Atlas Z Scale Flex Track?

[strummer]

It's all about the economics and Atlas has the Code55 rail already, allowing this project to come to fruition... I've been busy with other things and haven't checked back in, but am willing to use the Atlas stuff now for my Columbia River Sub layout.

I think this new track will allow Z scale to expand. Maybe someday that means the economics will work to have Peco style buried Code 30 rail in amazing flex. But right now the Atlas stuff will ease the cost factor and laying long main lines with fewer joints.

Now that we have SD70ace's to push a long string of coalporters, and Z trains, and international stacks, and... It's time for Z to move out of the gimicky micro layout stage!  Let's see some heavy duty mainline action!

These are all very important points. I would like to see your "Columbia River Sub". Have you posted any photos or video?

Mark in Oregon

[wcfn100]

In the guise of there only being only so many man hours and dollars to put towards projects and only so much machine time available, this really sucks for N scale.

It certainly wouldn't  be like Atlas to just make track.  Will be interesting to see how this plays out.


Jason

[Missaberoad]

It's all about the economics and Atlas has the Code55 rail already, allowing this project to come to fruition.  Remember the only existing North American tie spacing flex is MTL, which besides being ungodly expensive (to pay for that rail tooling??) is annoying to work with. Once you pull out the weird sloping end ties, and the middle donut ties, you're down to ~11" a section. Two 14" radius end loops I built used up most of 3 boxes of track! 

So there was room to improve both in price and longer sections. I wanted Code 40 as well, so visited with ME to see their operation and talk through a Z scale product using their rail. Again, the rail being available was key. We even visited their old tool maker to see if he was willing to do the tooling. The economics would have worked, and I had the tooling drawn and was ready to fund it out of my pocket, but the project fizzled as it was during the time Atlas was moving factories and ME was running two shifts just on HO track to keep up with the uptick in demand!  There wasn't time for another specialty project. I've been busy with other things and haven't checked back in, but am willing to use the Atlas stuff now for my Columbia River Sub layout.

I think this new track will allow Z scale to expand. Maybe someday that means the economics will work to have Peco style buried Code 30 rail in amazing flex. But right now the Atlas stuff will ease the cost factor and laying long main lines with fewer joints.

Now that we have SD70ace's to push a long string of coalporters, and Z trains, and international stacks, and... It's time for Z to move out of the gimicky micro layout stage!  Let's see some heavy duty mainline action!

So How long till we can see pictures of the Micro-Mod-u-Trak layout? 

This is definitely exciting news, I look at Z scale today and it reminds me of N in the early 1990's. 

[tom mann]

Interesting.  Maybe this will help the popularity of Z and decrease Z prices.

[pnolan48]

Uh-oh! The price of Z scale track was the only thing keeping me out.

[Sokramiketes]

So How long till we can see pictures of the Micro-Mod-u-Trak layout? 

I may have played that joke on the HO guys earlier this year...

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

That's a Z scale mockup of one of their original Midwest Mod-U-Trak modules. That whole layout would be awesome in Z too.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[basementcalling]

Kinda wish they would perfect and flesh out their N scale code 55 line first, but I can be happy for the z scalers, who will now need to covert their trucks and wheels just like us. ☺

[Sokramiketes]

These are all very important points. I would like to see your "Columbia River Sub". Have you posted any photos or video?

Mark in Oregon

Not much to it yet. I started playing around with some extra modutrak frames.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Mostly I've been working on equipment assuming I get to the layout eventually!

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Top to bottom:
Misc freight
Spud Local
Merchandise
Empty Coal
Z-train
International Stacks
Work train (side dumps to park at Goldbar) and Boing flat
Autoracks
Earthworm
Amtrak Empire Builder is N, but coming in Z soon!

So BNSF in WA state is definitely doable. Just need a dozen Dash-9's!

[sundowner]

This is good news, all those nice models that AZL has been producing need some nice track to run on.

[nkalanaga]

No, there are no code 55 turnouts in Z scale, that I know of, but Marklin's code 60 works fine with code 55, as did the ancient Shinohara N code 60 turnouts.  I had one of those on my last layout, between two sections of ME code 55 flex, and the difference wasn't noticeable.  The difference in tie spacing WAS, and I eventually replaced the turnout for that reason.  I currently have some Marklin turnouts in the narrow gauge staging yard, and they worked with code 55 in tests, although the visible track leading to them is actually code 40.

Chris333:  Peco is code 60, to match the Marklin.  That's what I used for the staging yard tracks.  If Peco had made turnouts I'd probably have used them instead of the Marklin.

Peter:  No, the Z scalers won't have to convert anything.  The existing wheels run fine on code 40, included ME code 40 with a third rail added, and I tested them on "code 32", brass strip soldered to PC ties.  They'll even run in spiked code 40 if the spikes are angled and driven just right.

Since Atlas started in HO as a track manufacturer, it makes sense that their first move into Z is track.

[nscaler711]

There are C55 turnouts in Z, they just are roadbed style track like MTL and Rokuhan... 
But it would be nice to see some Atlas Z scale... Especially now that Z is coming out of the dark ages

[Missaberoad]

All kidding aside a large modular Z scale layout would be amazing.

Something like that might be enough to catch the eye of the mainstream MR press
and help break the Stigma that the small scales are for when you have no space...

[Denver Road Doug]

This is interesting news.  I would stop short of "exciting news" until turnouts become part of the equation, but the fact that Atlas is acknowledging Z-scale (inherited BLMA pieces notwithstanding) is pretty big.

I have to say that things are falling into place to the point that more and more I will be considering Z for my next layout.  My current Z layout was initially intended to be sort of "one-and-done", although I did plan to keep it around since it is small enough so as not to be a major storage problem.

[Atlas Paul]

We were wondering how long it would take before someone caught on.

The rail will be code 55, the same rail used for our N scale track.  The flex will be in 24" sections.  We are looking at some additional pieces but nothing far enough to announce right now.

[nscaler711]

We were wondering how long it would take before someone caught on.

The rail will be code 55, the same rail used for our N scale track.  The flex will be in 24" sections.  We are looking at some additional pieces but nothing far enough to announce right now.

BROAD TURNOUTS PLEASE!!
sorry didn't mean to yell....
(any word of making models as well?)