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May 2026 KATO Train news from Train Trax UK

Be Kind, please.
It is Mental Health Awareness Week, and that feels like a good moment to say something gently but clearly. You never know everything about the people you're talking to. Might be just having a bad day, or might be burnt-out, depressed, lonely, or grieving.

From our perspective, the world could do with a bit more empathy. Most of our customers are lovely. Many are patient, encouraging, funny, understanding and a genuine pleasure to deal with.Train Trax is a tiny business. It is not a call centre, a warehouse empire, or a faceless machine. It is a very small team doing its best to get specialist model railway items to customers quickly, accurately and with proper care.Over the next couple of weeks, capacity will be a bit more limited than usual as some of us are away. Orders will still be processed, emails will still be answered, and parcels will still go out - but there may be moments when things take a little longer than normal. The quickest, most accurate and all round best way to place an order is always via our website. Enquiries are best via email.

A bit of patience and empathy really does make a difference to small businesses, especially when the people running them are juggling stock, suppliers, customer service, websites, packing benches and the occasional mystery parcel problem. Be kind, please.
Right. Product news.

There are several newly announced pre-order items now listed.
The big Unitrack theme this time is modern concrete-sleeper track, including PC straight track, PC curves, PC bumper tracks, and synthetic-sleeper No.6 electric points. These should be useful for more modern Japanese layouts, especially if you want something a bit different from the usual wooden-sleeper look. Take a look at the details down below.There is also a strong JR Shikoku theme, with N2000 and 2000 Series limited express sets, including Uwakai, Uzushio, Ashizuri and Nanpu versions.Other Japanese N gauge highlights include the 683 Series 6000 Mahoroba sets, E131 Series Senseki Line and Boso area sets, 211 Series Takasaki/Tohoku Line sets, the C12 steam locomotive, ED16 electric locomotive, and Hoki 2500 / Hoki 9500 hopper wagon sets. See down below for images.

For North American modellers, the CB&Q Pioneer Zephyr 3-unit set is the headline for the list, including standard, DCC and sound versions - see top of this email.You can see the latest pre-orders here:
https://traintrax.co.uk/preorders-reserve-them-here-c-51-html

Ian
Train Trax

PS. We know (because you've told us) that trains help many people's mental health. Our top tip this week if you're struggling: get a model out and get it running - even a simple oval will do!