make for better operations, in my opinion of course. Other than that it looks great, and thanks for slipping in 'sinusoidal' we just don't hear that enough. Cheers, Jim CCRR:)

Yeah, looks expensive but very, very fun.

A HUGE undertaking indeed! And it will look like a very busy place when done. Sure don't envy you for all the electrical you have ahead, though. But I always have my husband do all my track work since he's so good at it and I have the fun of populating the tabletop.

Exactly how the wife and I work, I am the solder man.

Thank you for the comments - they have given me more to think about. Just in case my post wasn't clear, the upper diagram is the Z layout while the lower one just above my name is the HO gauge layout I used as a guide.

experience - In the '80's, I had a Marklin HO setup with many turnouts & control blocks and ran several trains on it.

wiring - I am assuming, based on my HO experience, that with feed tracks and banana plugs & control boxes for the turnouts, that the only issue is "keeping track of what wire goes where". I also assume I will not need to do any soldering.

complicated first layout - mostly to be sure I don't burn my money, I'll first get a starter set and then probably add 1 or 2 turnouts. That initial experience should allow me to detewrmine if the more fragile & fussy nature of Z (relative to Marklin's HO) is acceptable to me.

Dan

Dan, I feel better now. I had the two layouts switched. Yes, I like the top one much better. Good luck and keep posting updates and photos. Cheers, Jim CCRR:)

Good luck with the double slip switches, I have found they always are a problem and tend to stay away from them in a layout. They are especially problematic for single axles. Let me know how you deal with them, I may try again.

JD

JD,

The doubleslips are not in the Z layout - they are in the original HO gauge layout (diagram at the bottom of post). I have seen mention of doublslip concerns in a number of the Z scale forums and that is why I didn't consider them for my Z layout.

I should have labelled both diagrams better - sorry.

Dan

I used a number of them and despite the convenience I sort of regret it, between the derailing, cost, and unreliable point-switching they are indeed best avoided. Still better than the old commie-era one on my TT layout

The one point I'd make about double slip crossings is that if you're modelling the German scene then at least one is almost mandatory. They're used a lot there because they take up less space than two turnouts placed one after the other.

Gary, Good point. On the other hand can you give us any idea on how to make them more reliable? If you go to a trainshow in Europe and go to the Marklin layout you will see about 1 attendant for every double slip! Cheers, Jim CCRR:unsure:

The one point I'd make about double slip crossings is that if you're modelling the German scene then at least one is almost mandatory.

This would depend on what era you are modelling. During era IV the DB removed double slips and replaced them by 2 turnouts. Certainly in the main track on busy sections. Mostly to decrease maintenance.

Socalz44 wrote:

Gary, Good point. On the other hand can you give us any idea on how to make them more reliable?

David A. Karp has a great site with all kind of tips to make Z more reliable.



Question to the webmaster:

I only see the trackplans in the first posting partially. The right margin is missing. They go only to about 6' or 12' respectivly. Is that only me who has the problem?

Funny thing is, well it really isn't funny at all, but my one double slip malfunctioned this very evening. It was quite OK until a few hours ago when I finally got around to connecting it up. It worked the first few times but then....

After this experience, and in view of the above comments, I might reconsider my long term layout plans. By the way, my focus is on Era 3.

If you need some special turn outs or crossings you might be able to get them at Weichen Walter . He alos makes them according to your personal needs. Unfortunately his website is only in German.

Don't forget to look as his "Komplettlösungen" and scroll down to the bottom of the page. There you can see the probably smallest Z-scale layout ever done. It has curves with a 14mm radius. I've seen this layout in Geseke last year when the customer took it out of his pocket...

Uwe, I see the same thing. I think the lower plan is the HO version and the upper plan is the 'smaller' Z version. All our computers are showing the same thing. Cheers, Jim CCRR:)

Hello Jim,

I just saw that I can see the whole picture if I use the right mouse button. Then I can open the full picture. The upper one is Z-scale and about 1017 x 865 pixel and the lower is the H0 with a size of 1.600 x 1.155 pixel. Seems to me that more then 800 pixel is to wide for the board. I will remember that if I post a picture.