Questions about Kato pier items

[mwsteele]

So I want to raise up the back part of my double track starting at a curve and going up. Right now I just have the basic double track flat sets.

 

There are a lot of different pier models to choose from, and some say starter set etc...

 

So I'm not sure exactly what I need.

 

I also want to add catenary poles to my track, again I'm not sure what I would need for this.

 

Also, I'd like to add a crossover to the double track, does anyone know how to do this?

[to2leo]

Hi mwsteele,

You come to the right place.

Let me try to add my humble knowledge into this.

1) All double tracks viaduct require double track viaduct piers if you need to put cantenary poles.  

2) Otherwise the single piers will support the double tracks if you want tracks running parallel to the viaduct below.  

3) The pier packages comes with the canternary support but not the poles.

4) To incorporate crossover or turnouts onto your viaduct structure, you will need to get the viaduct station extension plate. #23232

5) Depending on your layout, Variation Sets might be the most economical way to do this.

 

If you haven't downloaded the pamphlet already, please feel free to download it from Kato USA

www.katousa.com/images/unitrack/Ndtrack.pdf

 

I hope I am able to answer some of your inquiries.

[mwsteele]

Hmm I didn't know I needed plates... I have the V11 and V16 right now, the two on the ground ones. Basically just want to add Cantenarys to the flat and raised sections. I want the back of the oval to be raised, and the front flat.

[KenS]

If you want to put the crossover on the "ground", you just clip it to the double-track.  It's 310mm, so you might need a 64mm length on the other side of an oval to balance it (or add 3x 64mm on the same side to get an even multiple of 248mm).

 

The viaduct station extension plates are needed if you want it elevated, since the normal viaduct only holds straight or curved track.  The viaduct station is basically a platform with walls that mates to the viaduct with S-joiners, and can hold any track.  Each section is 248mm x ~100mm; one will hold two tracks and a platform. Two side-by-side can hold twice that, or more complex trackage.  You can get these in a station set (23-125), or buy an extension set (23-232).  You'll need supports (23-020 Double-track pre-cast pier set) for the extension.

 

However, there isn't any viaduct compatible with the V16 set's curvature today, so you would need to make your own.  Not impossible, since it's really just a U-shaped channel, but a fair bit of work.

[clem24]

 

1) All double tracks viaduct require double track viaduct piers if you need to put cantenary poles.  

 

 

Heh technically no.. You just need that catenary pole base mount that clips into the top of the piers. These work perfectly fine with the single piers. Of course it's kind of dumb because AFAIK, you need to buy the double piers to get those mounts.

[inobu]

There is a problem with the naming convention of these sets and some of the descriptions can lead one astray. Here is a little info that can arm you with knowledge to get where you want to go.

 

The term "super elevated" is reserved to the banking of the track and nothing more. Some confusion is interjected as Kato uses the term "elevated loop" to discribe the Via Duct varation or "V" sets. In order to get your track in the air you need to get the Via duct line of tracking. This is the V12 and V13 sets you need. The V12 will get you off the ground and bring you back down. The V13 will keep you running up above the ground.

 

The Catenary Poles are a bit tricky as the description and images found are misleading but here is where you want to go to find out all you need to know ........

 

http://www.sumidacrossing.org/ModelTrains/ModelingCatenary/ViaductCatenary/ LOL............Mr Ken(Wiki)S

 

All you have to do is read the information in his blog and you will get your KCNA (Kato Certifed N-scale Associate).  

 

Lot of good information Ken......lol

 

Inobu  

[KenS]

Heh. :-)

 

I wouldn't go quite that far.  I have some useful info, but there are other sites that get much more in-depth about specific kinds of Unitrack.  I did spend a fair amount of time, and words, on the catenary because I found it so confusing when I was trying to decide what to buy.

 

English can be a confusing language even for native speakers.  The term "super elevated" is the correct term in railroading for raising the outer track on a curve to enable higher speeds or improve passenger comfort at high speeds. The same word also applies to banked roadway curves. And "elevated" is a common term for track raised above street level (going back at least to NYCs elevated railroads of the late 1800s), so it's a correct term for viaduct track.

 

On the English version of their website Kato appears to use "inclined" to describe their superelevated track, which is an odd choice, but not necessarily wrong.  Most people who don't use "superelevated" just call it "banked" track, although some use "canted"; all of these mean "tilted" which has connotations of a sideways slope, where "inclined" can mean that, but I think it's more commonly applied to a forward slope, such as used on their viaduct track. But even native speakers disagree about those kinds of details, and there are probably regional or national variations.

 

However, I think what's going on here is that they're acutally translating a Japanese description of "viaduct", not "banked" where that happens.  Because if you play around with Google Translate on the Japanese names on their site, it becomes clear that there's one word "高架" being variously translated as either "inclined" or "elevated", which appears to be their term for "viaduct", and not a reference to banking at all. It sometimes appears as "高架線路", translating as "overhead line" or "elevated line".

 

They use "カント曲線" to describe banked track in text descriptions, which Google Translate says means "kant curve" (the first part is phonetic for "cant" so it's a loan-word). Which would be fine, but they seem to omit the "kant curve" from the name when describing their track in Japanese, only using it in descriptions of features. In English the inclined/overhead word becomes elevated. And in English descriptions, "banked" is often used (probably added by resellers since it's an important point for their customers). So if you see both English and translated-to-English names it can be confusing about what is being described.

 

Reading translated Japanese descriptions is often confusing, and English-language sites created by Japanese often use machine translation and have the same kinds of problems.  I generally try to check descriptions against UK or US sites that carry the same part where I can to be sure I understood them, and even then I sometimes get it wrong. But the important thing to remember is that "elevated" or "inclined" both appear to mean "viaduct" in translated names of Kato's products, and "cant" or "kant" means "superelevated".