Thank you for visiting my blog, here you will get my first hand account of railroading in Z scale from a collectors point of view as well as an enthusiast of trains and railroading lure. I hope to convert some of my USA Z scale comrades over to European prototypes in addition to the American prototypes that many of us collect and model. Marklin invented Z scale in 1972, and I couldn’t have a blog on Z without them, but there are other manufacturers making significant contributions to Z scale enjoyment that will be heartily included. My first Marklin Z was a used 8856 I purchased in trade for a scattered bunch of 1970’s ho rolling stock and engines. I had no knowledge of Marklin Z before entering the store of an affable gentleman in Perkasie, PA. The little gem in the glass case went home with me; before I got it the locomotive saw its far share of use, it is not collector grade, but it is my favorite because it was the first; my passion for collecting these little wonders has not diminished many years later.