Kato N gauge

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Tell me about Kato Unitrack

Kato Unitrack is a modular track system for N scale model trains. It is made by Kato, a Japanese model train manufacturer. Unitrack is known for its high quality, durability, and ease of use. Unitrack is made of nickel silver rails and plastic ties. The rails are held together by a unique snap-together system that makes it easy to assemble and disassemble the track. Unitrack is also available with a ballasted surface, which gives it a more realistic appearance. Unitrack is compatible with most N scale locomotives and rolling stock. It is also compatible with DCC (Digital Command Control), which allows you to control your trains with a computer or handheld controller. Kato Unitrack is a popular choice for model train enthusiasts of all levels. It is a great choice for beginners because it is easy to use and set up. It is also a great choice for experienced modelers because it is high quality and durable. Here are some of the benefits of using Kato Unitrack: High quality: Kato Unit...

Useful information

I hope to collect some links to useful information about using KATO trains and unitrack. Spare and replacement parts for Kato locomotives and rolling stock How to assemble your T-Trak module. Pre-ordering at Train Trax UK What else would you like to see here? Let me know

DCC

Best decoders for Kato: Digitrax and TCS. Digitrax also make (as OEM) the FL12 decoders that KATO sell direct.

Kato Points aka 'Turnouts' or 'Switches'

I've used various words in the title to keep international readers included, but I'll use the general UK usages of 'points' below, Kato produce three different 'sizes' of points: #6 Left Right #4 Left Right Compact (not shown above) Left Right There's also the Y point , and the Double crossover , and then three different crossing types. You'll see that the business bit of the point on the #4 is shorter than the same bit on the #6. This gives it a sharper radius. A sharp radius is useful if you want squeeze a lot of trackwork into a smaller area, but looks less realistic. Some trains may not run as smoothly over a tight radius, particularly at speed. The 'compact' points take a short radius to the extreme. They will only work with short-wheelbase locomotives and trams. All the points have a built in solenoid motor to 'throw' the point blades. They can be switched manually with the s...

T-TRAK

T TRAK is a modular system of creating layouts, using mostly KATO track. It's interesting as each module is quite small, as little as ~30cms wide (or a multple of this). More info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Trak The YAGNGS is experimenting with this system, not widely used in the UK: https://yagngs.wixsite.com/yorkshire-area-group/t-trak I like it becase you don't need much room, and you have all the advantages of unitrack . I'm hoping to get a few modules to play with, and use for Train Trax photography.

Scales

Kato make everything to fit nine millimetre track, N gauge, but there are a few different scales being used to achieve this. 1:148 British N gauge - used for class 800. Track is more like 1:160 so this is a bit of a fudge, but it works! 1:150 used for narrow gauge such as RhB [ 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in )] and Japanese gauges of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) and 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm). 1:160 used for Japanese Shinkansen 'standard' gauge trains, all trains in North America (ie Kato USA) , and European standard gauge trains such as Eurostar, Thales, ICE, TGV etc. To add to this there is now the 1:72 oo9 small England locos . Still running on 9mm track!

Kato Unitrack

Why do I like the unitrack system? Available in n gauge and HO gauge, but train Trax only sells N gauge at the moment... Easy to fit together. Sometimes with other designs it's tricky to get the fishplates aligned properly. Unijoiners do that for you. Track bed makes for stronger, more robust track, less likely to get accidentally bent. Normally lies better on an imperfect surface. The ecosystem of unitrack, feeders, points and switches and associated wiring is all plug and play. Normally no soldering or even screw terminals to mess about with. You don't need a permanent layout! Most model railway publications assume you've got space for something to stay put together for good. You can setup unitrack temporarily on a table or floor and have a trainset style layout which is different every time. Sometimes people talk about Japanese homes being smaller, but actually most people in the UK also struggle to find space. Tracks is available is different styles to suit mainline (c...

Kato Class 800 parts

LNER and GWR Class 800 obviously share a lot of common spare parts. Many are available from GM, but often come in assemblies of things. This is annoying if you only want a couple of bits. Part numbers look like this: K800-74504-3C

Useful links

Some sites that have been useful: Kato USA K ato Japan Gauge master (retail) Sumida crossing jnsforum Ngauge forum Rmweb

About us

I created a new page on the Train Trax website to say a bit about where Train Trax came from and who is now operating it: https://traintrax.co.uk/about-us

Container wagons (US)

These are great, but fiddly to put together. I tried some of the MAXI-I set at the Yorkshire Area N gauge society meeting . I was advised that the articulated joints go togther best if you join them at an angle. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZjkhO1ndpI

Basics

Kato Part numbers starting: 20 are track or related , including bridges and track sets. 10 are sets of rolling stock, including multiple units for Japan or Europe . 106 are US sets - basically anything with more than one unit 176 are US locos 156 are US coaches . 22 are controllers or sound cards. 23 are structures or buildings (and some vehicles/containers etc). 24 are accessories such as cables. Numbers with no prefix are single coaches or locos for either Japan or Europe. Sometimes these have a suffix for different liveries. European stuff from Lenke has common starting numbers eg 74 Trams start 14. When available tram track would start 40 and tram related building would be 43. Oo9 start 51

Introduction

This is a personal blog to record what I learn about Kato N gauge products. My name is Ian, and since January I've been running Train Trax, www.traintrax.co.uk, selling Kato. I took over the website with general knowledge of model railways and a willingness to learn. The previous ownere Keith gave me a great handover, but I thought it would be good to jot down what else I've found out since.