Kato Unitrack shortage?

Why yes you have, for the last year Kato has had some manufacturing issues with all its Unitrak products due to the closing of a primary factory in China. They have been working on securing new contracts and have just recently been shipping new Unitrak pieces. This factory closing also affected some other types of models and toys. I can’t remember exactly why it closed I read the article on it a while back.

PnP Trains had some in stock the other day when I was there, but Paul said the Unitrak has been selling fast, check them out if you need some. They are very good at answering the phone on days the store is open, that may be the best way to get what you need… or if you live near Renton, WA just stop in!

 

Kato Unitrack is made in Japan.

https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/rightlines-article/kato-interview.html

 

Amazon has 8 rights and 19 lefts.
Amherst-Depot has 11 of each.
You could also try N Scale Supply and HogTrainz.

Beyond that, there's a dealer listing on the Kato website: https://katousa.com/recommended-dealers-index/
Start by calling those dealers with a gold N scale spike next to their listing.

 

I'd stay away from Kato #4 turnouts. They caused me many derailments. The #6 are far more reliable. I only use the #4s for a trolley line with short wheelbase trolleys.

 

Kato's #4s have been controversial no doubt. I used #6s on my mainline, but allowed #4s on industrial spurs and in my yard to conserve space. Some people have said that #4 quality has been improved, but there's no proof that I'm aware of. Nonetheless, out of the ten #4s I installed, only one required cutting a notch in a stock rail to assure its reliability. Maybe I just got lucky or maybe it's my equipment, mostly GPs, SDs with 40' and 50' cars, not today's larger units and cars.

 

Try calling them, I am not sure if the website is being updated regularly. Paul was complaining about some of the updates not being done that were requested. They are almost always at the shop even when it is not open, so they can process the online orders.

 

There's a simple fix for the #4 Unitrack switches, which involves filing a tapered notch into the rail(s) for the switch point(s) to settle into and avoid getting picked by wheel flanges. It's not difficult, and there are videos online on the fix. IIRC, one of our retail sponsors has a video on their website.

IINM, the Unitrack single crossovers consist of #4 switches, but they do not exhibit the problem.

 

Other than there not being a notch for the point rails I do not see why all the hate for the #4. The curve coming off the switch is a 481mm or 19” and that is much broader than T-Trak standard corners of 282 and 315. I built a layout for a friend and due to the size of the layout I was forced to use #4 switches. I tested it with 4 and 6 axle locomotives and had no issues through the normal alignment or the diverging. When I gave him the layout he at first didn’t like the #4s but we set out some cars and did some switching, and at the end of the little ops session he was happy. The only derailment we had was on a corner, not a switch. And yes as mentioned above the single crossover from Kato is 2 #4 switches. The double crossover is #6ish

 

Agreed on the crossover's reliability. My track plan has the crossover at the rear of my layout, so I was concerned about there. Knocking on wood, it's been excellent. I had family visit over Christmas and had a train running for hours using the crossover and never had a derailment.

 

As best as I can tell, the Unitrack double crossover uses the same geometry as their #6 switches, but the diverging (i.e. crossing) route curves are cut short of the normal 15 degrees, before they meet the opposite-end's crossing route at the center. But I haven't laid a protractor on the center frogs to confirm that...