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

[dannyboy]

Thanks for do the merger Squiddy. 

[acko22]

Hi all,

Well I guess more info will be available at TINGS, but I think it's fair to say like the Pendolino the 800 Series will become a modern icon.
But of note and announced today was the new operators of the East Midland Trains franchise Abello has placed an order for 33 5 car Bi-Modal units! So now 4 major franchises will operate the 800 Series with potentially more although the future West Coast Partnership is unlikely as 800 series don't tilt (although never say never).

https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2019/07/30/hitachi-wins-order-for-new-east-midlands-railway-fleet/

[njee20]

More than that the Pendolinos are markedly newer than the HSTs and thus not likely to be being replaced as quickly. We're going to have nothing on UK rails but GM diesels and Hitachi D/EMUs before long!

[SD35]

I wish them every success with this and hope it encourages them to expand their involvement in the UK with rolling stock. Their twinstack intermodal and bethgon coalporter sets are the finest free running wagons I've ever had.

[pape_timmo]

I'd definitely love a fleet of these on my layout, just hope the price is reasonable.

Cheers, Timmo

[Intercity]

Very exciting times, I hope they make this a success and produce more, Kato have vast amounts of MUs for the Japanese market, the selfish in me hopes they look at the missing MUs for the UK market and produce some.

The drop in DCC boards are very easy to do on their locomotives and almost always run faultlessly after installation.

For prices I'd look at the Japanese market to gauge what their asking price is per set or coach, my experience is they aren't on the cheap side, but then not super expensive for a smooth, quiet, reliable model.

Lastly my hope is this will light a fire under Farish and Dapol, the waiting times are stupidly long for models (you know which ones I refer to), and the detail that Kato produce will set the bar high, heck Farish might even look at split gears again (never had a Kato with a split gear)

[davidinyork]

Lastly my hope is this will light a fire under Farish and Dapol, the waiting times are stupidly long for models (you know which ones I refer to), and the detail that Kato produce will set the bar high, heck Farish might even look at split gears again (never had a Kato with a split gear)

Surely the point here is the size of the market - the Japanese N-gauge market is much bigger than that in the UK.

[red_death]

Whilst the 80x series are very welcome from Kato, I would urge people to wait and see whether it brings a UK range from Kato.  My best guess (from watching how Kato operate (in Japan and abroad) and from talking to Mr Kato) is that it might not be the start of a large new range.

Again best guess is that it will depend on how Kato feel about the size of the UK market - if the majority of sales are restricted to their Japanese customers then we might see a focus on models derived from Japanese manufacturers ie Hitachi. If that is the case then we might see other models derived from the A Train eg the AT200 (Class 385).

As others have mentioned the Japanese N gauge market is substantially larger than the UK and so expectations might not be met in terms of the size of the market.  Kato often temper their overseas ventures to relatively limited ranges often with local partners, so it will be interesting to see what develops.

Exciting times ahead!

Cheers Mike

[shanks522]

Mike,

How about a Revolution/Kato  Electrostar??

Graham.

[Railwaygun]

We will Be able to recreate this!

DT link to follow

Daily telegraph

[kirky]

And this shows how Mallard got to the platform

[kirky]

Personally, I think this is a better representation of old and new

[njee20]

Ironic that the 66 named "EWS Energy" has lost its EWS branding!

[Skyline2uk]

Ironic that the 66 named "EWS Energy" has lost its EWS branding!

Quick, somebody make a special edition 

(Only half joking to be honest, it's an interesting livery variation)

Skyline2uk

[daffy]

More today from Keith at Train Trax:

"Kato Announce British Class 800 IEP in N Scale

KATO are following on from the success of their N Scale Eurostar by advancing into solely British territory - by producing the Hitachi Class 800 IEP, which has been in use on UK high-speed lines since 2017.


There have been rumours that Kato will be entering the British modelling scene with the Hitachi Class 800. Today I have heard that it is more than a rumour. I understand that there are still  considerable hurdles to leap before this model is put into production. Not even certain which liveries are planned but I hope it will include the GWR. It would be great to welcome Kato who are renown for the precision and quality of their products to the British scene.

Hitachi are onboard, so it will be a fully licenced and accurate model, up to the usual high standard that we expect from Kato. Licences are being negotiated with both GWR and LNER to produce the most up-to-date liveries running today. East Midland Railwayshave just announced that they are procuring a fleet of Class 800s for the Midland Mainline, so there is scope for more liveries.

This model will be in British N Scale (1:148), and is due for release in 2021.

I do not currently have any information on liveries, part numbers, prices, or configurations (although a powered set/add on set configuration is likely, with DCC readiness). Keep an eye out for future Newsletters from Train Trax for more details.

More details are expected to be announced at The International N Gauge Show in September."