Kato UP 4-8-4 844

rrunty Jun 12, 2014

  1. arbomambo

    arbomambo TrainBoard Member

    1,473
    713
    32

    Ditto...
    have never had a problem nor a complaint with a Kato....
    Bruce
     
  2. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

    9,982
    10,808
    143
    Ok...I like my Katos. Yes...I am NOT a steam guy. But...I could be tempted. Still wanna see it climb a 2% with at least the amount of cars that come with the excursion train. I dont think I'm asking to much.

    ;)
     
  3. Spookshow

    Spookshow TrainBoard Member

    1,516
    5
    27
    OK, I promise to get out my torture-test layout as soon as possible. In my defense, it is kind of a busy time of year ;-)

    Cheers,
    -Mark
     
  4. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

    9,982
    10,808
    143
    Wasnt necessarily asking you to Mark. Anybody with the new Kato FEF and a 2% grade can easily enough post if it will climb it. ;-)

    I am happy...so far...in not hearing a lot of complaining about this locomotive...which is a good thing :)

    And busy this time of year ? What...ya make it sound like there are holidays coming up soon...or sumthin...LOL. :)
     
  5. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

    22,208
    49,621
    253
    Mine came in to the local hobby store but my wife picked them up and squirreled them away. I guess I have to wait 10 more days before I can run them around the Christmas tree.
     
  6. Spookshow

    Spookshow TrainBoard Member

    1,516
    5
    27
    Boy, you shoot your mouth off and declare all is well, and then... Well, 'nuff said for now. We'll see what happens with Kato customer service.

    Cheers,
    -Mark
     
  7. Glenn Poole

    Glenn Poole TrainBoard Member

    158
    12
    24
    Got mine today. It runs flawlessly around my layout, up my 2% grade around a 180 degree turn, with the 2 water bottles and 7 passenger cars in tow. Never even worked at it. Have not tried to see how many more cars it would have pulled---just very pleased with how nice it runs. Also, appears to run at about the same speed as a Kato SD 70 Ace (I run DC). I also have a Kato E 8/9 which I tried to compare the speed with. The E 8/9 seemed to run considerably slower, but I might contribute that to the age of the engine and also its wheels may not be the cleanest.
     
  8. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

    9,982
    10,808
    143
    Glenn...

    Thanks for the hill climbing test results...:cool:
     
  9. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

    4,153
    1,149
    74
    Errrr... ummmmm....hmmmm.... Uhhh-Oh?
     
  10. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

    4,396
    3,025
    87
    Mine came in today.....pretty cheesy packaging all around. The paper carton for the cars was wedged so tight I thought I was going to destroy it just trying to slide it out. Not sure why the 844 did not deserve a jewel case.......

    Ok not that the complaints are out of the way..........

    Nice detailing, nice rolling, nice looking, and nice running!

    Not sure what will follow this up, but I am a sucker for passenger trains, doesn't matter whose road they are. But this mechanism is pretty smooth and quiet. I decided to take a flyer on this, so far I am glad I did.
     
  11. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

    9,982
    10,808
    143
    I was looking at some close ups of the detailing on this thing. I am impressed...WOW !!!! :)

    ** Did I just say that about a steamer ? Am I rivet counting ? Do I need professional help ? **

    The price I see for them isnt bad at all either. I am resisting the urge to sell my dogs to buy one...lol.

    But I need a Switcher for the yard...a new Utility Throttle...and some ballast first. Priorities... ;-)
     
  12. Jim Reising

    Jim Reising In Memoriam

    1,598
    758
    45
    Mine is sitting on a length of flex where I can run it back and forth whilst waiting for a PNP decoder - bought a Tsunami 750 Heavy Steam but didn't want to butcher a thing of beauty to get a speaker in the tender - and run four wires between - I think someone will develop a PNP for this that would only need two wires back to the tender speaker and give light control without cutting traces on the original light board. So I'll wait on sound. (Anyone want it?)

    Lovely loco but wish they had gone the Athearn Big Boy (FEEF?) route and equipped it from the git-go with sound....I've got an enhanced (with COLA cars) excursion train waiting, we'll see how that handles the 2% out of staging.
     
  13. Glenn Poole

    Glenn Poole TrainBoard Member

    158
    12
    24
    UPDATE

    Just hooked up 2 water bottles and 25 passenger cars (18 of these passengers cars were old Con-Cor Budd cars --don't run very well). This train was over 14 feet in length. It went right up my 2 percent grade around a 180 degree turn all the while climbing at 2 percent. Then on up and thru my spiral tunnels (24 inch radius at 2 percent grade) even overlapping it self by over 1 foot and NOT even braking a sweat, no wheel slip at all. All sum, just all sum.
     
  14. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

    4,153
    1,149
    74
    LOL... David... I'm glad you brought up the packaging 'first' and not me. I would have been drawn and quartered just like when I complained about the Fox Valley packaging of the Hiawatha set... which at least was worthy of jewel cases for all cars and locomotive.

    I got mine a couple of days ago too and agree with your conclusion about the packaging. That said... the whole set looks great. I didn't get to 'play' with it yet since I was told it would be wrapped for Christmas after I 'look at it'. Hopefully I will be impressed with the running of the set on the 25th.
     
  15. tonkphilip

    tonkphilip TrainBoard Member

    244
    306
    18
    Just received the Kato FEF. This is an amazing locomotive, it runs so slow and smooth even across rough track with its sprung/compensated wheels. I think that is the best locomotive that I have ever seen. It runs more smoothly than the Kato E9 diesel which has been my reference so far. Also, checking just one vendor, it looks as if they have sold more than 225 of them. So, with several vendors across the country, and $100 per engine received, Kato should sell the 1,000 that they need to make back their original investment of say $100,000 for tooling and marketing. Not quite the iPhone but selling at an amazing rate.
     
  16. jdcolombo

    jdcolombo TrainBoard Member

    1,183
    269
    31
    I will probably end up using a two-decoder technique to add sound to the FEF, using the standard TCS decoder for motor control and front headlight, and a Tsunami Heavy Steam in the tender with a proper speaker for sound and rear light. I've done this in the past with all my Berkshires, and it works nicely. I program them using different addresses to get the chuffs to match driver rotation, and then when I'm done, I set each decoder to the same address (844, in this case). The TCS decoder designed for the 844 costs $35, so the overall installation is $35 more expensive, but it avoids running wires from the tender to the boiler. You lose a little of the load-based sound effects in the Tsunami, but the overall loss is minor and the advantages in simplicity of installation considerable.

    Here's a video showing one of my Walthers/LL Berks that has been converted to DCC and sound this way (using a Lenz Silver mini mounted in the cab for motor control and front headlight) and a TSU-750 in the tender for sound:

    [video=youtube_share;CtrO8NB8bRE]http://youtu.be/CtrO8NB8bRE[/video]

    John C.
     
  17. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

    5,685
    2,780
    98
    When / if I choose to add sound, I too will go the dual decoder route. Much simpler, physically, even if a bit of chore within Decoder Pro getting everything synced.
     
  18. RedRiverRR4433

    RedRiverRR4433 TrainBoard Member

    437
    44
    6
    I'll also use the two decoder approach on one of the two FEF #844's that I purchased.:cool::cool:



    Shades
     
  19. gatrhumpy

    gatrhumpy TrainBoard Member

    735
    131
    20
    Why not use a TCS WowSound Decoder?
     
  20. milwrdfan

    milwrdfan New Member

    7
    0
    18
    Has anyone tried running this locomotive on 9 3/4" radius? Just curious.
     

Share This Page