I am building a very small layout which will feature your avatar! I am further restricting myself to tank engines only, so a terrier and an M7...

Just been checking some German forums about that black GeoLine cable with the H plug.    They say if the two pins on the other end don't fit the green connector then cut the pins off, bare the wire ends and connect those into the green connector.    Geoline Track came out before the Z21.  To me it seems odd they would include a cable that doesn't fit, but they say that 2 pin plug fits one of the other older DCC booster units.

Quite honestly, you can put the GeoLine cable to one side as you're not using HO Geoline track.  Cut the while plastic plug off the end of a Kato power feed cable and connect the bare ends into the green connector, and plug that into the Z21 track output.

Are you saying your green connector for the Z21 doesn't have screw terminals to secure bare wires?   If that's the case order one of those screw type connectors I linked to earlier.

Correct. A lot of people use a bus wire to power the track - have a ring of cable (I use 1.5mm stripped from twin/earth) to which you attach thinner 'dropper' wires, which you solder to the track. I just connect my controller to the bus in the same way.

I expect most of us have heard " nobody models the Southern 'cos nobody makes Southern stock" / "nobody makes Southern stock 'cos nobody models the Southern"
As a matter of interest who actually models SR (apart from me) and who would model SR if there was more stock available?
I'm thinking more 1923-39 than WW2 & BR(S)
For a few years Union Mills produced some ex LSWR classes that lasted well into BR days; Dapol and Farish have managed the Schools, N class, M7 0-4-4T and Terrier 0-6-0T and ex SECR C class 0-6-0. No RTR 4-6-0s - Nelsons, Arthurs, H15, S15, & Spam cans which didn't appear until part way through and after WW2.

I don't want to run the risk of Godwin's law coming to the gentle world of N Gauge modelling so I have created an image of my Z21 connections to try and avoid confusion!

If I understand it correctly the only options for powering N Gauge track from the Z21 is to run bare wire from the Z21 Main Track output with the green screw plug, and then solder to the track and/or cut the Kato track feeder cable and bare wire that into the Z21? The connector supplied with the Z21 is useless?

Quote from: bwj on April 22, 2025, 08:03:48 PMWe don't have/never had those small green track connectors for the Z21! Will try and find online or strip the wires on the Kato track feedeer and test.

As @njee pointed out, the connectors in my picture are the ones that plug into the back of the Z21, they are just lying on one side with a bit of shadow, @ntpntpntp 's link shows them better.

It sounds like you have some of those already and they can be used with the Kato feeder track by cutting off one of the Kato connectors and wiring to them instead.

Regards,

John P

Quote from: bwj on April 22, 2025, 08:54:26 PMBit odd that Roco doesn't appear to supply any dedicated pieces of track feed like the Kato one you pictured above.

It's not odd. The Z21 can be used with any scale and any brand of track.
Most people solder wires to their track rather than rely on pre-wired track or fishplates.

Regards,

John P

Nope, John's picture is the plug for the back of the controller. The wires then need connecting to the track. You can solder them or splice them into the Kato connector.

I would definitely go DCC given the substantial investment you've made. Among your models the Voyagers and the 350 are a pain as they each need 3 decoders (if you run the voyagers as a pair you could get away with 4 in the two sets, having no lights in the 'inner' driving coaches.

The 150, 58 have 6-pin decoder sockets, plug and play. The TGVs will depend on age; they may have decoder sockets, but may not. The Eurostar will need a new PCB, the Digitrax DN163K0B (IIRC) is the easiest to fit. The Tomix models will need more heavy work to install.

Phoenix do Doncaster & Darlington greens, I cannot tell the difference!

Quote from: ntpntpntp on April 22, 2025, 08:20:21 PMSo what does the socket look like on the back of your Z21? Presumably it should be a socket suitable for the green connectors. 

The green connectors are available

https://www.scograil.co.uk/roco-96321-spare-track-connector-for-z21-24444-p.asp

I think the slight confusion is that we already have your pictured green plastic connectors that go into the back of the Z21

I think John P's picture is of a green power feed connector to the track rather than the plug to the back of the Z21? It looks like John P's pictures is of a green felt device with a metal prong to the outisde of the track? That's what I may need to source although will also dabble with cutting the plug on a Kato power feed.

Bit odd that Roco doesn't appear to supply any dedicated pieces of track feed like the Kato one you pictured above.