Kato TV1 or V60

[PDXTrains]

Hello Rail friends:

 

I'm wanting to add a small tram layout. I am a bit confused about TV1 vs V60. V60 I know is North American, I know. Is the TV1 set everything I need (minus power, tram and buildings) to set up a tram line?

 

Also, does anyone have these sets and can comment on the out of the box size in inches on the layout?

 

moderator note: post and topic title corrected to clear up the convusion for folks finding the topic later

 

Greetings from Portland.

[bill937ca]

V1 is a siding set. It would probably work as a single track tram line with a passing siding.  its about 5 feet long.

https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/kato-n-20860-1-mainline-passing-siding-set-variation-1/

 

V6 is an oval of track with a very large R348 radius curves. 1403mm x 743mm

https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/kato-n-20865-unitrack-v6-outer-oval-track-set-compact-and-bilingual/

 

Neither is really typical tram stuff.

Edited August 21, 2023 by bill937ca

[JR East]

Hi

 

You need that to start : https://www.katomodels.com/product/n/unitram_tv1

 

It's quite convenient to start with a small tram

 

 

You've also that https://s3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/kato-model/schedule/pdf/20221004142252633bc32c6dd10/UNITRAM ss_hirosima-1000.pdf

Edited August 21, 2023 by JR East

[PDXTrains]

My error:

 

I'm actually talking about a comparison of the tram sets, V60, and TV1.

 

moderator note: original post and topic title corrected to clear up the convusion for folks finding the topic later

[brill27mcb]

Hi PDXTrains,

 

The TV1 size can be seen here:

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10899627

in the 5th image.

 

It's 620 mm x 496 mm which is about 24 3/8" x 19 1/2".

 

The KatoUSA website offers a pdf file of the V60 manual which shows that it is the same size:

https://katousa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/UNITRAM-V60-Guide.pdf

 

Unfortunately, there are no matching North American-style street pieces to expand the specially painted and outfitted V60 from a basic oval. All of the add-on pieces available are made for the Japanese-style Unitram. You will need:

* a tram or two

* a power pack plus a 24-827 Kato 3-way power extension cable (will run 2 trams on the 2 tracks at the same voltage) OR 2 power packs to control 2 trams independently on the 2 tracks

* whatever buildings or other scenery you want.

 

Hope this helps! Keep doing research. I suggest studying the Hobby Search Japan website (https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/) which is encyclopedia-like in its contents. You just have to get used to Japanese computer-translated into English.

 

Rich K.

[PDXTrains]

1 hour ago, brill27mcb said:

Hi PDXTrains,

 

The TV1 size can be seen here:

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10899627

in the 5th image.

 

It's 620 mm x 496 mm which is about 24 3/8" x 19 1/2".

 

The KatoUSA website offers a pdf file of the V60 manual which shows that it is the same size:

https://katousa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/UNITRAM-V60-Guide.pdf

 

Unfortunately, there are no matching North American-style street pieces to expand the specially painted and outfitted V60 from a basic oval. All of the add-on pieces available are made for the Japanese-style Unitram. You will need:

* a tram or two

* a power pack plus a 24-827 Kato 3-way power extension cable (will run 2 trams on the 2 tracks at the same voltage) OR 2 power packs to control 2 trams independently on the 2 tracks

* whatever buildings or other scenery you want.

 

Hope this helps! Keep doing research. I suggest studying the Hobby Search Japan website (https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/) which is encyclopedia-like in its contents. You just have to get used to Japanese computer-translated into English.

 

Rich K.

Hi Rich:

 

I appreciate being pointed in the right direction. Basically, it looks as if both sets give me the same starting point, but if I want to expand it would be better to stick with the TV1, because the addons will match. Would that be a fair statement?

 

Thom

[brill27mcb]

Yes, for Kato Unitram that's presently it in a nutshell. Note that the turnout corner pieces have been unavailable for a few years now, with people hoping there will be another production run. Otherwise, with Unitram, it's basically just going around one (or more) city blocks (in succession). Look at the Unitram section of the Hobby Search Japan website and take note of what is out of stock. That (along with the expense) is the main reason I prefer Tomix track for my trolley layouts, although I do have a lengthened Unitram loop to play with, too. There are a few interesting Unitram layouts pictured in past posts here on JNS - it would be worth your time to search for these discussions threads and study them.

 

Rich K.

[bill937ca]

Tomix now has a light rail starter set with everything you need to get started.     https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10966526

[PDXTrains]

On 8/25/2023 at 8:46 AM, bill937ca said:

Tomix now has a light rail starter set with everything you need to get started.     https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10966526

Thank you. May I assume correctly that modern (meaning produced recently) Kato streetcars will work on this track?

[bill937ca]

Yes, that is right.

[PDXTrains]

37 minutes ago, bill937ca said:

Yes, that is right.

Thanks for pointing this out Bill! I can now easily add a tram layout to the center of my door layout. I've ordered some extra track pieces too so that I can mess with the dimensions, but even at its smallest it will be fun to have!

[brill27mcb]

Good! It's worth it to have extra track pieces and physically try out various track arrangements.

 

If you mean the Kato Greenmover LEX 3-section tram design, the minimum radius is 90 mm - a very tight turn.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10707592

 

If you want to be sure to be able to operate various model tram designs, I would use the Tomix 140 mm radius curves as a working minimum track radius. Not all tram models can handle the Tomix "Super Mini" 103 mm or the Kato's tightest "Compact" 117 mm radius curves well.

 

Rich K.

[PDXTrains]

50 minutes ago, brill27mcb said:

Good! It's worth it to have extra track pieces and physically try out various track arrangements.

 

If you mean the Kato Greenmover LEX 3-section tram design, the minimum radius is 90 mm - a very tight turn.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10707592

 

If you want to be sure to be able to operate various model tram designs, I would use the Tomix 140 mm radius curves as a working minimum track radius. Not all tram models can handle the Tomix "Super Mini" 103 mm or the Kato's tightest "Compact" 117 mm radius curves well.

 

Rich K.

 The starter set https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10966526 is listing the curves as "C140-60 WT" as part number, and I'm confused as to whether this is 140mm curves you are referring to.

 

Many Thanks!

Thom

[bill937ca]

Its 140mm at 60 degrees for rounding the 180 degrees into an oval end There also are 140mm 30/60 degree packs that can do a 90 degree curve.   https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10116461

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10116454

 

Also stone pavement basic set.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10421246

 

Green tracks set with shorter 70mm sections.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10421247

 

There are a lot more options with Tomix Wide Tram that can take up far less space than Kato Unitram which has a large initial footprint.

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by bill937ca

[PDXTrains]

56 minutes ago, bill937ca said:

Its 140mm at 60 degrees for rounding the 180 degrees into an oval end There also are 140mm 30/60 degree packs that can do a 90 degree curve.   https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10116461

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10116454

 

Also stone pavement basic set.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10421246

 

Green tracks set with shorter 70mm sections.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10421247

 

There are a lot more options with Tomix Wide Tram that can take up far less space than Kato Unitram which has a large initial footprint.

 

You've been very helpful.

 

Are these the track connectors for the Tomix trolly track above?

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10089698

Edited August 26, 2023 by PDXTrains

[bill937ca]

That's the under track feeder for tram track.

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by bill937ca

[PDXTrains]

 Ok, thanks to this great information and wonderful videos posted here (including one that taught me the Kato Hiroshima trams would navigat C103:

 

I've decided to run two run two independent loops, one C104 and one C103.

 

Therefore, to take advantage of the starter set, I'm ordering:

Tomix Tram Start w/ C140: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10966526

Tomix Kit oval C103: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10116453

TOMIX Straights, for extras: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10344671

A second Transformer, N-600: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10160414

Hiroshima Kato to go with the Flowered model coming from Ebay: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10873860

Some extension connectors: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10010013

 

So, I put it to the Tram Hive Mind Collective: anything else you think I should grab for this two loop set up I'm planning, with transformers for each loop?

 

Many thanks

 

Thom

[railsquid]

FWIW here's a video I made along similar lines: