All Activity

It was quite nice seeing the trains run on the overhead wire, knowing that it was fully functional. Another advantage is that you could run 2 trains on 2 separate controllers on the same track. 1 powered the overhead wires and the other the track itself. Anyway, looking forward to seeing pictures of the actual etches and some assembled masts. A layout always looks so much different with catenary, and it always draws a lot of attention, so having some good looking masts would be great. The plastic Kato / Tomix ones are okay, but nothing too special.

I would say the 2 week issue applies with regular models. For models riddled with numerous manufacturing issues, I hope they see fit to rectify the complaints. I was only just over the 2 weeks to contact them. 2 forum members had chamfered wheels so who knows how many others were affected. A machining issue is definitely an initial defect. They have the chassis sitting in their online store so things can be done. I still have the contact details for the CEO should the warranty department decide not to rectify the obvious manufacturing issues. We cant be the only ones to have issues. At this rate, they should probably issue a recall. Very worst case the loco is usable but I am now aware of the wheel issue. The retailer may decide to deal with it on my behalf but who knows. I will certainly do my upmost to get a resolution and should they try to fob me off, I will definitely make my disapproval felt, especially as I have purchased so much Kato product over the years.

Thanks, that's a really interesting blog. There is another post on there about the prices going up by 7.1% next year, and the end of return tickets. To be honest I never bothered with returns as the savings are small and I prefer not being locked in to a schedule. I managed to be doubly confused about the two tickets thing. I bought a ticket at Sakudaira but couldn't get through the barrier. Turns out I was putting both the ticket and the receipt, which looked like a ticket, into the machine. I can't remember if I had 3 ticket shaped bits of paper or not now. I should learn the kanji for "receipt". I do like both Wako and Saboten. Something about the tonkatsu in Japan that can't seem to be replicated elsewhere. The branch of Wako at Kumagaya is pretty good.

You are not the only one who finds ticket purchasing confusing. From the Red List of Trains in Japan blog: https://tokyomegaloops.blogspot.com/ - "Shinkansen, the confusing fare schemes". And for a complete changed of pace - when you need a nice meal to recover from your ticket purchasing experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAu-oTxsZZo We like Tonkatsu Wako but discovered Saboten in Fukuoka and really like it, even if we have to grind our own sesame seeds. When we got to Tokyo, we ate at the Saboten in Shinjuku, conveniently located in the same building as the Popondetta model shop. Cheers, Tony

Refers to (Project) The layout was brought to the Finnish Railway Museum and was a success. A lot of people love the modular style of the layout as well as the themes it introduces. Meanwhile, the current sakura shelf layout had an issue with the turntable and I fear it would not be a positive addition. Instead, I have decided to repurpose the cherry turntable into a spring module extension, but it presented another problem with balance. Sure, you can argue that Finnish summer and fall are barely what one would call long, but I have decided to create two extra 60cm modules to the layout, making the entire thing about 2,3 metres in length. Moreover, the industry and passing station will be merged into one for the winter layout and instead of being a dead end, would rather create half of a station/depot. The idea that trains will be switched based on how long it has been run by the visitors. Since the idea of the layout is to have both controllers runnable by visitors of the table. But I am wondering if this is too ambitious, that maybe there is another thing I could possibly do. What are your thoughts? These are the rough plans.

I went to Joshin, but before that I ordered on their website. The order arrived. I ordered some popondetta lights to remove the flicker I have and also the duck train! You can choose the eyes fyi

Don't wait too long. From Kato: This is the mail order department of Hobby Center KATO. Thank you for using our store. Regarding your inquiry, there is no warranty for railway models. We accept initial defects or repairs. Initial defects are products that are reported within two weeks of receiving the product. You will have to go through your retailer. I'd start running the model soonest to see if it develops any issues. Rapido has a funny way of saying things. From their J70 manual: However, we can only replace your model while we have additional ones in stock. We promise to help you if you contact us within two years of us making it. After two years, all bets are off. If models get sent to one of our old addresses, they might as well have been beamed into the mouth of a wormhole as we’ll never see them.

Took another picture of some test trains in a possible position they could be in during running. It's all a bit tight, but going from some pictures and videos I've since watched, the clearance between the trains isn't unrealistic. I still need to test with some additional coaches. Meanwhile, I've also temporarily put down the track for the shinkansen line, and started working on the express line. I've also measured everything up, and sketched out everything for the segment end, Haven't gotten around to actually cutting it yet, but that's basically the next step. I'll try to do that next weekend. The next segment will be the last one on this side of the layout, so the cross sections there will be a bit more complex with all the curved tracks. I have started looking into it, but I first need to finalise the track plan for that corner, which I can really only do once the segment I'm working on now is (mostly) done. I've noticed that the track plan isn't 100% the same as the actual track, the urban line for example gets a bit closer to the express track than I thought it would based on the Anyrail track plan. That's not really an issue, but definitely something to keep in mind. I also need to determine the depth of the next segment after the corner segment, since that partially also determines the track plan. I will probably try to set up some temporary things with some spare plywood / foam / timber to see what works and what doesn't.

Hopefully it's ok then. Mine runs without issue after some tinkering with the lightboard connectors and the questionable drawbar design. I was sort of aware of something with the wheels and couldn't identify the issue as it ran Ok. When running around the track proper, you can see the metal rim of the chamfered wheel growing and reducing in size slightly. I daren't try to fix it myself unless its a case of swapping out the chassis. Kato sell a replacement chassis for ¥39,600 which is more than I paid for loco and detail set so I hope Kato do right by their customers.

How exciting to see something new in the Shorty universe. Interesting would be if they will or could be compatible to Bandai in some sort.

Guess I got lucky for once. Mine hasn't shown any issues as of yet, although I've also not really ran it other than some quick testing. Some of the detail parts weren't seated correctly, but that's an easy fix anyway.

Yes requires painting. Not all that expensive for a kit. Not just the paper but the design and lasercutting. Jeff

Costs and possibly a shop system that doesn't allow for it. These can be very inflexible. If you want the possibility to add to a pre-order when it releases, I recommend that you start shopping at Ami or RGR.

a bit expensive for just "some paper" no? Also i do believe it comes unpainted Correct me if i'm wrong

Hi Jeff, Yes I put oil on gears and bearings 🙂 Hi Welsh, I'll look into the brushes, didn't mess with those yet although I did on a Kato c11 which was also sold as non working some years ago. Works pretty well after cleaning! It's pretty amazing to think this design could be from around the 70's! And that it still runs despite seemingly being relegated to being a kid's toy, or at least not cleaned for a long time. The wheels may still have a bit of embedded gunk on them, I'll have to try cleaning again. If I do the brushes I'll be sure to check if anything got stuck in the gears. Thank you all for the insights and stories!

Geez, this is not looking good for the home team.

PJ is the same. I pre-ordered my Tomix KIHA 47-8000 when the pre-orders opened and as it was a few months out I wanted to add to the order as it got closer to the release date. After e-mailing PJ I ended up cancelling the pre-order and re-ordering with the added item I wanted. A bit nerve racking to make sure I still got the 47 but it all turned out fine.

Ugh oh. Just saw this message on my fedex from Sakatsu. Package is now held up in Anchorage. Ill call in to fedex to see what it is but i fear maybe not the new customs declaration info is there. Also may trigger fedex handling fees. A specialized form/statement from the shipper is required. Recommended action: Please call FedEx Customer Service. Never had this sort of hold up ever before over probably a couple of thousand international packages. jeff

So the reason I went to Switzerland was to photograph four types of high floor trams due to be replaced in the near future. These are Zurich VBZ Tram 2000 built in three series between 1976 and 1992, the Basel BLT Be 4/6 and 4/8 201-266 built since 1978, the Forchbahn Be 8/8 built from 1976 to 1986 in three series and the Basel BVB Be 4/4 built in 1986 and described by The Development of the Modern Tram by Brian Patton as "probably the last conventional bogie trams to be placed in service in Western Europe." There also are Swiss Standard trailers in Basel that are the last Swiss Standard trams anywhere in the world. Whereas the railways are standard gauge, all Swiss tram systems are meter gauge (1000mm or 39.37 inches). The Swiss FO (foreign office) has been sending retired Swiss trams to the Ukraine and in the recent past to Sofia, Bulgaria and Belgrade, Serbia. Photos 1. Zurich VBZ Tram 2000 Sedan and Pony motorized trailer at Stauffcher, May 2025. 2. Basel BLT Schindler Be 4/8 (and a 4/6 set out of sight) at Basel SBB Centralbahnplatz, May 2025 3. Forchbahn Be 8/8 train at Forch, May 2025. 4. Basel BVB Be 4/4 towing a Swiss Standard trailer in the landscaped loop at Birsfelden Hard, May 2025. I told I took 700 photos in just 5 days.

SITREP I have discovered that one of the eight of my D51s driving wheels is indeed chamfered. After reading @Yavaris Forge post I was keen to check out the wheels on mine properly. I was not convinced and a little concerned about one of the wheels and after a lot of reviewing, I took it to Stage One to give a good run, I can confirm that one of my wheels is also chamfered. The owner at Stage One also said he had a number of locomotives come back and he will hopefully get his point across at a sellers meeting coming up. On mine its the 2nd driving wheel on the left. It is less pronounced than the picture Yavaris Forge posted but is indeed there. Really irritating. I have contacted both the stockist and Kato to hopefully get a satisfactory resolution. I shall update the forum on how/if the problem is resolved. If anyone else has ordered or already has one really check it over with a fine tooth comb. The chamfering was not as clear on mine at first glance as it is not as severe nor covers as much as the circumference as the post above. The wheel doesn't affect the running of the product as there is still just enough surface to keep to the rail, but is an unacceptable failing in both machining and QC at Kato.

Hi there. I am in Nanaimo as well but had to miss the show as my wife and I were in the UK on holiday. Our T-Track group is pretty informal at the moment, and has members from Parksville to Victoria as well as the Gulf Islands. You probably met Colin at the Nanaimo show, he is the one who set up the group. Looking forward to chatting with you at Railway Day!

You can pop the brushes out of this style of motors relatively easily, the covers unclip (don't let the spring escape). I find a good dousing of WD40 contact cleaner (plastic safe) and running a piece of rolled up paper towel through the brush tubes can do wonders, along with rolling the brushes in another piece of towel. I think my oldest Kato is a 153 Series from circa 1979. I serviced it, replaced a couple of missing traction tyres with slices of heatshrink sleeving, and acquired a few more coaches to make a realistic train (it was sold as a six car set, which needs at least a dummy MoHa 152/153 pair adding for a formation which would work in real life). I've had it circulating as a twelve coach train on level-ish track for over an hour with no signs of stress. Edit, your chugging noise might be a tiny bit of something in the gears. See if it sounds louder at one end than the other, then check the gearing on that end. Could also be a bit of gunge on a wheel, I've had that before now.

Cosmic is releasing a 1/150 Hong Kong Tramways double deck kit. Power unit KATO 11-108. This item was posted May 16th. https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/11204700

Tomytec is announcing a new railway collection of pocket trains, basically btrain shorty concept. Post on it just moved from here over to a new topic. cheers jeff

Ahh I see tomytec is moving into the bandai btrain vacuum! Will be interesting to see if the collection system works well with these or not. Hard to see them getting the btrain spread this way, especially at the very slow rate collections of any kind come out these days. But really nice newbies can get into the shorty hobby with Bandai not doing much anymore there. Funny bandai also started the vehicle collections that tomytec stepped into big time like 20 years back. But at that time tomytec was rolling out collections monthly almost! jeff