by Rob Kluz - Ztrack Magazine

On January 30th, the Z scale community lost a leader, innovator and passionate promoter. Bill Kronenberger passed away after a long battle with cancer. If you don’t know who Bill was, or what he contributed, I recommend you start by reading the “Profile of a Champion -Bill Kronenberger” article written by Jeffrey MacHan. The article appeared in the July/August 2006 issue of Ztrack. Jeffrey’s article is a wonderful overview of Bill, and the story of Z-Bend Track.

I thought I would share my personal memeries of Bill and what he has done for our scale. The story begins in 1999. A gentleman named Billy Roden would call me everyday trying to convince me that Ztrack must host an event in Richardson, Texas. Billy’s Dallas Garland & Mesquite club had very extensive Z scale modules which a one day event could be worked around. I relented and agreed to host the event in 2000. We heard of another club from Houston that also was building Z scale modules. Billy contacted Bill Kronenberger and invited him to attend the event. The stage would be set for the Z scale we all know today.

I will never forget the first time I met Bill. Upon my arrival to Richardson, I immediately fell ill to a nasty virus. Of course, the show must go on. Green as I could be, I worked away to setup for the show. This tall Texan approached me and introduced himself. Bill takes one look at me and proclaims that he will get me through this. With a travel bag of medicine and a smile, he is quick to comfort. Bill’s words to me that morning; “Before today we were strangers. When we leave today, we are cousins”. How true that was.

Richardson was an amazing event. David George’s (Mister Dave) incredible layout was integrated at the time with the Houston modules. Stan Jones displayed his layout. This layout would be sold to Jeffrey White after the show. This famous Z layout appeared as part of the Z modules in Cincinnati in 2005 as well as appearing in Model Railroading Magazine in 2006.

An interesting thing happened during that show. During the setup of the Dallas and Houston modules, it was discovered both clubs built their modules 50" to the rail head. Dallas had built their modules to a modified N Trak standard. Houston had built theirs to the Z-Bend Track standard Bill was developing. I remember looking over and seeing Bill and Billy with big smiles on their face examining each other’s modules, measuring and talking. This discussion would lead to the clubs building a bridge module to join the two different standards. More importantly, Bill and Billy wanted to go national.

I would endure another year of daily calls from Billy and now Bill as we prepared for the National Train Show that was held in St. Louis in 2001. Bill’s Houston group drove by Dallas and picked up their modules. The clubs then headed north on what sounded like one heck of a great road trip. The modules of Dallas and Houston were combined with the Swiss modules of Robert Allbritton to form the world’s largest Z scale layout. NTS 2001 was a huge success for Z scale. First, Jeffrey MacHan won best of show for his Val Ease Central. This was an honor never before, and never since to be bestowed on Z scale. Second, the Z scale modules gained national attention and was a crowd favorite. This was the first time the Z scale modules were on display during a national event. It would not be the last. Many manufacturers and industry insiders took note, but were convinced this was an anomaly and they would not see Z like this again. They were so wrong.

Well Bill and Billy decided the show must go on. So I endured yet another year of phone calls as we prepared for the Ft. Lauderdale 2002 NTS. This show promised to have even more modules. Sure enough, it did. It was clear that the Z scale module concept was catching on. It was also apparent that the Z-Bend Track standard was becoming the standard of choice. The huge module display again was the crowd favorite. This time, the industry took note and the talk was that Z scale was coming of age. Rumor has it that this was the show that Micro-Trains decided to expand their Z line. A process that continues today.
To encourage the growth of the Z-Bend Track standard, Bill developed and created the Z-Bend Track standards. More importantly, he created PDF files of these standards and posted them on the web for anyone to download and share. This sparked a wave in Z-Bend Track clubs around the country, and the world.

The impact of this standard is astonishing. For instance, the 2003 NTS in Seattle featured Z scale modules built to Z-Bend Track standards by the Northwest Pacific Z Scalers. The NTS in 2004 was cancelled. In 2005, the world’s largest Z scale module layout was setup during the Cincinnati NTS. The vast majority of the modules were based on the Z-Bend Track standards. This included clubs from San Antonio Texas, Columbus Ohio, Washington D.C, and Greenfield Wisconsin. Last year, the NTS in Philadelphia featured Z-Bend Track modules from clubs in Washington D.C. and Tri-State New York. It is amazing to think that every NTS since 2001 has featured Z-Bend Track modules whereas not one appeared in an NTS prior.

Bill’s passion for Z-Bend Track extended beyond creating standards. In 2004, Bill decided to start producing Z-Bend Track wiring harnesses. He did this in his spare time and sold them basically at cost. His goal was to make it easier for individuals and clubs to wire the modules and eliminate the potential of bad wiring by creating uniformity through standard production. My own modules use Bill’s harnesses. I am very proud to own a set.

Today, the Z-Bend Track module standard is being used in thirteen countries around the globe. More Z-Bend Track modules are in production than ever before. We are also seeing new clubs forming on a regular basis. For this reason, we feel this will be Bill’s legacy. Ztrack has decided to make it official and adopt the Z-Bend Track module standards as the official Z scale standard. Please see the side bar for more information.

Bill was also a showman. He loved to play to the crowd. He always carried a Z scale boxcar in his shirt pocket. He was not shy to pull it out and let a child or adult hold the car so they could gauge just how small Z scale is. Of course, he was strict on his train operations and would pull a car off the track if it derailed. When the public was watching, you must keep the trains running.

As a teacher, Bill excelled. He was a frequent contributor to the online forums and Z scale chat sessions. He was also quick to answer questions and help those starting out. His expertise went beyond modules and included wiring and electrical issues. He spent countless hours helping and assisting others starting out in Z scale. During the Z Convention in 2005 held in Columbus Ohio, Bill was asked to be a presenter. His topic of choice, soldering 101. This was by far one of the most requested seminars. Of course, Bill had a present for everyone. He gave each and every attendee a soldering iron. I still laugh every time I think of Bill teaching the basics of soldering with about 40 Z enthusiasts holding hot irons in the air! What a great day that was. Sadly, Bill was already fighting cancer at the time of the convention. I personally was so happy that he could share in the convention and in the subsequent NTS. It meant so much to me to have him there.

Behind the scenes, Bill worked to improve Z. He headed the efforts of a small team working to take the NMRA Z standards and improve them. The goal of this team was to create viable standards for rolling stock that manufacturers could be encourage to adhere to. The foundation has been laid, but more work is too be done.

Bill’s passing is a great loss for Z. He will be missed. I am not looking forward to the day of seeing a large Z scale module display without Bill standing over it. I encourage all of you reading this to remember Bill. Run a train in his honor. The Southern Pacific was his favorite road and I will think of Bill when ever I see that S.P. logo. Run trains, play to the crowd and have fun. That was Bill.





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