Next Kato name train passenger release?

NorsemanJack Jan 6, 2018

  1. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    I was expecting an announcement... but never really expected it to be a 1960-1970's Canadian Transcontinental (that would not have ever been a thought). While this should make many Canadian railroad fans very happy... it seems to put the announcement of an NCL Vistadome consist much further from reality... which makes me sad.

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  2. silentargus

    silentargus TrainBoard Member

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    I might be seeing things, but I think they might be putting that train together from bits of previous sets. Everything present can be found in another Kato release: the ex-UP cars are either from the COLA or the unnamed/unnumbered bookcase sets; the ex-PRR sleeper is from the Broadway Limited set, and the ex-MILW cars are lifted from the Olympian Hiawatha. $20 says that the locomotives are baseline Kato F7s, with at most a few added CN-specific details.

    I doubt that this one cost them much in the way of development time, apart from the paint jobs. Pretty clever- they picked a road they could build a second-hand train for using only cars that don't need new tooling. Not on my shopping list either, but maybe it'll put a few more bucks in the right pockets while the Next Big Thing is in the works?
     
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  3. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    I believe that this is exactly what they are doing. Kato has some smart business minds. I'm pretty sure I'll be a buyer. I no longer have a permanent layout, so these smaller "bookcase" sets that I can run on a long tabletop loop are great.
     
  4. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    That was pretty much the first thing I noticed... easy to create using existing tooling. Smart on Kato's behalf to help amortize tooling used for other named consists. Perhaps it will not set back other totally new named trains which will require new tooling... but it is disappointing not to see an NCL being announced.

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  5. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    I hope you're wrong. Possibly wishful thinking, but the fact that the fairly recent Kato passenger poll included two items that have since been announced (C&NW 400 and 20th Century Limited) gives me hope that the others (which included the NCL, EB and Twin Cities Zephyr) may already be somewhere on their development radar. Just like this CN release, the basic TCZ had seven cars; so would make a great future "bookcase" set for Kato. Similar to this CN release, Kato already has tooled five of the seven cars. I also hold out hope that such a release may finally get us an E5B unit to go with that gorgeous Kato E5A, but that may just be a pipe dream. They could just as easily power it with the upcoming NYC E7A unit (although while the passenger pilot is correct, they would need to tool a dual headlight version).
     
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  6. Run8Racing

    Run8Racing TrainBoard Member

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    This is definitely a surprise, and I'm not gonna' complain. I won't be buying, but I do think it's very cool. My Canada train will be the GT "Maple Leaf". I know billions want the NCL, millions want the EB, and I'm one of those few that wants a CRI&P Rocky Mountain Rocket. Kato will release ALL of those... as soon as we complete our own !!! Wish they would do more pike size passenger trains. The SS Zephyr was BEAUTIFUL, and they accidentally did a very good rendition of the Penn Central "Dummy" commuter train.
     
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  7. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    I'm one of those Billions, but I'll never complete my own, since I just don't do that sort of thing (combination of lack of ambition, lack of talent and slowly growing lack of interest - i.e. getting older). I hope that doesn't doom our hopes for an NCL.
     
  8. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    There are lots of model railroad manufacturers/importers who have been providing Loewy two-toned green models over the past few years... but... no prototypically correct VistaDomes. It seems that the only hope for that to happen will be Kato.

    I have Wheels of Time, Rapido, Walthers, Intermountain/Centralia, ConCor and Micro-Trains... as well as variations done by Lowell Smith for the Mainstreeter. The ConCor dome is apparently close to 'one' of the VistaDome cars... but... looks bad with other manufacturers offerings. Paint schemes don't match well from different manufacturers either.

    I had hopes that Intermountain/Centralia would do the VistaDomes... but was told by Mr. Angstad it would be unlikely.

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  9. silentargus

    silentargus TrainBoard Member

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    Still wouldn't mind more East coast trains, either! LV Black Diamond with a re-release of PAs, maybe?
     
  10. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    I bought a set of these and Kato did a really nice job! I was pleasantly surprised with how close they couple right out of the box. I haven't ran any direct comparisons, but I think these couple as close, if not closer, than anything Kato (or anybody else) has released other than the kinematics. I know a lot of us really don't like those cavernous distances between a lot of N scale passenger cars (MT especially). This is a breath of fresh air. Hopefully they continue it with the 20th Century Limited.

     
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  11. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    Just fyi. These have hit the street.
     
  12. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

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    Last night on the National Virtual Train Show, Kato showed off some of these cars. They did look good. They specified that the different cars were not a specific train but could be combined to represent some different trains.

    They also tried to show some cads of the upcoming 20th Century Limited but had issues getting the files to open. All you could see were the thumbs. Was hard to make out some things but looked promising.
     
  13. Randy Stahl

    Randy Stahl TrainBoard Supporter

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    The John Wilkes with the streamlined steam !!!
     
  14. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    The list of trains on the "Ne Plus Ultra—The Best of the Best" page of the Streamliner Schedules website includes the following:
    Broadway Limited, California Zephyr, Canadian, City of Los Angeles, Coast Daylight, Hiawatha, North Coast Limited, Panama Limited, Silver Meteor, Super Chief and 20th Century Limited.
    http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track5/index.html

    Which of these trains has Kato not yet produced (or isn't about to) in some form or another?
    Only the North Coast Limited and Silver Meteor.
    The 20th Century Limited is in progress and Kato produced their smoothside cars in IC and their corrugated cars in CP.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2020
  15. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    I would like to see Kato do the Powhatan Arrow with a nice new Kato made Class J locomotive.
     
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  16. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

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    Not sure how I feel about that. My brain says it would be awesome and I'd have to have it but my wallet is crying just thinking about it. That's bad because the wallet and CFO are still not over the Big Boy that will hopefully be here by next year. :D
     
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  17. marty coil

    marty coil TrainBoard Supporter

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    I rode the Super Connie TWICE...From Kamloops to Vancover and the next year from Vancover to Edmunton. Baseball in the Alberta Major League.... Good Baseball. Signed a LHP from Eston SAS via Cal Poly...Gorman Hiemueller!!!!
     
  18. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    My wife was none too happy when I bought my first Class J #611. It was about $600 back in the mid 2000's and she about flipped. It was an HO scale BLI with Paragon Sound. Worth every penny if you ask me, and when I finally sold it back in 2012 it sold for $800.

    It's my all time favorite locomotive, and I want another one but not the Bachmann version.
     
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  19. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    I keep getting 'New Announcements' from Kato about every month or two... but I get disappointed because I expect an announcement for the NCL passenger consist. This last notice being so close the 'cancelled' Amherst Railway Society Springfield MA show was particularly disappointing since it probably will be too late for a 2021 'new' passenger consist to be announced. Oh... well... maybe 2022 will be the year.

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    Northern Pacific likes this.
  20. okane

    okane TrainBoard Supporter

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    +1 For The Canadian - 1955
     

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