New to N gauge

[railsquid]

If you have the time, why not try visiting the Kato Hobby Center? Apart from having pretty much all the spare parts available, there'll very probably be someone who can advise you. Also worth a visit anyway.

[chinti]

yeah would do that tomorrow after class. i figured out a way to hook the lighting kit, will try it out tomorrow.

[kvp]

 

edit: is it possible to connect the brass to the brass on the motor car? or will that destroy my motor?

It's possible just make sure the metal weight won't short the two strips. The lights are meant to be powered from the same pickups though, so it should work.

[Welshbloke]

I have a feeling that I asked about MoHa 152/153s in 165 Series sets a while ago and was told that it didn't happen.

 

That said, I've seen a diagram printed by Kato showing a long 153 Series set with a three car 165 Series hanging on the back, and the SaRo 165s did run with both types. They obviously could work together, but didn't usually.

 

Run what you have, but if you see another KuHa 153 and a MoHa 153 snap them up as that'll give you an accurate four car set. I've ended up with a few odds and ends from types of train I don't have a complete set of, and I keep my eyes open for the other stock I need to complete them.

[chinti]

bought head/tail light, tried installing them but they don't fit. tried installing passenger light to both cab as well but no luck getting it light up even though manage to fit the brass and led into place. think the brass couldnt get any power from the track.

[kvp]

If you make a few photos from your lighting setup and the bogies of your cars (from the undersides), then we might be able to help. The previous photo shows the bogie pickups sticking through the bottom plates of the cab car, so power should (in theory) go up there to the brass pickup strips. As long as these are protuding above the floors through the two slots and the lighting kit is contacting them, it should work.

[chinti]

this is how it looks like, i think the brass is not having much contact with the wheels brass so it doesnt get any power from the track. 

 

 

[kvp]

The brass has to cover the whole arc from the top, so these are not the right kind of strips. You can fix it if you put custom cut square brass plates under the strips, so the top of the bogie pickups could scrape the bottom of the extra plates in any position. Another option is getting the right pickup strips.

[Welshbloke]

Bit of a resurrection in case anyone else has the same problems.

 

I've been fiddling with some old Kato models which didn't come with lighting contacts, there seem to be three generations:

 

My earliest is a 153 Series from 1979. This would need the 11-200 kit for head/tail lights and the 11-201 interior lighting kit. Mine doesn't have the pickups fitted to the bogies but they're in the box. If anyone knows an online shop with stock of 11-200 I could do with a pair, and some 11-001 bogies...

 

Second generation have the bogie pickups but not the brass plates which fit into the floor, again 11-201 will suit. Both this and the previous setup have clip fit bogies.

 

The most recent type have the bogie pickups and contacts factory fitted, the bogies are held by screws. You need 11-204 or the LED equivalent for these.