WOW!!!
This thing is awesome. It’s an N-scale GP9 in Pennsy trim. It’s unbelievably quiet and runs soooooo smoothly. I slowed it down to an absolute CRAWL and it never even hiccuped. I laid out some sectional track and made it sort of kinky and poorly connected just to try this loco out, and it ran just as well there. And this beast is USED!!
Are the HO Kato locomotives as good as their N models? If so, I think I’ve been converted.[:D]
Ray out
I have 8 HO Scale Kato’s and their a GREAT Locomotive! I did run them once but 100% of the time they just sit in their Display cases not collecting dust. I love them alot.
Kato’s are a VERY POWERFULL LOCOMOTIVE!
BNSFrailfan.
Kato Rules! I got my first HO scale Kato (an RS-2) about six months ago, and tried to make it stall or jump the rails. It preformed perfectly, never complained, just purred along, it is soooooooooo quiet! Kato’s are exellent! Good choice of a locomotive! [8D][tup]
I fought buying a Kato engine for a long time due to the price. When I finally did, I see why. They are the jewls of my fleet. The detail level is most impressive and they run extremely well. Low end speed is fantastic. I now have four Kato engines. If I think Kato will be releasing an engine on my wish list, I will wait for them. Decoder installation has been a snap and they react well. They ARE worth every penny I have spent on them.
I have been very pleased with Kato as well. They make a Great product!!
I thought about buying one but didn’t because of the price but it seems like it might be worth buying. I will look at the next train show.
Better actually. In my opinion the original HO Atlas RS-3 with the Kato drive built in 1984 is a hobby mile stone. It is responsible for raising the bar of what a quality locomotive should run like. Because of it, today the difference is much less then it was back then. Today, I have no heart burn about the running quality of an HO Genesis, Proto, Atlas, or Stewart (of course the original Stewart F’s were also Kato) locomotive any more.
I have a question for you. I am not being a smart alecky or condesending or anything. I am truely puzzeled by this phenomina. My question is, didn’t you believe all the people in this and other forms who have said how good these locomotives are? At least enough to be curious to hunt one up at a friends or a hobby shop to test out? What is it that still makes someone like you say, still say WOW when you get one?
I have over 100 Kato locomotives and keep getting more.
Since I’m new in all this, I asked here for recommendations for my first locomotive. One of the top one or two was Kato, so that is the one I bought. An SD-40 dcc ready. The second was a P2k dcc/sound. I’m very pleased with them both. I rely on the experience here to steer me straight.
Jarrell
Yes, I believed them, but this is the first time I’ve ever had the opportunity to run one and see for myself. Local hobby shop? Not exactly local, and they don’t carry any Kato stuff. Friends? None that are into model railroading. So, it’s a voyage of discovery for me.
I guess I’m just very happy with it and wanted to share that with people who would understand the feeling.
Ray out.
I also said “WOW” ! , after my first KATO N scale loco. Smooth, powerful and very
sharp detailing. Well worth the price. You get what you pay for. [:-^][:P]
Welcome to the Kato club…
I own five Kato’s myself, and yes, they are truly royalty when compared to most other brands. But now you’re ruined for life, and will always be critical of lesser brands that might not perform as well…
trainluver1
[#ditto]
That’s exactly what happened to me… I’ve only bought 1 bluebox ever since I bought my Kato-drive-equipped Stewart F units back in 1992.
Kato used to make engines for Atlas. Atlas has basically copied the Kato mechanism so they are equal in quality or at least close. That’s why I usually say Atlas/Kato. I wish Kato would produce many more different locos. In Nscale they seem mostly to produce current locomotives. I like first and second generation deisels as well as steam. Kato’s Nscale Mikado is still the “gold standard” in Nscale steam. In fact, it was the first decent Nscale steam engine I ever purchased. It came out in 1996.
Kato and Atlas sit together at the top in HO scale, no one else comes close to the smootheness and quietness of those two.
That’s a true statement in N-scale, too. Life-Like has some decent locomotives (on a case-by-case basis), but Katos and Atlases are consistently excellent runners. The other great thing about Kato’s N-scale locomotives is they are all DCC-ready for drop in decoders that are available NOW. Atlas has some that the decoder is not available other than pre-installed in the locomotive. Grrr.[:(!]
I have one KATO,and it’s the best operating engine of the 40+ that I have.Being most of my fleet is steam,I only wi***hat KATO would someday produce steam models…oh well.
How good are the Kato mechanisms?
A trio of Kato SD40s (HO) were recently retired from the Museum of Science and Industry after completing the museum’s run from Chicago to Seattle. Not too shabby, making it across a 3,500 square foot layout, eh? Catch is, they did it enough times to cover the 2,000+ REAL miles between the two cities! Yeah, those Katos can run…
Kato’s are great. I run only Kato and Atlas units. 35 Katos and 9 Atlas. 3 more Kato and 5 more Atlas on the way. Just can never get enough of them.
Also the units at the Museum of Science and Industry were Kato SD70MACs, not SD40s
My best running locos are my Life-Like GM switchers. The motor and drive train in a Life-Like GM switcher runs just as smooth as a Kato.