Editing Z scale (section)

== History ==
[[File:Tiny electric motor in a Z scale model locomotive.jpg|thumb|The sugar-cube sized [[electric motor]] in a Z scale model locomotive. The entire engine is only {{convert|50|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} long.]]

Z scale was introduced by the German model train manufacturer Märklin in 1972 at the [[Nuremberg Toy Fair]].  It was the brainchild of Helmut Killian, Märklin's head design engineer at the time. The letter ''Z'' was chosen to designate the new scale, its place as the last character of the German and English alphabets signaling the thought that there would never be a smaller commercial model railway scale. While there have been attempts since then to bring even smaller scales to the market, they remain niche products without a wider following{{snd}}the largest market being [[T scale|T gauge]] (1:450, {{RailGauge|3mm}} gauge), designed in Japan and manufactured in China.

Originally running on 8 V DC, track voltage was increased to 10 V DC around the year 2000. Accessory power has always been 10 V [[Alternating Current|AC]]. 

In 1978, a Märklin Z scale locomotive pulling six coaches made its entry into the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' by running nonstop for 1,219 hours, and travelling a distance of {{cvt|720|km}} before the motor failed and the train stopped.
 
Z scale, at its inception, was predominantly a European scale, but it has an increasing number of followers in other parts of the world.  There are now also manufacturers in North America and Japan and China, among others.  Z scale enthusiasts throughout Europe, North America, and Japan participate regularly at most national and regional model railroad exhibitions and shows, where they have demonstrated the outstanding operation and layout design characteristics of the scale.  While prices were initially higher for Z scale products (particularly locomotives) compared with those available in larger scales, as volume production, computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques, and the number of competing manufacturers increased, prices have come down to a point comparable to those of high-quality models in other scales.

As early as 1988, Märklin announced their intention to offer digital train control systems in Z scale, and Märklin's 1988 Z scale product catalog listed three locomotives with a built-in digital decoder. However, the technology was not developed enough, and the manufacturer had to cancel these plans, mainly due to heat dissipation problems in locomotive decoders.  Since then, these problems have been solved, Z scale has embraced advanced electronics (e.g., microprocessors originally developed for cell phones, surface-mount technology, etc.), and an increasing number of modellers have converted their locomotives to use third party digital model train control systems.

The first attempts to use digital system in Z scale were based on [[Normen Europäischer Modellbahnen|NEM]] standard, [[Selectrix]], which offered the smallest decoders in the market, with thicknesses of less than 2&nbsp;mm. German company Müt brought also the first digital control central unit designed specially for Z scale in the market in the early 2000s. Use of the popular [[National Model Railroad Association|National Model Railroad Association (NMRA)]] [[Digital Command Control]] (DCC) standard has expanded substantially in Z scale recently {{when|date=July 2023}} as locomotive decoders with sizes comparable to the sizes of smallest Selectrix decoders have become available.

Z scale is now a mature modelling scale, with model locomotives, [[rolling stock]], buildings, signalling and human and animal figures becoming available in increasing numbers from an expanding variety of established and particularly smaller, fast-growing manufacturers.  Z scale layouts have been winning local, regional, and national level competitions, such as best of show at the [[NMRA]] National Train Show (NTS) in July 2001, in St. Louis, MO.<ref name="Best_of_Show">[http://www.nmra.org/main/webleadpast/photo10.html Photo, 2001 NTS Best of Show], NMRA.org and Jeffrey MacHan</ref>