Kato starter sets are a tidy way to get moving without faff: a well-matched train, Unitrack that clicks together cleanly, and a reliable controller that just works. You’re up and running in minutes, with smooth slow-speed running and solid electrics, and there’s a clear path to grow - add a couple of curves, a passing loop, points, scenery. Ideal for a first layout on the kitchen table or a calm evening of “train time,” and a great foundation you won’t outgrow.
Recently added to our KatoUSA sound-fitted range: VIA Rail P42, CPKC ES44AC, andBNSF ES44AC. There’s a healthy choice of types and liveries if you’re in the mood to treat yourself.
Kato DCC sound-fitted locos just feel a cut above: proper presence on the rails, with well-voiced horns, brakes and idle that sit naturally in the room, silky slow-speed control, and lighting that behaves as it should. The trademark Kato drive keeps things whisper-quiet and dependable, while CV tweaking gives you room to fine-tune. It’s the kind of upgrade that makes home running and show days alike more involving, with the confidence that it’ll simply get on and do the job.
Stock levels are good across most lines; plenty of track landed this week. If you can’t find something, ask — we’ll try to help.
Next Up: Japan Updates & the NEC
Japanese announcements: I’ll round up the latest Kato Japan releases and news in the next email. If there’s something specific you’re waiting on, reply and I’ll check the details for you.
NEC show: We’ll be at the upcoming NEC show in Birmingham (we're bringing themodeltreeshop.co.uk as well). If there’s anything you’d like us to bring, demo or set aside for collection, please tell me in advance so I can pack it. Best wishes, Ian & the Train Trax UK team
P.S. I took an hour this week to hear Julian Richer speak here in York about the Good Business Charter. We’ve been members for about three years, and it was a useful reminder of why: a public commitment to fair pay, customer care, and paying our taxes properly. As far as we know, we’re the only model railway company signed up. Not saying everyone else is bad, but we’re officially “Good.”
More October news from Train Trax UK - we're back and excited for the coming modelling season!
Back from Japan Hello again from York. I’m back from Japan. It was great, apart from picking up a horrible bug on the way home. If you fancy a read, I’ve put some notes here: https://traintrax.co.uk/2025/10/21/tokyo-notes. I’d love to hear what resonates with you.
This email has a Japanese theme. North American modellers, I'll try to adjust the emphasis next time!
New arrivals While I was away, a lot of Japanese stock landed.
While I was away, a lot of Japanese stock landed:
- EH800 locos
- Complete Chuo Line E233 commuter trains
- Retro coach sets in Blue or Brown
- E8 Series Yamagata Shinkansen
- Joban Line E231 commuter trains
- Eizan Electric Railway 900 series in three colours (pretty!)
- EF58 and Hayatama Night train sets.
In stock here in the UK and ready to despatch now.
NEC show — nearly there We’ll be at The National Festival of Railway Modelling (the NEC show) in about a month. If there’s something you’d like to see or pick up, let me know and I’ll try to bring it along or set it aside for you. Some poor folk who made assumptions about what we'd have at TINGS went home disappointed.
Seasonal help in York I’m beginning to think we need some seasonal help for our busy period. If you know someone local to York who’s careful, practical and happy to pitch in with packing, unpacking and customer queries, please feel free to put them in touch. Hours and exact responsibilities can be flexible.
Stock update Stock levels are good across most lines, with more on the way. If you can’t find something, ask — we’ll try to help.
Best wishes, Ian & the Train Trax UK team
PS. Running a small business can be tough. Your messages, stories and orders (mostly the orders) keep us going, so thank you!
October news from Train Trax UK - What's new in stock from KATO?
New arrivals, starter sets and a trip to Japan
Just Arrived Fresh off the boat (well, air-freight), three new Kato Pocket Line sets have just rolled in at TrainTrax HQ. These little budget gems are always a hit:
A no-nonsense Freight Set that’s small but mighty.
They’re affordable, fun, and tend to disappear fast — so if you fancy one, best not leave it too long.
We've also got a select few of the Kato Europe Class 66/77 locos left in stock. 66004 'Climate Hero' pictured above on our layout. When they’re gone, that’s it for now
Starter Sets – too early for Christmas? My wife won't be happy if I mention Christmas already, but experience tells us that once November hits, starter sets fly out quicker than mince pies at the office. Right now the shelves are full:
So if you’re thinking about treating yourself or someone else, now’s a very good time for maximum choice.
Japan next week Next week I’ll be heading over to Japan to catch up with KATO, explore Tokyo's trains and and soak up the inspiration behind the models we love. I’ll share a few snippets while I’m out there — worth keeping an eye on our social media updates if you’re curious.
Don't worry, Kieren and Jonathan are staying behind to deal with all the orders and queries while I'm away!
Right, I’m off to shuffle some boxes around to make room before the next delivery lands.
Best wishes,
Ian & the Train Trax UK team
More September 2025 news from Train Trax UK - All the latest announcements from Japan and TINGS
Thanks to everyone who joined us at TINGS 2025 – it was our busiest yet, with plenty of sales, great conversations, and even a few visits from Mr Kato himself
The trams we had on demo were a smash hit (sold out!) and track stock ran short too. One customer told us we’re their “favourite shop ever” — that made our weekend. Thanks for all the enthusiasm, much appreciated!
Now that we’re back in York, unpacked and somewhat recovered, we’ve opened pre-orders for the new items announced this month by KATO Japan and KATO Europe.These are for delivery between now and Spring next year. Links further down the email, but here's our summary:
Japan:We're excited by the classic EF57 locos and Hokkoda sets, and the Seal and Owl figures are rather fun too. There’s also more of the E231, 315, 313 and 321 series - essential stock for any contemporary Japanese city layout.https://traintrax.co.uk/product-tag/sept25
Europe:The headline items from this announcement are the TGV sud-est sets. This is a celebration of KATO's first European model back in 1983, so will be sure to be a bit special. The details, features and tooling have all been brought up to the latest standards for release in spring next year. All the details are available on their own website https://www.kato-special.com/kato-tgv-en
There will be a 10 car special edition and a 5 car basic set (each with different running numbers/destinations). You can add a 5 car add-on to the 5-car basic to make up a full length orange streak. They can be combined with a drawbar if you have space for a 20 car train!https://traintrax.co.uk/product-tag/tgv-sud-est
UK:We've also opened pre-orders for the exciting new liveries on the British Class 800 family Hitachi trains announced at TINGS.These are a bit different from our normal process. Our system needs a price in the box to open pre-orders, so the price listed is our current educated guess, but will be subject to currency fluctuations, final volumes etc and is still to be confirmed. We will let you know when we get confirmation of UK RRP for these models. Our final prices will be discounted as normal. https://traintrax.co.uk/product-tag/class800
Which new models will you add to your collection? Click through to secure yours now — demand is already building.
Thanks again for your support,
Ian & the Train Trax UK team
PS Don't forget those KatoUSA HO Scale Amtrak Loco and coaches. Available exclusively via pre-order before noon on 26th September 2025. Arrivals Spring 2026 onwards.
September 2025 news from Train Trax UK - TINGS This Weekend: Pre-Order by Thursday 3pm
If you’d like to make sure we bring exactly what you want, you can place an order online for collection at the show. Please note the cut-off is 3pm this Thursday so we can get everything packed in time. Just choose the collection at TINGS option at checkout.
At the show we’ll also be showcasing the Hex-TRAK modular system with some new scenic Hexes and a Unitram mash-up.
Over on the KATO stand they will be displaying a range of Mini Dioramas created by our customers and others - we've seen some and they are fantastic!
And don’t worry if you can’t make it — we’ll be sharing more news next week about the latest Kato announcements and upcoming releases.
See you at TINGS, Ian & the Train Trax UK team
PS: Reminder about the Train Trax Pre-Order Deadline for recent HO Scale items: Noon, Thursday 26th September. See below. Secure your KatoUSA HO items now to avoid disappointment — once the deadline passes, we can’t guarantee availability.
Extra August news from Train Trax UK - August's KATO 🚄Announcements ready to pre-order
As promised, this extra email is focussed on the new announcements from this month.
📢 HO Scale from KatoUSA – Pre-Order Only KatoUSA have announced a fantastic new batch of HO scale models — but please note these are available for pre-order only. We won’t be keeping these in regular stock, so if you’d like one, you’ll need to order in advance.
⏰ Train Trax Pre-Order Deadline: Noon, Thursday 26th September Secure yours now to avoid disappointment — once the deadline passes, we can’t guarantee availability.
We know a lot of our regular customers and email subscribers will be more N gauge focussed. If you're not interested at least let your HO mates know about us!
Scroll further down for the links to the big American things...
📢 N gauge from KATO Japan
There's quite a list, which is why it's taken us a while to process everything this month!
new Showa era buildings,
a re-run of the Yamanote line trains,
2-car Kiha trains ideal for small layouts,
more 6-car freight sets
Tokyu Meguro Line 5080 Series (8-car)
287 Series “Kuroshio” 60th Anniversary Wrapping (6-car)
EF15 Standard Type – re-run with slotless motor.
205 Series-5000 Musashino Line (Final Formation M20) (8-car) – special edition.
EF81 JR East colour (with dual-head coupler) (N) – slotless motor re-run.
ED76-0 Late Type “JR Freight Test Livery” (N).
ED75-700 Early Type “Orient Salon” livery (N).
ED75-700 Early Type JR spec (N).
Basic Oval Track Set Master 1-PC (N) – concrete sleeper (PC) version of M1.
MyTram YELLOW / WHITE (N) – new colourways for the universal tram.
Those trams at the end certainly caught our eye, as well as the start of a wider range of concrete sleepered track. See below for all the pre-order links and details as we have them.
PS: It’s still holiday season and we’re a small team. Over the next few weeks there may be occasional delays with dispatches and replies to emails while we take a few well-earned breaks. One of us will still be around, doing our best to keep on top of things, but your patience is appreciated.
More August news from Train Trax UK - Unique Opportunity inside!
I’ve been away for a few days, including a trip to The Greatest Gathering event with my junior modeller. Among other things, we spotted 66004 — soon to be available from Kato Europe in 1:160 scale.
Over the summer my internal calendar tends to go a bit haywire, so this email is going out a little earlier than usual. I’ll be following up early next week with extra news, so it’s not all bundled into one giant update.
One month to go until The International N Gauge Show! We’ve been approached by Kato-san for a bit of help:
“Could you kindly select a few customers from your store who might be interested in building a Mini Diorama for the TINGS show? I would like your store to offer each participant one straight or curved Mini Diorama Base free of charge. They can be beginners or experienced modellers, children or adults — anyone who would enjoy taking part. Would you then please bring their works to TINGS on the setup day and return them to your customers after the show?”
So, who fancies a free Mini Diorama? Drop us an email at help@traintrax.co.uk as soon as possible if you’d like to take part. [Offer now closed 19/8/25]
It’s really not long now until TINGS. We’ll be there with our Train Trax stand and The Model Tree Shop, and we’re looking forward to seeing both familiar faces and new ones. If there’s something you’d like us to bring for you to see or purchase, just let us know.
New arrivals We’ve unpacked plenty of new stock in the last few days, including:
P42s from VIA Rail, plus more Amtrak liveried versions (DC and DCC fitted)
Sound-fitted SD70Ms (CSX/UP)
C44-9Ws in KCS and two different BNSF schemes (DCC and DCC Sound fitted)
From Japan, we have:
Seibu Railway items
Retro packaged LOCAL-SEN trains
Cassiopeia sets and the Rainbow loco
Series 1000 Sendai Colour sets
Series 0 Shinkansen basic sets
Shikoku 8000 series trains
Take a look at our Just Arrived pages — but be quick, many popular items are in short supply.
Dropping in to see us
We do love to meet the customers, but we’re not set up as a walk-in shop (yet...), so we can’t accommodate unplanned visits. Most of the time we’re busy packing orders or up to our elbows in stock! If you’d like to see something in person or collect an order, just get in touch to arrange a time — we’ll be happy to welcome you by appointment.
New stuff
Earlier this month there were more announcements from Kato USA and KATO Japan. We’re still processing those, and I’ll share details in next week’s email.
PS: It’s still holiday season and we’re a small team. Over the next few weeks there may be occasional delays with dispatches and replies to emails while we take a few well-earned breaks. One of us will still be around, doing our best to keep on top of things, but your patience is appreciated.
August 2025 news from Train Trax UK - Happy Yorkshire Day!
We’ve got a few bits of news to share this week – from exciting new arrivals to a heads-up on summer holiday dispatch times. Grab a Yorkshire brew and have a browse...
All under one roof We’ve finally got all our stock – from both TrainTrax and The Model Tree Shop – moved into our new HQ. There’s still some organising to do (and quite a few boxes to unpack), but things are coming together nicely. We even have a layout running! We’ve also replenished many of the items that were running low and dealt with some hefty deliveries.
Big arrivals from KATO Europe -
Our 'Euros' special... New in:
The sleek German ICE 4 – now available in its standard form and in a striking commemorative German flag livery.
Glacier Express sets, coaches, and loco – new versions all just in and looking great.
The eye-catching BR175 (VT 18.16) sets in both N and HO gauge.
These BR175 sets are perfect for DC/analogue use, but there’s currently a hitch with DCC compatibility on the N gauge versions. We’re waiting on a fix and will keep you posted.
New pre-orders from KATO Japan As mentioned in my last email, July announcements are now open for pre-order, with most arrivals expected in Q4 2025. Highlights include:
Two handsome C62 Japanese steam locomotives
A pair of stunning “Romancecars” and the luxurious 787 “36 plus 3”
Re-runs of the ever-popular Pocket Line series
A range of commuter EMUs, scenic buildings, vehicles, and figure sets
Remember – KATO models are produced in limited batches with no guarantee of re-runs, so it’s always wise to reserve early.
Summer slow-down It’s holiday season, and we’re a small team. Over the next few weeks, there may be occasional delays with dispatch and replies to emails while we take a few well-earned breaks. One of us will still be around and doing our best to stay on top of things.
July 2025 news from Train Trax UK - we have moved!
It’s been an intense couple of weeks—but we’re pleased to report that our move is complete and we’re now up and running in our new HQ. Every last box of track, every loco, every scenic detail has been safely relocated… and yes, we even know where most of it is.
Our systems are now back online, orders are being processed, and many of the products that were running low are now restocked. There are still a few loose ends to tie up, so thanks for bearing with us—we really appreciate your patience.
Our new address appears below. Please let us know in advance if you wish to visit us - over the summer period there probably won't be someone on-site every day.
🚆 Latest Arrivals
This week we’ve received several large (and yes, rather expensive!) deliveries from Japan and KATO's UK distributor. Highlights include:
Some of these had been unavailable for a while due to manufacturing delays, so it’s good to see them return. If you used the “email me when available” feature on our website, you’ll have already had first dibs!
Japanese Train Sets In Stock Now:
Hankyu Railway 2300 Series sets
JR D51 Steam Locomotive Starter Sets
Fun Aoimori Railway Sets
701 Series 1000 Morioka Colour (2-car sets)
ED79 Electric Locos (with single-arm pantographs)
E233 Series 6000 Yokohama Line (8-car sets)
D51 Standard Steam Locos
E3 Series 2000 "Tsubasa" Yamagata Shinkansen (7-car sets)
Plus a selection of HO scale JR wagons
Visit the site to see what’s in stock while it lasts.
📦 New Pre-orders from KATO Japan
We’ve also begun to catch up on our admin backlog, which means the latest KATO Japan announcements pictured above are now open for pre-order. Most are due to arrive in Q4 2025.
Notable highlights include:
Pocket Line re-runs – always excellent value and great fun
C62 Steam Locomotives – two beautiful versions
Odakyu "Romancecar" and 787 Series “36+3” luxury EMUs
Regional commuter units from across Japan
A new batch of buildings, vehicles, and figures.
As always, these are made in limited runs with no guarantees of re-issues—so if something catches your eye, it’s worth getting your pre-order in.
Thanks again for your continued support through the move. We’re excited about the next chapter and can’t wait to show you what’s coming next.
Best wishes, Ian & the Train Trax Team www.traintrax.co.uk www.model-railway-magic.co.uk www.themodeltreeshop.co.uk
More June 2025 news from Train Trax UK - latest 🚆announcements from KatoUSA and Kato in Japan
Get yourself a brew - it's a long email this time. New product announcements from Japan and the US.
I’ve always had a soft spot for trams, so I was pleased to see this month’s announcements from KATO Japan include three light rail items, plus a new starter set.
There are also new buildings, OUIGO España trains, E233 EMUs, trucks, containers, hopper wagons, locos, and more. Take a look at the posters above and the individual listings towards the bottom of the email. All except the OuiGo España trains are arriving towards the end of this year.
For those who 'favor' the North American railways, we've also listed some brand-new arrivals to Kato USA's ES44 GEVO line up! Look out for these, all arriving early next year:
CP #8757 in bright orange – the “Every Child Matters” tribute unit.
CP #8781 – the first to wear Hapag-Lloyd branding.
Fresh CSX designs inspired by the Seaboard System and Western Maryland Scenic.
UP #5395 – stars, stripes, and serious presence.
You can find these too by scrolling down to the pictures at the bottom of the email once you've read all the rest! In other news: Rolling Sale We've tweaked what's in our rolling sale. Some are overstock, some are end-of-line, and some are just because we like to keep things moving. The sale is constantly changing, so it’s worth checking back regularly — once something’s gone, it’s gone. Take a look: https://traintrax.co.uk/sale
Modular Monday We've restocked with our Hex-TRAK module kits! https://traintrax.co.uk/hex-trak-module-kits
Latest Arrivals in stock
We've had more deliveries from the USA and Japan. Locos, trains and more this time…
KatoUSA EMD SD80MAC Locos in Conrail and NS liveries
Kato Europe ICE4 in the special 'Federal Republic of Germany' livery ( and add-on sets)
Japanese Containers, for the 'Kangaroo Liner' Container train , pulled by the EF66 27 Freight loco.
Figure sets of various kinds For our little Japanese passengers there's
683 Series "Shirasagi" 6-Car Set,
JR Shikoku 8000 Series Limited Express "Shiokaze/Ishizuchi" 8 Car Set and the
E655 Series Nagomi (Japanese) 5-Car Set - with the special Imperial add-on car.
also the KatoUSA dash-nine's have arrived.
Price changes I'm sorry to announce that there's some KATO UK RRP prices changes happening. Most items are staying very similar, but a few of the pricier items are increasing.
We'll hold our current (discounted) pricing until we restock items, or the end of the month, whichever comes around fastest.
And finally… For those following the endless saga of our forthcoming new lease, we've still not moved, but we are getting closer. Stay tuned for more news.
Enjoy your weekend - we find the best way to stay cool is to shut the curtains and play trains.
Best wishes,
Ian & the Train Trax Team www.traintrax.co.uk www.model-railway-magic.co.uk www.themodeltreeshop.co.uk
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