October 🚄 news from Train Trax UK - More Announcements from Kato USA and Japan.
It's not long since I sent you an email about the September announcements from Kato. This month I'm a bit better organised, so the October announcements are following swiftly behind.
There's a bumper crop of interesting items in the announcements, with most due to arrive over the next six months. Pricing on some items is still to be confirmed so I'm not including all pre-order links this time. You'll find all items on our pre-order page when we have prices for them. Here's my summary:
Of most interest to UK modellers will be the 9 car GWR Class 800/3 train. This has been widely expected after the other versions, but now we know it will be with us by the summer of next year. It will be available in DC/Analogue, DCC Fitted and DCC Sound versions. Which will you go for?
For North American modellers there's a re-run of the iconic #4014 Big Boy, plus associated tenders, excursion train and diesel support loco SD70M diesel #4015 will be updated to match the current livery details. There's a few other liveries and road numbers of the SD70M too so make sure you check out the options.
Japanese N gauge fans get the EF510 310 and new sets of container wagons for it to pull, as well as some more figures and a new re-railing device which looks useful. The Christmas set previously announced for US customers is also coming out in Japan and elsewhere. I'm looking forward to that one arriving!
There's some changes afoot for controllers - the standard 'blue' controller and point switches are getting costume changes and will now be dressed in a sleek black to match the Sound Box. Technical gubbins stay the same so you'll still get silky smooth PWM DC control. There's also a baby controller being introduced suitable for Pocket Line locos which will run off a 5V USB-C power supply (i.e. a phone charger). Perfect for seasonal layouts around a tree perhaps?
In BIG news there's a HO version of the powerful Japanese D51 steam loco. This looks to be quite a beast! It's coming with various freight wagons, figure sets and realistic scenic coal. I'd love to see a train like this as part of a UK exhibition layout one day!
As promised in my last email, we have had lots of North American locos arrive this week. We've also had our first batch of GWR Class 800 'Paddington' Starter Sets come in. A few other long awaited items such as Unitram points have also arrived. Check the 'Just Arrived' pages.
As the weather changes and we think about the modelling months to come many of us will be wondering about our personal finances. This is your regular reminder that we try to have the best pricing for Kato items in the UK. We'll price match any UK retailer who has the item in stock - just get in touch to let us know what you found and where. In addition to that; we offer 60 day no hassle returns and friendly service.
It's been a bit of a strange month so far here at HQ as we juggle various projects and admin tasks. I hope to send you another email next week with a one-off special announcement as one of the projects comes to fruition.
Happy modelling
Ian Miller on behalf of Model Railway Magic/Train Trax UK
PS. From time to time our second hand brand Model Railway Magic get requests for 'clean' used Kato Unitrack, sometimes in bulk. At the moment we don't have any in stock. If you have reasonable quantities of track pieces which you're not using, then we might be able to offer you something for them and find it a good home. Email us with details.
September news from Train Trax UK - Announcements from Kato USA and Japan.
A belated email from TrainTrax this month. We have been tied-up planning, going and coming back from our attendance at The International N Gauge Show (TINGS). As always with shows it was great to meet so many existing customers in person. It was particularly lovely to see Keith, previous owner of Train Trax, as well as catch up a little with Hiroshi, President of KATO. We also had our Hex TRAK demo which attracted a lot of interest.
Now we've caught up with most of the admin and emails, we can open pre-orders for the most recent announcements from Kato, both North American and Japanese. There's just a few this time, probably to allow manufacturing to get back on schedule after some recent delays.
The 'posters' are above, but to help you out there are the following new items in the Japanese range: Tokyu Railways 5050 series 4000 series (in 'Shinkansen' style wrapping), Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line 16000 series, (HO) EF58 (with icicle cut, brown), 381 series "Yutaka Yakumo", and the E231 series 500 series from the Chuo-Sobu local line. From KatoUSA there's a long overdue re-run of the SD80MAC - available in Conrail and NS liveries for those of you pulling coal. See below for pre-order links.
Over the late summer we have had various arrivals. Take a look at the 'Just Arrived' page to find out what's now in stock. There's some large deliveries due next week with more DCC Sound fitted KatoUSA locos and more.
You might know that Train Trax is one part of what Model Railway Magic does. We also trade all brands and scales of used model railway equipment on our eBay store. In the next month or so we're planning to branch out into something else by taking over another small online brand from the modelling world. We think there's lots of potential for it to 'grow' and we hope some of our Train Trax customers will also find it useful. More news on this soon.
Happy modelling
Ian Miller
on behalf of Model Railway Magic/Train Trax UK
Train Trax UK News - August Latest Announcements from Kato
Another email from Train Trax UK I'm afraid!. We announced our own Hex-TRAK product earlier this week, but as promised we've also caught up with opening pre-orders for the latest from Kato in Japan.
In these August announcements from Kato (posters above) we've seen a very intriguing new controller product, optionally to be sold as a premium bundle with the 'sound box'. Also revealed were some useful containers, new H5/E5 Shinkansen, EF65 locos and 'Ginga' sleeper train for them. I think the Yamanote line E235 EMU will be popular and there's also some two-car E300s which are perfect for smaller layouts. Take a look at the listings below (keep scrolling down!) and click through for more details.
Announced simultaneously is the KatoUSA C-44 Charger, Amtrak® Pacific Surfliner®. A few of you have already got in touch and told us that you've been on the real thing, so I think this will sell-out quickly. The Surfliner connects San Luis Obispo to San Diego via Los Angeles, which boasts the largest population and number of passengers in the California route area, and is the most famous train on the West Coast route. All passenger cars are characterized by large two-story bodies, and the Cab-Baggage-Coach (a combined car with a driver's cab) at the end is equipped with a driver's cab for driving with the passenger cars in front.
There's several versions of this being made available - DC/Analogue, DCC or DCC+Sound. There's also the choice of 4 car, 8 car, or 4 car add-on. If you need any help navigating all the choices please do get in touch!
This week has been busy for us. Not only have we been despatching the Hex Trak and dealing with all these new products, we've also had a mega-batch of new arrivals. You'll find those all listed below - in addition to the DCC Fitted 9-car Azuma sets, there are lots of KatoUSA goodies and OO9 locos at great prices! Don't miss out on these new items - as ever stocks are limited so buy now while you can!
Best wishes,
Ian Miller
On behalf of Train Trax UK
PS. Keep an eye on all our Social media over the next week or so. There may be new offers coming if we can find time!
Train Trax UK - Brand new range now available - Hex TRAK
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new range of Hex-TRAK products, officially unveiled on Friday to the modeling press and across our social media platforms. These innovative products are now available for purchase!Hex-TRAK represents a groundbreaking concept in modular model railways. They are smaller, simpler, and easier to store and handle than the larger T-TRAK modules, while offering larger radius curves and more space for scenery compared to Kato's 'MiniCircus' diorama modules. Hex-TRAK modules can be combined in numerous ways to create both large and small single-track layouts.Click the image below for a video explanation:
The standard module geometry is based on a 248mm straight track (Kato 20-000) and 216mm radius curves (Kato 20-170 & 20-171). While most Kato rolling stock will handle these dimensions, some larger stock or stock from other manufacturers may struggle due to the tight radius. Please check compatibility and minimum recommended radii. Junctions are also possible using the Kato 'Compact' 150mm radius points, although this will further limit the rolling stock that can smoothly traverse the modules. Each module is laser-cut from high-quality 6mm MDF, measuring 248mm across the flat edges and approximately 286mm from point to point.Keen followers of modeling forums might have seen discussions about Hex-TRAK earlier this year. Jonathan first encountered Justin's similar work on the TableTopRailroad YouTube channel a few months ago. By coincidence, Jonathan was already developing something nearly identical. We reached out to Justin, and since then, we have corresponded extensively, exchanging ideas and collaborating towards a final design and system. Justin is aware that we at Train Trax UK are selling these modules, and he has given his blessing. We hope you share our excitement for Hex-TRAK and look forward to seeing the incredible layouts you create. Why not join our dedicated Facebook group? Best regards, Ian Miller On behalf of Train Trax UK PS. Last week there were some exciting announcements from Kato and KatoUSA. We're awaiting confirmation of UK pricing, and then they will all be available to pre-order from our website. Look out for another email from us as soon as we know more.
At long last we have stock of the 9 car LNER Class 800/1 Azuma trains. These run up and down the East Coast Mainline so we see a lot of them here in York so it's great to have them ready to ship. It won't be for everyone, but if you have room then I highly recommend it.
We've also had the DCC Sound Fitted 5 car 'Paddington' sets arrive - sold out on pre-order but more may become available in a few days. In addition there's been some other incoming deliveries from Japan - take a look at the Just Arrived pages.
Earlier in the month KATO announced more fantastic looking things for arrival early next year (or maybe before - there's a bit of uncertainty at the moment!). We now have pricing available and I'm sure the new Japanese C11 steam loco (sound card available) and 'Winter Wetlands' coaches will be popular. See below for all the items, Available to pre-order now.
Thank you for your continued interest and support for this small UK business!
Best wishes,
Ian Miller
On behalf of Train Trax UK
PS. We're still working towards announcing a new product, designed in-house, that makes use of Kato track geometry. Stay tuned for more details in August
Train Trax UK - 2024 July KATO news catchup!
As promised previously, there's quite a bit to say in this email.
It's a recognised fact within the industry that with an improvement in the weather, sales of indoor hobby things takes a bit of a dive. It's enough to say that this summer in the UK we haven't yet experienced that phenomenon! Here's hoping for some sunshine when it finally gets to school holiday time.
If you want some holiday reading, why not take along a KATO catalogue? We are one of the few retailers with stock of the 2024 edition. It's a lovely glossy book with lots of photos of models, ideas for layouts and visual explanations of the track geometry. Text is in Japanese, but smartphone apps can translate for you if you need it. Our price £19.95 plus postage. We might throw one in with other high value orders - get in touch if you'd like one!
Now would be an ideal time to ensure that you're up-to-date with any pre-orders for new products which you wish to buy. There's changes afoot in the way that most Kato products make their way to Europe and the UK. In the long run it sounds like it will be better for everyone, but in the short term we might see a bit of disruption.
Why pre-order? KATO models are generally produced in batches, so once a model has been produced it may not be available again for several years (if at all). Only a limited quantity of each KATO release makes it to the UK. A pre-order guarantees that the item is yours, but there is no need for you to make payment until the items are here and ready to send.
We've just made pre-orders for the June Kato Japan announcements live. Due to the supply chain changes we've not been able to confirm UK pricing until now. There's some re-runs and new items for Taiwanese, Japanese and Swiss RhB railways. Arriving in stock here later this year, or early next year.
We'll be in touch about the July Announcements (which look great!) as soon as we can.
Our stock levels on most items are currently very good, with the exception of some 'Variation' track packs. We don't have an exact ETA for these at the moment, but do get in touch to see if we can help you find alternative products.
New arrivals this month include a lot of KatoUSA items, and very limited quantities of the European 'Kato by Lemke' NOHAB diesels. See our 'Just Arrived' pages.
For all the latest news, musings, and other rubbish like pictures of us, do follow our Facebook page.
Best wishes,
Ian Miller
On behalf of Train Trax UK
PS. In August we'll be announcing a new product, designed in-house, that makes use of Kato track geometry. Stay tuned for more details.
First news to share if that we've had a huge delivery from Kato USA earlier on this week. If you've been waiting for Canadian Autorack wagons, DC or DCC Chicago Metra MP36PH locos, EMD AC4400CW or SD90 locos in a variety of liveries, or indeed DCC train packs then you might want to check out our 'Just Arrived' page.
Stocks of some Unitrack and accessory items have been a bit low recently, but we're expecting significant deliveries from Japan next week. So our second piece of news is that to make shelf room for incoming stock (and to prepare for our end of year stocktake) our summer sale has just begun. This will last until the end of the month, or at least while stocks last. As my valued email subscribers I'm giving you special advanced notice and access to the sale page available now. You'll see that we've added the ability to filter by category to make it easier to find the bargain that's right for you! On Sunday a link will be sent to approximately 21,000 other people, so you might want to place your orders early...
Finally, just a note of thanks for your patience if you've tried to contact us over the last few weeks and had trouble. We've had a couple of problems with our phones and we've been a bit short staffed due to holidays and illness. We hope to do better soon.
Best wishes, Ian Miller On behalf of Train Trax UK
PS. On Saturday I'll be supporting the N Gauge Society's World Wide Group and Yorkshire Area Group with a open day/convention here in York.This is open to everyone to visit. Come and take a look at a wide range of modelling. There will be modular layouts running a variety of trains from around the world. Refreshments and chat also available! More details on the Facebook event (no FB account needed)Do come and say hello at my little stand tucked into the corner - if you're wanting me to bring along anything in particular to look at please let me know before Friday evening!
This is a quick email before the late May bank holiday. It can be a busy time of year so I hope you find some 'Train Time' during the break - whether that's a visit to a big railway or something smaller.
It's less than a month now until the N Gauge Society World Wide Group /Yorkshire N Gauge Society convention here in York. Take a look at the flyer below for full details. Members free, but non-members will be very welcome to visit, and entry charges will be refunded for anyone who joins on the day! I'll have a wee stand with a few 'world wide' models for sale, but mainly I'm thinking of it as a chance to chat with customers old and new. If you're thinking of making a weekend visit to York for this you're welcome to pop into TrainTrax HQ on Friday to peruse the full range of Kato goodies on our shelves - just let us know!
There's been a whole host of arrivals into stock recently. Why not look at our Just Arrived page? You'll see DCC Sound Fitted KatoUSA locos as well as interesting Japanese sets of animals or trains, Swiss Rhb Allegras in special liveries.
As it's school half term next week we won't be operating at full strength. Please email if you need to get in touch with us and bear with us if parcels take a day or so longer than normal to be despatched. Best wishes, Ian Miller On behalf of Train Trax UK
A few of you asked about our second hand business. You can find our current range here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/model-railway-magicMore items are added daily. We will buy any make, any scale, any condition.
May 2024 Kato Train news from Train Trax UK
Thank you to those who came and visited us at Model World Live. It was a bit exhausting, but as ever really good to meet customers and put faces to names. Our next big-ish show is 'The International N Gauge Show' in September.
Pre-orders for the latest announcements from Kato Japan (posters above) are now open at our usual pre-order page:
This month we see announcements of the E233 Tokaido Line sets, Classic 113 series sets, Locos and coaches for cold region sleepers, Steam Loco crew figure sets and pre-war coaches in HO. All will be arriving in the UK in the autumn.
More information about pre-ordering is here:https://traintrax.co.uk/pre-ordering-at-train-trax-uk we've had to add a note about ensuring that your details are up-to-date. If we don't hear back from you within 7 days of a pre-order arriving then we may need to cancel it.
And now for something completely different...
In my last email newsletter I mentioned that I'm looking for some help with a new project.
A bit of background first: I'm quite often asked about other Japanese model railway manufacturers. In particular I'm asked about Tomix finetrack.
Now I've become very fond of Kato Unitrack over the last couple of years, but there's no denying that the Tomix range shares many of the same benefits but does have a few extra pieces that would help with the geometry of some layouts. With a bit of thought you can even use the two types together.
Once you start looking into Tomix (and the related Tomytec) products you can see that there's quite a lot of interesting items in their catalogue.
The problem for the UK modeller is that it isn't possible to get these products easily, without resorting to the 'Japanese elephant' online stores.
So, could we help with this? Is there enough interest to make it worthwhile for us to start 'TomTrax'? Which are the most interesting things on offer?
Sign up here for updates on this, and to tell us what Tomix and Tomytec product lines you might want to buy. Your feedback is always very useful.
Thanks for your continued custom and interest in what we do. As the weather improves here in the UK, it's often the case that the model railway hobby gets 'put away' for a while and our little online shop gets a bit quieter. However, we'll still be here if you need us! Stay tuned for some summer offers...
This new event combines modelling disciplines with the best model railways as well as the best scale modelling displays from IPMS groups and Special Interest Groups, demonstrations, presentations, manufacturer support and traders offering the best in both worlds.
We'll be having our biggest Train Trax stand yet - expect more trains and track than ever before. From the floor plan it looks like we're right next to the 1:1 scale armoured vehicles, which will be a bit different!
If you want to order something for collection then you can do so in the normal way from the website and choose 'Collect at Model Word LIVE' on the checkout page, before 9am Friday. If you want to see something in particular, with no obligation to buy, drop us an email before 9am Friday and we'll see what we can do. We don't have space in the van to take every single item in the range!
Also this week we've had some new arrivals in stock. From KatoUSA we've had the Amtrak Phase I loco and rainbow era coaches, as well as SD90/43MAC locos and MP36PH EMD Chicago Metra locos. From Japan we've finally go the 2024 Catalogue & the latest versions of the RhB Allegra and Open Panoramic passenger car. Check the Just Arrived category to find out more, or see below for direct links.
The most important arrival for the week is our new General Assistant. His introduction in 50ish words:
"Hi guys, I'm Kieren. I'll probably be the person answering your calls and emails regularly so I've been asked to say hello! I'm an avid lover of all things Japanese trains and trains in general so this is a dream job, I'm really looking forward to hearing all about your layouts and starting my own TTRAK modules very soon!"
Kieren will also be working on the second-hand side of the business, so take a look at the eBay store over the coming weeks.
Best wishes,
Ian Miller
On behalf of Train Trax UK
PS. In my next email there should be news of more great products from KATO Japan, but I'll also be asking for some help with a new project.
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