particular, the track must be kept clean, as minuscule particles of dust, dirt, or corrosion can easily stop locomotives. Poorly-installed trackwork can be a source of consistent derailing of rolling stock (although this is true, to some extent, in any scale). All of this can create issues for modelers who are interested in prototypical operationsin particular, switching.

The low weight of Z scale locomotives contributes to their difficulty pulling trains up grades. In practice, the grade is