This email is appearing on a Monday rather than my normal Friday, as I had a busy weekend at the Leeds Model Railway show. I thought it was a great show, with a very high standard of layouts on display (despite comments to the contrary appearing on social media). It was an experiment for Train Trax to attend a show, and I certainly learnt a lot from the experience! It was fantastic to meet with some of my customers in person and chat things through. One conversation I had repeatedly was how people had tried other track systems in the past and got frustrated, only to then try Unitrack and then never look back! If anyone's planning an exhibition layout using KATO then get in touch and I'll try my best to assist in whatever way I can. Lets try and spread the word more widely about how great the system is!
After sending this email, I'll be taking a few days off to spend time with family over half term. There will be no despatch between 25th - 30th October inclusive, but you can continue to place orders for me to deal with when I'm back at HQ on the 31st. I will be checking emails etc occasionally so if you have any queries or problems don't hesitate get in touch.
I've just had confirmation of pricing of the latest Kato USA N EMD SD70M Flat Radiator Engines , so they are now available to pre-order on the website. It includes locomotives in Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern paint schemes!
A special addition to this new run of SD70M locomotives are two specialized Union Pacific engines: #1979, the "We Are One" locomotive, and #4015 which will come in special "Excursion Use" paint. Unit 4015 shares its road number with one of the UP's largest locomotives, the 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy". SD70M #4015 has been used in conjunction with the 4-8-8-4 #4014 in excursion outings, and has unique paint detailing that differentiate it from other SD70Ms. Don't expect these schemes to be repeated in the future - pre-order while you can!
Analog(DC) versions of these Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific engines are scheduled to release in the US in April 2023, with DCC versions coming in May 2023 and DCC & Sound versions in July 2023. They should be with me in the UK about 4 weeks later.
A reminder of the September announcements from Japan. They include a special edition E2 series 1000 series Shinkansen 200 series with attractive green livery, a new colour of truss bridge, updated station platforms and the pocket line freight train in black, which should arrive quite soon. See further down this email for more item details and the pre-order links. Apologies - I don't have room to stock the HO items at present! Find them here: https://traintrax.co.uk/preorders-reserve-them-here-c-51-html/page/2
Supplies of KATO and KatoUSA parts have now arrived and are listed here: https://traintrax.co.uk/kato-spares . If you need other replacement parts, then send me an email (include the part number if you can find it) and I'll see what I can do. This is a service to modellers, with very little profit for me on each item, but I think it's a great shame when models are underused or thrown away for want of replacement small parts.
Enjoy your modelling and keep in touch.
Kind regards,
Ian
