Hi Folks, I have the full 12 set of Kato coaches. I’ve always run them in the correct order according to the diagram on the back of the Kato box but yesterday as I was putting them on the track I wondered about the correct way round they should be facing. Do all the corridors go on the same side? Do they alternate the corridors? Yes, you’re probably thinking “Hasn’t he got anything else to think about”! I’m sure that the way round varied according to convenience but would they have had a preferred way? [FONT="]Cheers, Ted [/FONT]
Greetings Ted ! Dont ever feel that your questions are unworthy, they are the entire reason for this site and this group. Even if you get responses like "What difference does it make" Just ignore it as some like to ruffle feathers. Just know that there will be excellent answers from helpful people and your question will ultimately be answered. I would think that the corridors would be on either side, as turning cars around to align the corridors would possibly hender schedules. But it is quite possible that they did tend to this. I am sure someone will know about it. Anyone ???? fatalxsunrider43
Picky point that does not answer your question. You refered to "the full 12 set of Kato coaches." I am not sure if UK railroaders refer to all passenger-carrying cars as coaches. In the US, the term "coach" usually refers to day coaches, ie. chair cars, NOT sleeping cars, dining cars or lounge cars. The Santa Fe Super Chief did not normally run with ANY coaches at all. It was all first-class-- sleeping cars, dining cars, Pleasure Dome lounge by the 1950s, observation-sleeper. But no "coaches." Now for your actual question. It would be quite a job to go through all the known information to check. There is so much. I used to be drawn to Super Cheif years ago as a super-duper train. Now I have backed off because the Super ran only on lines over which there were many different looking passenger trains every day. I could not realistically operate a scene with 6 or 8 full length trains.
This is off of Wikipedia: I've found Kato's diagrams aren't always spot on for consists. For what end the door is on.....I'd say go with whatever way suits you. These cars, I'd guess, got turned around here and there anyway. It's the consist being correct that most people would remark on more than anything.
Ted, It has always been my understanding that the the corridors or vestibules as we call them in the US (the side with the open door) are on the end closest to the dinning car. So all the cars in front of the dinning car will have their vestibules ends towards the rear of the train and all the cars in back of the diner will have their vestibules ends towards the front of the train. The diners kitchen section should be closests to the rear of the train. The baggage doesn't matter and I don't know what the standard direction would be for the RPO or dorm/lounge. I hope hope this helps. Chris
I had been wondering the exact same thing. I just finally got the last 4 "C" car set. I particularly wondered which way the dome car faced. Thanks for the info Chris! Paul.
Well, thanks a lot for the info Folks. Really useful stuff especially your bits Chris. Yes, we do seem to call them all coaches of one sort or another over here in England. Of course, next week at the club I'll be calling them cars as a bit of one-up-mans-ship! Funny that Paul, as I was putting together the consist according to my new info, I came to the dome car and thought "what, no doors, which way round do I put it"! Cheers, Ted
I thought all the cars faced UP with the wheels at the bottom..... I've got the Daylight cars and also wondered if the Kato consist was correct.
The dome lounge ran long end first with the diner Kitchen first right behind.[/QUOTE] Good reason for that was that the private dining room under the dome - the Turquoise room - had the door toward the short end. So they typically put that as close to the kitchen as possible to they could efficiently serve the private room without carrying food through congestion. The lounge section was the long end of the dome. Unlike most domes the seats rotated (only 16) so unlike many domes the seats didn't determine direction. I did a quick check of my books and it sure looks to me like the majority of the time the long end of the dome ran first. That's quite different from the Budds. I have photos of the ex-CB&Q dome I rode in in '72 and it ran short-end front and the seats point that way - fixed in position.
The entire Super Chief trainset was turned in Los Angeles and Chicago so the cars were most always facing the same direction. In the first years in service, the train represented by the Kato Super Chief, the center of the train had the 500 series dome cars with the long end in front followed by the diner with the kitchen end first and then the 1340 series lounge-dorms with the vestibule running first. The sleeping cars used on the train were usually run vestibule first also. This put the corridor on the left side. On the Pine (can be added from earlier Kato Budd sets) and Palm cars, the corridor was in the middle for much of the car length but was on the left side along the bed rooms. On the Regal cars the corridor was on the left almost the length of the car. On most of the ATSF, whenever there was double track, they used right hand running as a rule. This put the corridors on the side of the passing trains reducing noise in the bedrooms and possibly providing some safety in a side swipe collision. Oh, I almost forgot, the Vista series sleeper-lounge-observation car at the end of the train was run round end first. :mbiggrin: (just kidding)
I concur with Russell's exellent summary as most representative or typical and that's how I run my Super most of the time. But, as can be seen in the attached photo by Dean Hale taken at Summit, Cal., here's a trainset running short end of dome first, with diner and lounge ahead. The vestibules are forward, so it's not the core set simply running in reverse. I'm reasonably certain the obs is not running round end first, either... And for our UK friends, no "coaches" on this train, that would just be wrong!! Kind regards, Otto
One thing I noticed in the video on youtube is that they sort of inferred that the barber shop and shower were in the Pleasure Dome car. They were in fact in the dormitory-lounge car on the other side of the diner. Also in both the interior and exterior shots the dormitory-lounge car was first followed by the diner and then the dome. The diner however is always hooked up with the kitchen right next to the short end of the dome with the dorm-lounge on the other end of the diner with its vestibule at the far end. With a lounge car at either end of the diner, both could be used by passengers for waiting before being seated for a meal in the diner. Later when the El Capitan and Super Chief were combined to run as one trainset, the lounge-dormitory car was pulled from the consist. The two sections were operated as two independent trains with only crew members allowed to pass between them. The Super Chief crew had to pass through the entire El Capitan train to get to their accommodations in the forward dormitory car. Last weekend I was running a combined train like this on the NTRAK layout.
What a video. I'll be showing that to my mates when they come round! Great thread with loads of info. Can't wait for Saturday when we're exhibiting our oNe Track module again. I shall go to great lengths to set it correctly and also explain why they are in that order! Definitely no coaches, though. Cheers, Ted
