Marklin

A German company. A lot of the Z scale trains and supplies at eBay are Marklin products. Many of their trains and cars are produced for the German or European market, but they do have some things for the American audience. Anything with printing on it (track plans, catalogs, etc.) is apt to be written in German. "Sprechen Sie Deutch?"

Micro-Trains Line (MTL)

An American company with trains marked "Made in China."

I ordered a "starter set" of MTL trains from Norm's Train World on 23 August 2005. This item is not normally stocked by suppliers, so Norm's ordered it for me. I finally received the set on 29 September, over five weeks later! Micro-Trains' excuse was that they were in the process of changing to a track which included a plastic roadbed and this is why it took so long. Perhaps they should have waited a little longer - One of the connectors on the section of track designed to be wired to the power source is loose. I'll probably have have to solder it tight myself to make sure my trains don't stop at random times when it jiggles loose.

To go along with the Santa Fe diesel engines ("A" units) which I have, one with Marklin couplers and one with Micro-Trains couplers, I ordered one dummy "B" unit (a second locomotive to help the A unit pull more, although the dummy model has no motor) with Marklin couplers and one with Micro-Trains couplers. Both styles were described at the Micro-Trains web site and Zscale Monster Trains said they could order both for me. When the order arrived at Zscale, they discovered that Micro-Trains was "sold out" of the unit with Marklin couplers. But they hadn't bothered to tell Zscale about it until my order had been processed. Thanks Again! to Micro-Trains. Don't know what excuse they had this time. Micro-Trains distributes some neat trains (manufactured in China, in case it matters), but you might want to make sure that what you want is either in stock or can be delivered promptly if your supplier needs to order it.

Woodland Scenics

These folks distribute and sell stuff for creating the scenery on your layout - grass, trees, water, rock, etc., etc. You might want to check my "Buyer Be Aware" page for some comments about my first order to them.