is a Japanese manufacturer of

model railroad Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are Model building, modelled at a reduced Scale (ratio), scale. The scale models include locomotives ...

equipment in N and HO scales. Founded in 1957, the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

-based company manufactures models based on Japanese prototypes (such as the

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

bullet train and

Cape gauge A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

trains and

locomotives A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...

) for the Japanese market, North American prototypes for the North American market and European

high-speed train High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single def ...

s and

Rhaetian Railway The Rhaetian Railway (; ; ), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB operates all the railway lines of the Cantons of Switzerland, ...

trains for the European market. Models for the

OO9 OO9, often also denoted as 009 or 00-9 and commonly pronounced as Double-Oh Nine, is a model railway scale and gauge combination of 4mm scale, 4 mm scale and gauge tracks, which models a Prototype#Scale modeling, prototype track gauge of ...

market of

Ffestiniog Railway The Ffestiniog Railway () is a heritage railway based on Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia#Snowdonia National Park, Snowdonia National Park. The ...

engines are also made. The design and distribution of models for the North American market are handled by their U.S. subsidiary, Kato USA, founded in 1986 and located in

Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg ( ) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 78,723, making Schaumburg the most populou ...

. The Kato (pronounced kah-toe) model railroad companies were founded by Yuji Kato, father of current president Hiroshi Kato, of the parent company Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd. Yuji Kato, the founder of Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd., died on November 21, 2016. Kato TGV

Unitrack

In both N scale and HO scale, Kato also manufactures an integrated roadbed model railroad track brand named Unitrack. What distinguishes Unitrack from other brands of integrated roadbed track is Kato's Unijoiner. This unique track joiner is also used by

Tillig Tillig (''TILLIG Modellbahnen GmbH & Co. KG'') is a German Rail transport modelling, model railroad manufacturing company based in Sebnitz, Saxony. Tillig is the largest manufacturer of TT scale model railroad products in the world. Previously ...

in their

TT scale TT scale (from "table top") is a Rail transport modelling, model railroading scale at 1:120 scale with a track gauge of 12mm between the rails. It is placed between HO scale (1:87) and N scale (1:160). Its original purpose, as the name suggests ...

integrated roadbed ''Bedding Track'' products.

Locomotive features

Kato N-scale locomotive features include: *Powerful 5-pole motors *Blackened metal wheels and on some models: *Operating ditch lights *Directional golden white

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

s *All-wheel electrical pickup

KATO Digital

A multiple train control system named KATO Digital was introduced in the late 1980s for HO scale model trains. Conceptually it is similar to

Digital Command Control Digital Command Control (DCC) is a standard for a system for the digital operation of model railways that permits locomotives on the same electrical section of track to be independently controlled. The DCC protocol is defined by the Digital Comma ...

(DCC).KATO Digital
/ref> Although an important milestone for Kato, KATO Digital was not very successful; both the controller units and the decoder modules required for the locomotives were expensive, and locomotives equipped with a KATO Digital decoder could not be used on conventional systems, making it difficult to run one's locomotives on friends' layouts or club layouts.

References

External links

*
Kato USA site
Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Model railroad manufacturers Toy train manufacturers Japanese brands 1957 establishments in Japan Model manufacturers of Japan {{Japan-company-stub

Unitrack

Locomotive features

KATO Digital

See also

References

External links