Hello guys and gals............ I just mail ordered a Kato "N" scale NW-2 switcher and wondering of those who have them. Are they good runners or they need some kind of work on it to make them good runners ? Do the new Kato engines need to be oiled before running for first time out of the box ? Thnak you guys tiffany nw-2
You will not be disappointed. I have 2 and they both ran perfectly out of the box. There may have been some noise at first but that has pretty much gone away after a good break-in period. My only (very small) complaint is that the wheels tend to drop into my Peco code-55 turnout frogs a little. Not sure why this loco does that, I think it might be because the wheel treads and flanges on this model are the finest I've seen yet. This does not cause an operational problem at all, just a little bit of a visual bounce as the loco travels through the turnouts.
Hello guys and gals...... I just mailed ordered a kato "N" scale NW-2 swither and wondering of members who already have them running on the layouts, how do you like them ? Do they run well out of the box new and or do they need some work to do to make them run well such as oiling them before running for first time ? thank you guys tiffany nw-2
I have two of them and are happy with them. I have had zero trouble with them. There have been complaints about cracking on some of the plastic parts that go onto the driveshafts (the same with the RDCs), but I have seen only a few of those complaints, so I am guessing that they are not common. There are some N scale yard goats that do have better slow speed control, such as the Atlas Baldwins and the newest issue of the B-mann USRA 0-6-0 as modified with a SPECTRUM tender, but the slow speed control of the Kato NW-2 is still good. I would recommend them to anyone.
I've got two of them and they both ran great right out of the box and were even better after installing decoders and tweaking some CV's and breaking them in for a few hours. I think you'll be very impressed with the details and the running qualities.
I don't have a NW 2 Tiffany, however I have several Kato Locos and All of them have and do run well right out of the box. Can't go wrong with Kato.
I have one that I put a Life-Like SW8 shell on - that can be done - but under the hood it's pure Kato. Much more reliable than the Life-Like, not subject to stalling issues after it has sat around for a while. Good tractive effort, good electrical pickup, good slow speed, mine is relatively quiet. I did a resin SW1 conversion kit for a while as a custom build, and did about a dozen of them using the Kato chassis. Every one worked just fine. I never saw a bad one, or the cracked gear issue either, although it has been reported. If it ever just sits there and runs the motor and doesn't move, that's the problem.
Tiffany, First, welcome to Trainboard, there is a copious amount of talent and experience here to be shared by everybody. Have fun!!! Your question about oiling was not really addressed and the do or do not oil discussion can be rather lengthy. IMHO, you do not need to oil any KATO locomotive gears ever, possibly the motor bearings after many hours of running and only if they start to squeal. I do have 2 NW-2's and they are typical KATO's right out of the box. They are decoderized (new word ?) and the slow end is good. Most all of my diesels are KATO. Very seldom do you have a problem, out of the box, with a KATO. No flaming the other manufacturers guys, just my experience. Carl
I have one NW2. It does not have a lot of time, but the few hours of use have been just fine. I have found no need as yet to consider lubrication.
Welcome to TrainBoard. I have a mix of about 30% Kato, 30% Atlas, and 25% Bachmann, with the rest assorted manufactures.By far the Kato brand are the Cadillacs for running followed by Atlas a close 2nd. I have an NW2 and and so far it has lived up to the Kato reputation of smooth trouble free running. As far as oiling is concerned it should not need it new out of the box. Much later and if the loco has been in storage for awhile I may need oil very lightly on the motor bearings and the bearing blocks of the drive train. As far as a lubricant goes I recommend the LaBelle line of products that were developed for model railroad products and I have used for years.
Hello guys............... I received the N scale Kato NW-2 today and just got it running on simple oval for breaking in ( 10 minutes each way for total of one hour at 8 volts using the MRC railpower 1370 pack). It really runs smooth, no jerky motion but at first it did and almost a hour later running really smooth wow !!!! I never saw a the smallest NW-2 before until it came today and those TINY hand rails my goodness !!!!! Thank guys, tiffany nw-2
The hand rails are pretty durable even with the fine detail. Hand rails can be a weak, easily damaged feature on other locomotives.
I have been pleased with the two I purchased and repainted/relettered to B&O. I also had dcc installed in both.
hello guys.............. There's something special about the NW-2's but don't know what it is as i remember back in 1965 i had a lionel NW-2 # 634 and that one is a real piece of JUNK compared to the Kato NW-2 which is a GEM !!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe the Kato NW-2 is the holy grail of NW-2's ? I am new to "N" scale and what is a "DCC" and what is it use for ? tiffany nw-2
DCC stands for Digital Command Control. It is a system where there is a decoder chip wired in the loco that allow multiple locos on the same powered track to run independent of each other at different speeds or direction. The chip is programmed and responds to a set signal from a controller held by the operator. Each chip is programmed with an address that is unique to that locomotive. More than one loco can be run at time just by interring the address of each loco, therefore a consist of several locos can be pulling a train under one throttle and command.
hello boxcabE50 that is interesting !!!!!! do you need a special transformer for that ? I have a MRC railpower 1370 to run my Kato NW-2 tiffany nw-2
