There is some properly interesting KATO news this time, especially from the American side of things. KATO USA has announced two releases that are not everyday subjects.
First, the M497 “Black Beetle” Jet Powered RDC. Yes, a jet-powered railcar. A real one, not something produced by a modeller after too much coffee and access to spare aircraft parts. This is one of those models that is interesting even before you decide whether it fits your layout. KATO are producing it in standard DC, DCC-fitted and DCC sound versions.
Also newly announced is the GE ES44AC CN “Air Force One” 2026 locomotive, again with DC, DCC-fitted and DCC sound options available. You can see the current KATO USA pre-orders here: https://traintrax.co.uk/product-tag/usa-announced-jul-26
There are also new KATO Japan items available to pre-order, including: 211 Series 2000 Yokosuka Colour 6-Car Set 10 Series sleeping coaches and passenger coaches DD54 Initial Type and Mid-Period Type diesels KiHa 110 / KiHa 111 / KiHa 112 items EF10 Third Batch electric locomotive Hoki 2500 JR Specification 8-Car Set EF64 1000 General Colour 500 Series Shinkansen “Nozomi” sets All here: https://traintrax.co.uk/product-tag/announced-jul-26 As usual, no payment is needed up front for pre-orders. We send the invoice when the stock arrives in the UK.
There is also plenty of new stock actually in stock here now. Recent arrivals include JNR 14 / 15 series coaches, the 883 Series “Sonic” Renewal and 30th Anniversary sets, 24 Series “Seto / Asakaze” sleeper sets, EF66-0 Late Type Blue Train, Aoimori 703 Series, E657 Series E653 Revival Colour Blue, EF65 1000 Late JR Specification, 289 Series “Kounotori / Kinosaki”, HO DD51 Hokutosei Colour, DB ET424 / ET425 / ET426 units, E721 Series sets, Japanese buildings and the 2026 KATO catalogue.
A quick note on second-hand collections too. Model Railway Magic is currently buying good quality second-hand model railway collections. We will consider all types of items, manufacturers and scales. We're even interested in full layouts if portable. If you are thinking of selling a collection, downsizing, or helping deal with someone else’s railway stock, please get in touch. Photos, lists and a rough idea of what is included are always helpful. We can give a sensible view on whether it is something we can buy, and we will be straightforward if it is not quite right for us.
Summer is usually a slightly odd mix of new releases, family logistics, stock chasing and trying to keep on top of everything, so thank you for bearing with us if replies occasionally take a little longer than usual. Orders will keep going out as normal, and we’ll always do our best to help.
We are not a normal walk-in model shop, but visitors are welcome by appointment. If you are coming to York and would like to collect an order, look at KATO items in person, talk through Unitrack options, or get some layout advice, please get in touch before travelling and we will do our best to arrange a suitable time.
Thank you again to everyone who chooses Train Trax. We work hard to be the best place in the UK for KATO models, Unitrack and practical layout advice - and every order, email, recommendation and bit of feedback helps us keep improving. Kind Regards, Ian on behalf of the team www.traintrax.co.uk
First of all, thank you to everyone who ordered during our recent summer sale.
The sale was very well supported, and that genuinely helps. It has set us up well for the slower summer period and for our own financial year end - not quite as exciting as a new locomotive release, perhaps, but rather important all the same.
This morning in Japan, Kato announced some interesting bits. You can see the 'posters' above. We'll need a few days to digest, publish on our website and confirm the prices of everything. After that we'll open pre-orders as usual.
In the meantime, we have had plenty of new stock arriving, so the shelves are looking healthy again after the sale. Recent arrivals include new Japanese N gauge sets, European multiple units, HO Japanese items, buildings, figures, scenic details and the new 2026 KATO catalogue.
HO DD51 Hokutosei colour diesel locomotive and Taki1000 tankers
N scale dolphins, because apparently this is now the sort of railway email that includes dolphins
A quick reminder on pre-orders too. If there is a forthcoming KATO item you know you want, pre-ordering is still the best way to secure it. We do not ask for payment up front on pre-orders, so there is no immediate cost to reserving something. You have the option of adding card details for easy of payment when they arrive, but it's your choice whether or not to do this.
All we ask is that pre-orders are made in good faith. We understand that circumstances change, but we do get mildly grumpy if people wait until the stock arrives and then cancel, as by that point we have ordered it specially and committed the cash and shelf space.
We are also around over the summer holidays. We are not a normal walk-in model shop, but visitors are very welcome by appointment. If you are in or near York over the summer and would like to collect an order, see some KATO items in person, look at Unitrack options, or talk through a layout idea, please get in touch before travelling and we will do our best to arrange a suitable time.
There is also still a lot going on behind the scenes with the York model railway attraction idea. I am still working through the research, funding conversations and practical questions, but the response so far has been encouraging.
If you have experience in visitor attractions, property, funding, museums, tourism, schools, family days out, community projects, or simply have strong views about what would make a model railway attraction worth visiting, I would still be very glad to hear from you. This is very much still at the “ask awkward questions before spending large amounts of money” stage.
Thank you again to everyone who chooses Train Trax. We work hard to be the best place in the UK for KATO models, Unitrack and practical layout advice - and every order, email, recommendation and bit of feedback helps us keep improving.
From today until 24 June, 10% off everything in the shop: Japanese N gauge, North American, European outline, Unitrack, accessories, buildings, the lot. The only exclusions are items in our ‘Just Arrived’ category.
If you've been sitting on something in the rolling sale, it's worth knowing that the 10% applies on top of those existing reductions too. Some of those are already down significantly, so the savings are real.
The sale runs for ten days. If there's something you've had your eye on, now is a great time to move on it.
Ian and team
Train Trax UK
A few TrainTrax notes this week - including another event for our friends near York:
On Saturday 13 June, the NGS Yorkshire Area Group and WorldWide Group Annual Gathering takes place at Heworth Community Centre, York.
I’ll be there with TrainTrax, bringing a selection of KATO, Unitrack and Japanese/international N gauge stock.
These are usually good events: layouts, trade, modelling chat, and at least one conversation that starts with “I’m not buying anything today” and ends less convincingly.
If you’re coming along, please do say hello.
NGS / WWG Annual Gathering Saturday 13 June Heworth Community Centre, York 10.30am-4.00pm
Some of it is end-of-line. Some of it is slow-moving. Some of it is stock I would rather see on a layout than sitting on our shelves. There are useful reductions across Japanese, European, British and North American items, including a few one-only pieces.
There has been strong interest in Unitram, KATO’s street-running tram system. It connects with standard Unitrack, but it is a different beast: more of a ready-made urban street scene than conventional railway track. Good fun, compact, and a useful option if you want something self-contained. More choice of trams coming soon.
We’re also pleased to be involved in Make a Scene 2026, the new N gauge modelling competition from RAILstuff and JSModels. TrainTrax is supplying the KATO Unitrack for the starter kits, with Hex-TRAK base modules and scenic materials included. It is a neat idea: same starting point, completely different results. Looking forward to seeing the results at the NEC in November.
And yes, the website is open and running as normal through the warmer months. Orders placed before 1pm usually go out the same day, assuming everything is in stock and behaving itself.
Thanks as always for your orders and support.
Ian Train Trax
P.S. Work is continuing on the new model railway visitor attraction idea for York. It’s still in the research and planning stage, but the aim is becoming clearer: a welcoming place where trains are the stars, with layouts, scenes, stories and hands-on elements that help visitors leave thinking, “I could have a go at that.”
More on that soon - and if you know someone with useful experience in visitor attractions, premises, funding or partnerships, I’d be very happy to hear from them.
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!
Thank you to everyone who came to see us at the York show.
Most of the time, Train Trax and The Model Tree Shop exist for most people as a parcel arriving at the door, an email update like this, or just occasionally a stand at a show.
If you’ve ever wanted to see where your orders are packed, find out a bit more about who we are and what we do, or simply have a proper look at some of the things we sell before buying, this is your chance. It should be a relaxed, friendly sort of day, with trains running, plenty to look at, and tea, coffee and cake to keep things civilised.
We’ll be open from 11am to 5pm at our unit near York. Our office layout and test track will be running during the day, and we’ll also have Hex-TRAX and T-TRAK modules on display, along with Kato N gauge and HO gauge items. If there’s something specific you’d like to see working, we’ll do our best to show it if we have it in stock.
On The Model Tree Shop side, we’ll have a much wider range on display than we could ever take to an exhibition. If you’ve been trying to choose between sizes, colours or styles, this will be a good chance to compare them properly in person.
We’re also planning 10% off most stock for the day, so there’s a practical reason to visit as well as a nosy one.
And it won’t just be us. York Modelmaking, who are only two doors down, will also be opening at the same time, and our friends from the Yorkshire Area Group of the N Gauge Society will be bringing along a T-TRAK display as well. So there should be plenty going on.
Attendance is free, but we’d appreciate it if you could book a ticket in advance so we can keep an eye on numbers, parking, and the all-important cake situation.
We’d love to see some familiar faces, meet some new ones, and show you a little more of what goes on behind the scenes.
In other news, Kato’s latest announcements are now on the website and there is plenty to like this month.
The Japanese releases are led by the August Imperial Train items, including the C11 190, the Imperial Train 5-car set, and matching EF58 60 and EF81 81 locomotives. Also due around then are the new N700-6000 Kodama Shinkansen, 731 series Ishikari Liner, KiHa 201 Niseko Liner, container flats, My Tram Classic in red stripe, and the Hiroshima Electric Railway 200 Type 14-071-1.
The Pocket Line sets are in there too and I think those could be very popular.
For British N gauge, the Class 802/2 TransPennine Express and Class 803 Lumo are back on the list. These are not brand new announcements, but they do now have revised pricing and updated delivery dates.
There is Kato USA interest on the website as well, especially for anyone who likes North American passenger stock. The coaching stock is the bit to watch this time, with Amtrak Viewliner and Amfleet items now available to pre-order.
Pre-ordering is not just practical - it is part of the fun. It gives you the best chance of securing the models you really want, avoids the last-minute rush, and gives you that nice feeling of having something good to look forward to.
That’s all for now - we’ll get back to unpacking, packing, and generally being surrounded by trains.
All the best,
Ian (on behalf of the team)
PS. I'm still on the lookout for someone to help with an exciting new project for York - we can chat at the open day of interested.
Last weekend at Ally Pally was a good one.
Thank you to everyone who came to see us, bought from us, had a chat, asked questions, or just reminded us that model railways are best when shared with other people. Shows are hard work, but the good customers make them worth it.
Now we turn our attention a bit closer to home, because the York show is nearly here.
We’ll be trading there with Train Trax and The Model Tree Shop, and we’re looking forward to it. If you’re coming, do come and say hello. And if there’s something specific you want us to bring, tell us soon. We can’t take everything, and we’d rather bring the right stock than make educated guesses on your behalf.
There’s another reason I’m especially looking forward to York.
Over the last few months I’ve been talking a bit more openly about an idea I’ve had for a long time - a model railway visitor attraction here in York. Not just a shop, and not just layouts behind barriers, but a place built around sharing the joy of model railways with more people. Something hands-on, high quality, welcoming, and a bit ambitious.
It’s still an idea in development, but the response so far has been encouraging. If you spoke to me about it at Ally Pally, thank you. If you’re curious, supportive, commercially minded, or know someone who should be, I’d be very happy to chat at York. Sometimes these things move forward because of one good conversation.
Away from the big ideas, there are also some good opportunities on the website at the moment.
We’ve got a selection of sale items and slower movers that would quite honestly benefit from finding new homes. Some are older favourites, some are end-of-line bits, and some are simply things we’d rather turn into cash and shelf space for new arrivals. If you enjoy a rummage and the satisfaction of spotting a bargain, this is your sort of page.
And finally, a reminder: if you want us to bring something to York for viewing, please let us know in advance. Even better you can order online for collection. It makes life easier for everyone, and it means you don’t have to rely on show-day luck.
Thanks again for your support. We never take it for granted.
See you at York, I hope.
All the best,
Ian (on behalf of the team)
PS. If you'd be up for helping us out at future shows (TINGS in September or NEC in November) please get in touch.
All being well, this weekend we’re off to Alexandra Palace for the London Festival of Railway Modelling, which means the usual mix of planning, packing, second-guessing what to take, and trying not to forget anything important.
TrainTrax and The Model Tree Shop will both be there, and we’re looking forward to seeing plenty of familiar faces as well as, hopefully, meeting some new ones too. At the shows coming up I’ll also be starting to quietly spread the word about a bigger idea I’ve been working on, and looking for the right person to help bring it to life.
A few practical notes if you’re ordering from us this week.
First, do come and see us if you’re visiting the show. We’ll have a carefully chosen range of Kato, scenery, trees and other favourites with us. If there’s something specific you’d like us to bring, just let us know. We’ve already had requests for particular bridge colours so people can see them in real life before deciding, and that’s absolutely fine with us.
You can also place an order on the website for collection at the show, which saves the postage and means you know you’ll go home with something good.
Finally, any orders placed on the website during the show period may take a little longer to dispatch than usual while the team is away exhibiting. We’ll still be keeping an eye on things and will get orders moving again as quickly as possible afterwards.
Thanks for your patience, and we hope to see some of you at Ally Pally.
If you’re not coming to London, we’ll also be at the York show over the Easter weekend, so perhaps we’ll see you there instead.
Newly announced by KATO
Announcements usually come on a Friday around the turn of the month. It takes us a little while to confirm UK pricing and get everything onto the website, but the latest batch is now live.
For many of our customers, the standout item this time will be the new RhB Allegra Revival Livery set, and I’d expect that to attract plenty of attention. Close behind it is a strong batch of Taiwan Railway items, with the E500 electric locomotive and PP Tze-Chiang coaches now listed. Beyond those, there are also some nice Japanese additions, including KiHa 52 railcars in two liveries, the E657 in revival orange, the Izukyu Resort 21 and the Ogaki Night Train, plus a few new HO EF510 electrics for HO modellers.
Every week we unpack something interesting, and this week’s batch has a bit of everything.
Our headline this week is the Kato 10-2144 683 Series 2000 "Noto Kagari" 3-Car Set, a striking limited express with plenty of character. Only two were in stock at the time of writing.
Also just landed:
Kato 10-2154 Aichi Loop Railway 2000 Series Blue Belt 2-Car Set and 10-2155 Green 2-Car Set Compact, colourful two-car sets that can be paired to make a four-car consist. Very limited at the time of writing: two blue and one green.
Kato 10-1837 321 Series JR Kyoto/Kobe/Tozai Line Basic Set (3 Cars) and 10-1838 Add-On Set (4 Cars) A strong everyday JR West urban EMU, with the option to build from a three-car starter set to a full seven-car formation.
And one for the collectors:
Kato 10-2100 Special Projects Nankai Electric Railway 6000 Series (Unpainted) 6-Car Set A distinctive special edition in bare stainless steel, and only one was available at the time of writing.
Stock is tight across all of these, particularly the Aichi Loop sets and the Nankai Special Project, so they’re worth a look sooner rather than later.
We’ve also been adding extra items to the sale page. Everything is new and unused. We’re simply clearing space and keeping things moving, so it’s worth another look even if you checked it recently.
You may also spot some new items on our eBay site for similar reasons.
As ever, thank you for your support. Good customers really do make a specialist business like ours possible, and we don’t take that for granted.
We’re looking forward to meeting plenty of you at Ally Pally this weekend and at York over Easter. If you’re coming along, do come and say hello, and take a read of our big red board.
All the best,
Ian (on behalf of the team)
Hello,
If you only read one bit of this email, read this bit: the new OO9 points are finally on the pre-order list, we’ve had a big restock week (including older favourites), and there’s a fresh wave of new arrivals alongside the latest pre-orders. If any of that is on your “waiting for…” list, this is the nudge to have a quick look.
Firstly, a quick reminder that we discovered our systems were breached earlier this month. We’ve been monitoring closely and have carried out further investigation, but we’ve found no evidence of anything else. If you missed the earlier email, you'll find the details here: https://traintrax.co.uk/2026/02/13/security-notice-important-information-for-train-trax-uk-customers. We are very grateful for the messages of support we received after this incident - it made a difficult situation a little easier for us.
New announcements / pre-orders: the latest pre-order list now includes the Amtrak Amfleet coaches with new numbers (Amfleet I coach set, plus Amfleet II baggage and coach sets). There are also a couple of big European crowd-pleasers in the mix (SNCF TGV INOUI and OUIGO España starter set), plus some Japan highlights like the DE10 (JR Kyushu spec) and 103 Series Orange sets. And yes — the Kato 009 / OO9 Narrow Gauge Unitrack points are on the list (left + right), along with the matching R481-15 curves. “Seven Stars in Kyushu” is also back on the preorder page (both the full set and the little travelling N-gauge version).
Just arrived into stock: on the Japan side we’ve had a proper wave land — 313 Series 1000 (Tokaido Main Line), 315 Series 3000 (including the starter set), and Kiha 25 sets. There are some nice classics too (the 43 Series Night Express Hakkoda sets and EF57 electrics), plus fresh buildings and vehicles like the Station Front Taxi Office and suburban station buildings.
Also worth a flag: we have just a couple of premium Kato USA M2 starter set track packs available, and some Chicago Metra DCC Sound locos and sets have landed.
And a quick note on restocks: a few older favourites have been popping back into stock as well — the sort of things that quietly sell out and then vanish for months. If you’ve been waiting on something specific (starter sets, track packs, or a particular train), it’s worth a quick check — the 10-005 double Shinkansen starter set is one example that’s back in the mix. These aren't listed on the ;just arrived page for technical reasons so you'll have to go hunting!
Behind the scenes, we’ve been building out some reference guides to Kato Unitrack and more. We’ve called it “Your Railway Resources” and we’d really appreciate it if you could have a read through and let us know if we’ve made mistakes, or missed anything important. Find it here: https://traintrax.co.uk/your-railway-resources
Rolling sale: we’ve been adding extra items to our sale page at https://traintrax.co.uk/sale. Everything is new and unused — it’s simply over-orders and lines that take up shelf space we need for new releases coming later this year.
All the best, Ian (on behalf of the team)
PS: Preparations have begun for our stand at the Ally Pally show in March — if you’re coming along, do say hello.
Last updated: 13th Feb 2026
I didn’t want to have to write this, but we need to share a serious security update.
Summary
We identified and removed malicious code on our website. Out of an abundance of caution, we are notifying customers that details entered on our website may have been compromised.
What happened
Monday 2 February: we were alerted to the possibility that our checkout may have been compromised
Tuesday 3 February: we confirmed the issue, disabled the site immediately, and alerted the ICO
Wednesday 4 February: after making the site safe, we re-enabled it
Since then, our own developers Firepages, and Wordfence’s specialist incident response team have investigated. Wordfence identified malicious code on the site and removed it.
Thursday 12 February: we emailed all customers who bought from us over the last two years out of an abundance of caution.
We believe it is currently safe to browse and place orders via the website including using credit cards. If you'd rather place orders another way then please contact us (details below).
What information may be involved
At this stage, the information that may be affected could include details entered at checkout, such as:
Name
Billing/shipping address
Email address and phone number
Order details
Payment card details: based on what we currently know, any risk here mainly relates to customers who entered card details at checkout (card payments processed via Stripe). No card details are normally stored on our systems.
We are aware that some customers have had card details used elsewhere after shopping with us. We’re extremely grateful to those who reported this quickly, because it helped us identify the problem.
Timing
Although we were alerted on 2 February and acted immediately, the investigation suggests the issue may have been present earlier. We’re still working to confirm the time window and scope, and we’ll share clearer information if we can do so confidently.
What we recommend you do now
Check your bank/card statements for any transactions you don’t recognise
If you entered card details at checkout on our site recently, contact your card provider and ask them to monitor your account (they may recommend replacing the card)
Be alert to phishing. We will never ask for passwords or payment details by email
If you reuse passwords across sites, change them, and use a unique password for important accounts
What we’re doing next
We had protection in place before this incident, but it did not work as it should have. We’re taking that extremely seriously, and we’re applying hardening and security recommendations coming out of the investigation.
Contact
If you have any questions, please reply to this email and we’ll help as best we can. You can also contact us at help@traintrax.co.uk. As a tiny business we have limited capacity to answer the phone in realtime but if you need to speak with us in person then please try 01904 215416.
We’re genuinely sorry for the worry and inconvenience this may cause. Thank you to all those who have sent messages of support since we announced this.
— Ian, TrainTrax / Model Railway Magic Ltd
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