Came across this new German / Japanese trolly Kato is putting out soon: http://www.katousa.com/N/JSE/hiroden.html & seems like a very cool little dude, except I'm not sure what "This Trolley car is motorized" means in terms of dc / dcc & speed control. I'm assuming that it's dc? If it is, then is there a way to run it on a dcc layout? (does't seem to have much space for a decoder ) Is the info there & I just don't see it? Anyone have any experience with kato trollys? (the bachmann ones I have from 20 years ago are crappola: one speed [superfast]). Cheers! --Mark
That is a model which had previously been released in Japan and is based on one of their powered chassis (I believe the 11-103 and 11-104). There is no "drop in" decoder but I have seen "Pocket Line" models that have been converted to DCC using this chassis and also people who make DCC controlled "powered boxcars" out of the similar 11-105 or the 11-106 chassis. I also have one of the "Kato Train" (10-481) suburban sets which was converted to DCC and the power unit for those is similar as well. There wasn't much room to hide the decoder so I taped the decoder to the inside roof and ran with it. As for the "motorized" comment in the description, Kato uses that a lot because they list many "add on" sets which are unpowered. If you think of it as a sophisticated Bachmann trolley that actually speeds up and slows down, you wouldn't be too far off.
That's a cute lil guy. Maybe I should switch from modeling the Tidewater Southern to the Sac Northern so I can have some overhead wires...
That's a body put on the 11-104 (aka 11-103) chassis It is four-wheel pickup and four-wheel drive with very nice 12v motor in it. The pickup in it, however, is really pretty poor, as the entire chassis is very rigid and is easily made in to a 3-legged stool on any axis. If that one wheel touching on one side hits an insulated frog or dirt speck, you stop. If you can figure out somw way to MU it with another one, or anything else with electrical pickup, it is a real winner. I used the chassis in my Trackmobile and it was very frustrating as it was excellent quality, just that pickup problem. I MU'd the trackmobile with a scale test car made on a Kato 11-105 pickup truck, end of problems. It sorta-kinda looks like Birney, with some plastic surgery: http://streetcar.kics.bc.ca/graphics/birney.jpg
I think this has been available for a while now, here is Kato's latest offering on the streetcar front. Kato announce JMTN blog Google Image Result for http://ngi.blog.eonet.jp/photos/20090722_kato/008.jpg
I think the Kato Portram won't be available for a few months. Have you seen the Tomytec Portram? It came out at the end of August.
I should have mentioned in my post that it isn't out yet, but it is coming, Kato don't announce things until they are ready. I've seen pics of the Tomytec one on some of the Japanese dealers sites, I think the Kato version will be worth waiting for, it looks a lot better detailed and of course it will have a Kato mechanism.
Very nice! Is the blue passenger train (car?) lower down on the page electric or diesel? I didn't see a pantagraph.
It will also be very expensive. A lot questions exist over this project. It will have a full interior, working headlights and therefore underfloor motors. Where would you put a DCC decoder? That creates a lot of weight. Will the frame be strong enough? Remember low floor streetcars do not have any electrical gear under the car. I suspect the track configurations won't live up to non-Japanese expectations. Streetcar lines in Japan generally are in wide streets and rather gentle curves. In videos taken at JAM it looks like the car is almost rigid when going around a curve.
This one? 20090722　第31回鉄é“模型ショウ2009「KATOã€ãƒ¬ãƒãƒ¼ãƒˆ: 016 That's a JR Series 14 Blue train car. Series 14 Overnight Limited Express < Sakura > For Sasebo (6-Car Set) (Model Train) Kato 10-599 Passenger Car N Scale|1/150 Series 14 Overnight Limited Express < Sakura > For Sasebo (6-Car Set) (Model Train) Item picture2 Series 14 Overnight Limited Express < Sakura > For Nagasaki (8-Car Set) (Model Train) Kato 10-598 Passenger Car N Scale|1/150 Blue Trains are sleeper trains that are currently being phased out because of falling traffic due to Shinkansen and air line travel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Train_%28Japan%29 'Blue train' era comes to an end | The Japan Times Online
Here's the Tomytec version. Tetsudou Collection Tram PORTRAM TLR0607 Blue - Tomytec - eBay Track Accessories, N Scale, Model RR, Trains, Toys Hobbies. (end time 13-Sep-09 12:30:49 AEST) I guess it's either full interior and underfloor motor or a car full of mechanism that you can see through those big windows. If Kato hasn't thought of DCC I'm sure some enterprising individual will. Kato does very little that lives up to non-Japanese expectations, they are Japanese after all. I think the Kato tram track with wide streets and gentle curves captures the look of mordern light rail operations round the world very well rather than the older streetcar lines. The cars were shown at a show negotiating 90mm radius curves, that's 3 1/2 inches, which is half the radius of the Kato Unitram track.
For me, the trade-off is simple. The Tomytec (Tomix) is less expensive, runs on 6 volts (4 AA Batteries in my Tomyyec Controller) and is available now. If all the bells and whistles are important, wait for the Kato, but IMO it's not worth it. I think you are just buying a name. ---Steve from the other Phoenix
You are right about the price difference between the two, the Kato tram is almost twice the price of the Tomytec but a member at another forum I belong to found some great photos comparing the difference between the two Trams. You're also right, there is a lot more detail in the Kato Portram. But I have to disagree with you about buying just a name. Another factor is if you plan to run the Portram on a DCC layout. For ease and room of installing a decoder inside of the tram, I'd probably think seriously about the Kato version. From personal experience, installing a decoder in most Tomix trains is a lot harder.
Actually, as stated above, this is simply just a different shell on another chassis. Here is a "pocket" or steeple cab JNR loco. Same loco, original shell. As for decoders..... Good heavens! There is a TON of room in that trolley shell! I have a TCS M-4 decoder in that JNR pocket loco above. TCS now makes a Z2 which is even smaller. The trolley is a mansion compared to that little loco.
u18b - I think we're talking about two different trams. I'm talking about the Tomytec Portram. Here is a video of it with the chassis along side of it: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPz75Zti9g4&feature=related"]YouTube - TOMYTEC 鉄コレシリーズ　富山ライトレール[/ame] There isn't a lot of room in it compared to the Kato tram when the chassis is installed but more important Tomix trains are geared for the Japanese market and they don't run a lot of DCC in Japan. It is difficult to install a decoder in a Tomix train as compared to a Kato.
Bernard, OK. Thanks for the correction. But actually, it should still be no problem. Depends on what you want to do with it. If you want to run it as intended, it looks like one unit is powered and one is a dummy that picks up electricity. Decoder could just go in the dummy if you like. But even still, on the powered unit, (hard to tell since I don't have it on my desk in front of me), but it looks like there is a rectangular slot on the top that is about the size of the tiny Z2 decoder that TCS makes. That think is REALLY little. For example, look at this: http://www.tcsdcc.com/Customer_Content/Installation_Pictures/N_Scale/Kato/U30C/N_Kato_U30C_Z2.pdf
Thanks, Bill. Yes, that's the one. I thought maybe it was a diesel powered railcar. I'm new to Japanese trains. I'd like to find something small, maybe a one or two car diesel railcar to run on my planned small layout, something a little different from my US prototype equipment.
You might want to take a look at the Kato Eiden 2-car sets in Red (10-411) and Orange (10-412). These have been around for awhile and you can sometimes pick up a bargain. (Or at least a bargain from the perspective of Kato Japanese prototype trains in the U.S.) I've always liked the looks of these and they can handle a pretty small radius curve. http://shopping.hobidas.com/image-resources/rail-hobidas/MIMT2/MIMT0890.jpg
