The most popular digital system in Z scale is the NEM standard, Selectrix, which offers the smallest decoders in the market with thicknesses of less than 2 mm. The universally popular Digital Command Control (DCC) has also its followers in Z scale. There are drop-in decoders available from various companies today, and some of them replace the lighting printed circuit boards of recent diesel or electric locomotives. The diminutive size of Z scale makes it possible to fit more scale space into the same physical layout that would be used by a larger-scale model. Z scale can also be beneficial when there is a need to build very compact train layouts. Several transportation museums, for instance, have used Z scale to present some real world railway sceneries in smaller scale. Z scale allows longer trains and smoother, broader curves than is practical in larger scales.

While still considered to be a curiosity by some, Z scale is now a legitimate, mature modeling scale. Esther's Hobby Shop offers Z scale rolling stock, buildings and figures in Z scale, N scale and HO scale.

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