Hokutosei Train Formations

[Krackel Hopper]

hey hey,

 

Did the Hokutosei ever run as an 11 car consist?

 

I recently came across a Kato set (released in 2009) (10-804, 10-805, 10-806) That is labeled as "Hokkaido 1989 Formation" and only has 11 cars to it.

 

Everything I have been able to find mentions the 12 car consist except the Yume Kūkan Hokutosei which is something completely different.

 

Also, from an N scale model perspective.. does anyone have one or both to compare the quality of the slightly older (10-804, 10-805, 10-806) vs the newer (10-831, 10-832)?

 

Thanks for any info!

Jon

[katoftw]

The newer sets = 12 cars.  Two 6 car sets.

[disturbman]

Not that I want to seem picky but, katoftw, I do not think that your post answers any points and questions raised by Jon. He said "quality", not quantity. I am pretty sure he knows that Kato's newer sets are for a 12 cars.

[miyakoji]

The English and Japanese Wikipedia pages have the same chart showing an 11-car consist plus a generator car.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokutosei

 

They don't indicate any other variants. The service has only existed since the opening of the Tsugaru tunnel, maybe there haven't been any.

[disturbman]

I have the idea that Kato only released the Hokutosei as a 11 cars set because of the way they packaged it. The basic set comes with a loc and the two add-on sets with a casket each, which could only accommodate the 12 pieces of the set.

[Krackel Hopper]

Thanks for the info everyone.

 

Miyakoji - I found that wiki entry as well. The one thing that stood out was that it says "Typically run as 12 cars"..

 

Disturbman - I was suspicious of the packaging situation too. However, Kato usually makes sure things are fairly "prototypical" so I would have expected them to offer an individual add-on car to complete the set. Maybe that's why they released the full 12 car set in the deluxe formation just a year later.. who knows..

 

A little more looking shows that both Hokkaido versions done by Tomix were 12 car sets.. so I have to assume this Kato set is just a car short.

[disturbman]

Yes. I wondered about that too, if Kato made an individual car to complete the incomplete and unprototypical set. But did not found anything about it.

Also it is too be noted that the basic set was either a stand alone or a starter set, which warranted the loc to be there and the add-on sets to be able to accommodate those cars. The only thing that I can think of is that, since Kato focused on the Hokutosei to be a train for beginners, a set to bring new customers to the hobby. And as such it did not needed to be so accurate. So, I would say one series of sets for new comers and the other one for the prototypical crazies we are. With the added bonus that some people probably bought both, thus maximizing income.