A British domestic train from Kato? 800 series available from May 2021

[Chris Morris]

What's more concerning is going to be the cost of adding DCC and lighting to the model.  Having spent £178 for the set, facing another £160 for the lights and decoders is going to be hard to swallow.  I'm hoping someone with a non-Kato solution for this going forward.

I'll eat my hat if there is. This isn't a new set of decoders, it's a standard Kato item, because they insist on doing things differently, and have the market presence to get away with it.

So how much would a Farish Pullman cost with lights and DCC, or even a full length Dapol HST? £178 is a comparative bargain. The higher cost of DCC and lighting could be because of volumes. They will sell thousands of these sets in Japan and from what I have been told the vast majority will be plain analogue.

[njee20]

A 2+5 HST would be ~£300, with lights and DCC. So a chunk cheaper. Admittedly you don't have DCC control of those lights.

The constant comparisons of price, whilst understandable, seem misguided; "how can Farish get away with charging x when this is y?!", the answer, as you say, is volume, pure and simple, as Kato are probably make 20 times as many 800s as Farish have ever made of anything! However, it's interesting that it doesn't stack up anywhere near as well once you start adding those accessories into the mix. I'm not a fan of Kato's insistence on proprietary decoders, it's symptomatic of a manufacturer using their dominance of a market in a way which doesn't benefit the consumer. I know DCC isn't anywhere near as common in Japan, which is no doubt a factor in 1) their continuing avoidance of mainstream decoders and 2) the price of the parts to convert.

[Vonzack]

I wonder if they'll honour the pre order price of £169.50

In the same position with the LNER version, but this is some text straight from Rails 'Terms of Sale' (link at the footer of their web pages on the right).

In the event of a price increase before the item is released the price will be updated on the product and you will be contacted to confirm if you wish to accept the new price or cancel the pre order. By accepting the new price, the order is reconfirmed and the new higher price will be updated on your pre order. If you choose not to accept the new price the order is cancelled.

For the decoder prices, I thought £42 compared pretty well for what are essentially two function decoders and a motor decoder.

Cheers, Mark.

[Alan Kyte]

Well, I've bitten the bullet and order a 5 car IET set this afternoon.  But I'm still somewhat concerned about the radius statements in this thread and others.  Whilst the majority of my layout is third and fourth radius, there is one curve that's second to fit within the board.  So let's see how it goes.

What's more concerning is going to be the cost of adding DCC and lighting to the model.  Having spent £178 for the set, facing another £160 for the lights and decoders is going to be hard to swallow.  I'm hoping someone with a non-Kato solution for this going forward.

I had to buy the Zimo versions to have compatible Railcom, probably about a 1/3 more, which was partly behind my decision for now to not have decoders for the carriage lighting...  Same issue as you with the radius, so will be "interesting" to see.

[njee20]

I wonder if they'll honour the pre order price of £169.50

For the decoder prices, I thought £42 compared pretty well for what are essentially two function decoders and a motor decoder.

Cheers, Mark.

Yes, agreed, it's the interior lighting which pushes the cost up, as you need another 5 decoders, ie a total of 8 for the whole train, which is pretty impressive!

Be easier if it just used 6-pin (or Next 18) of course

[Trainfish]

Rails of Sheffield have confirmed they have the GWR ones in stock so, all things going well, I should have it in my hands maybe early next week. Luckily my Unitrack test oval is 282mm radius.
I wonder if they'll honour the pre order price of £169.50

That's what they have charged me, £169.50 + £4 postage and it has been posted today 

[jpendle]

Well, I've bitten the bullet and order a 5 car IET set this afternoon.  But I'm still somewhat concerned about the radius statements in this thread and others.  Whilst the majority of my layout is third and fourth radius, there is one curve that's second to fit within the board.  So let's see how it goes.

What's more concerning is going to be the cost of adding DCC and lighting to the model.  Having spent £178 for the set, facing another £160 for the lights and decoders is going to be hard to swallow.  I'm hoping someone with a non-Kato solution for this going forward.

I had to buy the Zimo versions to have compatible Railcom, probably about a 1/3 more, which was partly behind my decision for now to not have decoders for the carriage lighting...  Same issue as you with the radius, so will be "interesting" to see.

Where did you buy these from, and how much were they?

Thanks,

John P

[Alan Kyte]

Well, I've bitten the bullet and order a 5 car IET set this afternoon.  But I'm still somewhat concerned about the radius statements in this thread and others.  Whilst the majority of my layout is third and fourth radius, there is one curve that's second to fit within the board.  So let's see how it goes.

What's more concerning is going to be the cost of adding DCC and lighting to the model.  Having spent £178 for the set, facing another £160 for the lights and decoders is going to be hard to swallow.  I'm hoping someone with a non-Kato solution for this going forward.

I had to buy the Zimo versions to have compatible Railcom, probably about a 1/3 more, which was partly behind my decision for now to not have decoders for the carriage lighting...  Same issue as you with the radius, so will be "interesting" to see.

Where did you buy these from, and how much were they?

Thanks,

John P

https://www.coastaldcc.co.uk/products/zimo/decoders/n-kato/

[railsquid]

Not the bestest of piccies, but I can personally verify the GWR version exists and is on sale:



Does look like a very nice model (though I've never seen the prototype so can't compare).

Only 4 cars on display as the case wasn't quite wide enough.

[Bealman]

It's Kato. 'Nuff said. 

[MKP]

a bit of display track in the pack as well

[Ben A]

Hi all,

Just in.  Very nice.  The GWR livery doesn't photograph especially well but looks good to me in reality.   I haven't had time to test run it yet.



But even on first glance this is clearly a significant model, of high quality, of a prototype that is pretty much essential for the modern scene and bodes well for British N in general.

cheers

Ben A.

[Snowwolflair]

My pair have just arrived and they are fantastic.

[davidinyork]

Can they be fitted with a standard coupler to 'drag' them with a loco?

[woodbury22uk]

Can they be fitted with a standard coupler to 'drag' them with a loco?

The Kato instructions can be viewed here.

https://s3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/kato-model/schedule/pdf/20210419152438607d22265a324/class800.pdf

You will need to modify the coupler on the dragging loco or the Class 800 just like the real ones need adapters. Kato show the shape of the drawbars used to join two units.