Kato 3020-1 EF58 Late Stage Large Window Blue Review

Here's a clunky-looking electric locomotive that seems to have wheels along its complete length. Bought primarily to haul postal coaches and baggage vans on my layout, does this complicated-looking model function as reliably as the rest of my Japanese electric fleet?

Background

The EF58 series were built across a very long period of time, from 1947 all the way through to 1958. Inevitably, there were many changes to the design as the years passed, notably from the original box-cab design to a more streamlined design in 1952. Indeed, the older ones were not particularly reliable, being constructed in the immediate postwar period where materials were hard to come by. By contrast, the later series EF58s turned out to be solid workhorses, if somewhat slower and less powerful for their weight than more modern machines like the EF66.

Across their long lives, the class could be seen on a variety of services. Limited expresses and sleeper trains were always an important part of their work, the class starting out with steam generators but some later being modified to provide electric train heating instead. Luggage and mail trains were also important work; at least, for as long as these services ran on JNR, the last mail trains running in 1986. One locomotive, EF58.61, became notable as motive power for the imperial train and sported the old brown livery kept in immaculate condition. With the decline in loco-hauled passenger trains the class became less useful and withdrawals began. Just four engines soldiered on into the post-privatisation era, including EF58.61, but all were retired by 2011.

Kato 3020-1 EF58 Late Stage Large Window Blue

What's in the box?

• EF58 locomotive
• Working headlights
• Rapido couplings pre-fitted
• Two replacement knuckle couplers
• Plastic sprues of detailing parts
• Number plates for EF58 numbers 31, 53, 61, 66 and 69
• Information sheet in Japanese, outlining how to fit detailing parts, remove the bogies for cleaning, etc.

As Kato describe it, this locomotive features JNR 'New Blue' that was used from 1965 onwards, meant to complement the new Series 20 'Blue Train' coaching stock. But the model also has a couple of other quirks that tie it down more specifically including the size and shape of its front windows and the lack of shades above them seen on some locomotives. Most of the EF58 series had their front windows downsized at some point to make them less prone to damage, but a few kept the big windows they were originally built with, and this model represents one of those.

In fact, of all the numbers included in the detailing pack, the model apparently only matches a single one, EF58.53, based at Miyahara Engine District. The rubber surrounds to the windows and the louvred (rather than mesh) air vents on the sides further pin the model down to the late Showa era, from about 1965 to the mid 1980s. Basically, perfect for Blue Train-era passenger services and the last mail and baggage trains.

Performance and detailing

Performance has some nuance to it. On the one hand, throttle response is steady, the model rolling steadily at low speed without any obvious hesitation. At higher speeds the effect of the flywheel becomes more obvious: cut the current to zero and the locomotive rolls forward a good 50-60 cm before coming to a halt. That makes the handling of the locomotive feel much more realistic -- after all, the real things weighed in at 115 tonnes, the twin brass flywheels giving the model the right sort of massive momentum.

On the other hand, the model isn't silent. Not noisy, but present. Part of that might be the ridiculous number of wheels the model has -- it's 2-C+C-2 wheel arrangement gives a total of ten axles -- and the articulation of those wheels across two 3-axle bogies and two 2-axle unpowered pony trucks. Incidentally, the pony trucks are not wired for current collection. It's hard to imagine that'd matter though, as the model is very long and heavy, and with the twin flywheels turning, isn't likely to stall on points with insulated frogs or dirty spots on the track.

When you buy a Japanese model locomotive, there's often a pack of detailing parts to add, and this model is no exception. These include number plates, brass-coloured whistles (and a tool that makes them easier to install) and some grey fixtures: flares and lightning arresters. The flare was used in an emergency, the driver pulling a cord that triggered a brilliant flare that burned red for five minutes, bright enough for approaching trains to see from far away so they could slam on their brakes. The lightning arrester was another safety feature. Should lightning hit the catenary, the surge in voltage would melt resistors inside the arrester, creating a pathway for the charge to flow through the body of the locomotive down to the rails where it would dissipate harmlessly.

Additional detailing parts go on the bogies. Two vertical rods are pushed into the front of each pony truck, presumably hand-holds of some sort for anyone stepping onto the pilot platform. Replacement knuckle couplers are also included; I replaced one at one end, but left a Rapido coupler at the other since most of my stock uses that sort of coupling. Adding both the coupler and the hand-holds is a lot easier if you remove the pony truck. This isn't hard -- it slides forwards and out -- but there's a spring inside you won't want to lose. Its job is to keep the pony truck pressed onto the rail, very important when the model tackles tight curves.

Conclusion

With an RRP of ¥5,900 (about £28 at the time of writing) the value is clearly here. Performance is impressive, if a little noisy, and the detailing parts aren't too painful to fit. While the EF58 class was numerous and widely used, the odd choice of numbers means that only a single set is strictly correct -- but on your own railway, with its own history, using the other numbers is entirely fair.

As for how you'd use the model, the obvious picks are the blue passenger train sets or one of the sleeper train packs. Mail and baggage trains would also look good behind the engine, the inexpensive SuYu 44 mail cars being perfectly valid, for example. They were not much used on freight trains, though, but could be found hauling track inspection vehicles and out of commission multiple units.

Installing Kato 28-220 into the Kato 10-2000 'Yakumo' Limited Express

While the Kato 10-2000 'Yakumo' Limited Express (reviewed elsewhere) is a fine set, like a lot of Japanese model trains, what you get in the box is slightly unfinished in some of the minor details. It lacks internal lighting, for example. But one minor 'flaw' concerns the headlights at cab ends. When connected up as an eight-car train, the two cabs in the centre of the train should have their headlights on. This is a safety feature, warning passengers not to step off the platform into what looks like an empty space.

Out of the box, when you couple up all eight cars, the trailing cab has its red taillights on while the leading cab has its headlights on. However, to create the more realistic situation of having both cabs with their headlights on you need to replace the on-off switch on the underside of the chassis with a small circuit board, Kato 28-220. 

Step 1

First of all, turn the car upside down and unclip the plastic panel that surrounds the on/off switch. It's the cream plastic piece you can see here. Forceps are useful for sliding this piece out. I removed the body so it wouldn't be damaged, but this isn't strictly necessary. If you do leave the body in place do watch out for the bits of plastic that are easily flung across the table onto the carpet! Pantograph heads, for example. Note also that the plastic panel on each of the cars looks different.

 

Step 2

Now take one of the replacement circuit boards and slide it — firmly! — into the slot. The circuit board needs to make a solid connection to the current-carrying copper strips running alongside the chassis. There are some springy copper clips that push the circuit board into place, and the plastic panel removed in Step 1 has two plastic prongs that apply additional force. Note the arrow showing which end points towards the cab.

Step 3

Once correctly slotted in, the circuit board should look like the image below, the arrow neatly visible between the two plastic flaps. In this position the springy copper pieces will press firmly onto the four contacts on the circuit board, ensuring proper electrical continuity.

Step 4

Finally, put the plastic panel back onto the chassis, and check everything works. If the lights aren't working as you'd expect, chances are the circuit board hasn't been pushed in far enough. Once I was satisfied the headlights (and not the taillights) stayed on with the current flowing in both directions, I put the bodies back onto the chassis.

The result is what you see below, an eight-car train set with its headlights on where the two inner cabs connect. It's a relatively subtle effect, but nice.

Worth the effort?

Well, the replacement circuit boards cost ¥1,045 for the pair, just under £5. As far as value for money goes, it's hard to quibble. Installation is a bit of a faff because the instructions are (a) all in Japanese and (b) don't match the 273-series specifically, but refer to other, albeit similar, Kato trains.

On the other hand, the effect is subtle. It provides a DC (analogue) fix to a problem that doesn't exist on DCC, namely, the ability to turn on and off train lights regardless of the speed or direction of the train. As a DC fix, it's a bit of a fudge. It works flawlessly when the train is in motion, but when the train stops, the lights go out. That is, obviously, contrary to their entire raison d'etre. 

If you're using a pulse-width modulation controller (like the Kato Sound Box) it is possible to have the lights on while the train is stationary. However, in practice this is quite hard to achieve, so compared to using DCC to control the headlights and taillights, a somewhat less satisfactory solution.

Kato 8060 Wa 12000 two-car set Review

This was a pleasant surprise! In a recent order from Rail Gallery Rokko, two little wagons seem to have crept in and made their way to the UK. But will they find themselves put to good use on the layout?

Background

The Wa 12000 was a relatively late addition to JNR's roster of traditional covered goods wagons (what Americans call boxcars) of the sort most railways used to carry almost any bagged or packaged cargo that needed protection from the elements.

Introduced in 1956, cargoes could include all the obvious things like sacks of rice, potatoes and other foodstuffs all the way through to fertiliser, paint, and paper. Their smaller size compared to other vans of the era made them especially useful for fragile goods that needed to be stacked tightly and carefully so they wouldn't get shaken about, such as sake and even pottery. Basically, pretty much anything that could go into a bag or package might be transported in goods wagons like these, albeit not very quickly, since they were loaded and unloaded by hand. Further slowing things down was the fact the wagons might very well be carrying a range of goods, not just one thing.

Inevitably, these wagons soon became superseded by first palleted and then containerised freight that could be moved between train and customer vastly more efficiently. Those that remained in use into the late Showa era were withdrawn en masse in 1984 when piecemeal freight handling ceased.

The most obvious thing to the modeller will be the size of the wagons. Compared to the classic Wamu 80000 and 90000 series, the Wa 12000 series are much smaller. Wheelbase is shorter, 3.5 metres compared with about 5 m for the earlier Wamu 80000 vans and 5.3 m for the later ones. They are also much less tall, just under 3.4 m versus 3.7 m for the Wamu series. Needless to say, they carried less cargo — up to 10 tons compared to the 15-ton Wamu vans — but they were built to modern standards. They had decent suspension to allow running at up to 75 km/h, as well as air brakes so they can be used in fully fitted trains. There's also a lever-operated handbrake that yard personnel can use to secure a wagon in a siding. 

Kato 8060 Wa 12000

What's in the box?

• Two wagons with different running numbers (Wa 12188 and Wa 12360)
• Arnold Rapido couplings at each end
• Chemically blackened wheels

The Rapido couplings can be upgraded to more realistic knuckle couplers (Kato 11-702) or magnetic couplers (Kato 11-711) as preferred.

Performance and detailing

In terms of running, these are everything you'd expect from a good, basic wagon. They're light, free-running, and the installed Rapido couplings do what they're expected to do.

Detailing is all moulded. By the standards of modern British or European wagons, there's an obvious heaviness to some of the details when viewed from underneath. For example, the steps and handbrake are much thicker than they should be. Such details would be separately fitted plastic or even brass details on more cutting edge models. This is most noticeable when looking at the handrails at the end of the wagons and the shunter's handbrake on one side.

On the other hand, at least those details are present, and even underneath the wagon, there's plenty to see. If you look at the photo below, the Wa is at the top and the Wamu underneath. You can see how the Wamu has a single brake cylinder and air reservoir between the two axles, but on the Wa, there wasn't enough space, and the model replicates that by having the cylinder and reservoir moulded separately.

Also as per the prototype, the handbrake lever end is closer to the wheels on the Wa compared to the Wamu. You can also see the various brake pipework and rigging moulded onto the wagon chassis. Some might prefer that these were separately fitted but they are, at least, there. Older Kato models often had a rather plain undercarriage, compared with which these newer models are a significant upgrade.

The livery is plain black and thoroughly unremarkable. To be fair, this is exactly what the real wagons looked like, and the lettering that Kato has included is crisp and clear. White printing on black plastic can look washed out if not done well, but this looks excellent.

Looking at colour photos of the real things, a bit of rusty weathering over the rivets and grime around the chassis would seem to be essential tweaks. Toning down the pitch-black roof with some grey or brown would be another plus, together with a bit of dry brushing to highlight the moulded roof detailing. At least some Wa 12000s appear to have had their handbrakes painted white to make them easier to see at night, so that could be another upgrade if you thought the wagon looked a bit bland as it comes.

Conclusion

Thank you, RG-Rokko for sending these my way! At first, these wagons looked rather small and plain — but the more I looked at them, the more charming they turned out to be.

With an RRP in Japan of ¥1,980 (less than £10) these two wagons come very much under the heading of high value models with decent moulded details. They look and run well, and their small size certainly adds variety to a Showa-era mixed goods train.

A couple of these Wa 12000s sandwiched into a train of the much bigger Wamu 80000 and 90000 vans would look realistic as well as interesting. Since they operated across the transition between steam and modern traction, you've got a variety of options when it comes to haulage. A D51 or C11 would look spot-on for the steam era, while the classic ED75 or DD51 would be just as plausible if you wanted to run them behind an electric or diesel locomotive.

On Hokkaido, for example, they were frequently seen in mixed freight trains alongside Re 12000 refrigerated wagons full of fish and seafood, Seki 3000 coal hoppers, and Tora 45000 gondolas loaded with logs or timber. Some of these wagons (though not the Wa 12000s) might feature the yellow stripe and text indicating that use off the island was forbidden! But what would the Wa 12000 be carrying? Could be all sorts of things, from bagged produce like onions and potatoes for export through to imported household goods and food such as sugar and cooking oil. Adding one or two such wagons to your mixed goods train would nicely pin the scene down to Showa-era Hokkaido.

TINGS 2026

Yours truly (checked shirt and brown apron) at the International N Gauge Show in Leamington Spa yesterday helping out Hiroshi Kato on the Mini Diorama Circus. Exhausting but good fun! My diorama somehow managed to survive storage across the last year and remained popular with Star Wars fans of a certain age.

Kato 10-034-1 Old Passenger Car Set (Blue) Review

For the most part, this set mirrors the Kato 10-034 Old Passenger Car Set (Brown) set reviewed earlier, but it isn't the same four coaches painted a different colour. Instead, it's a sensible selection of three passenger cars and one postal vehicle that could run together behind a range of locomotives.

Background

These four coaches represent long-lived designs that lasted throughout the transition era well into the modern era before being almost entirely replaced by electric or diesel multiple units. The Suhafu 42, Oha 46, and Oyu 10 designs date from the 1950s, while the Oha 47 was an early 60s modification of old Suha 43 coaches running on lightweight bogies.

A bit like the initials used when describing British railway coaches (e.g., a Mk1 RMB would be a restaurant mini buffet car) Japanese coaches have names that indicate their general type and usage. The first character is the weight of the coach, the second its use, and the third, if present, indicates the presence of a conductors compartment. So, an Oha coach uses O for medium weight and Ha to show that it is standard (or third) class carriage.

The four coaches in the Kato 10-034-1 Old Passenger Car Set include two different medium weight third class cars, a heavyweight third class car with a guard's compartment and handbrake, and finally a combination baggage/mail coach that would have been used by Japanese post office workers, not passengers.

On Japanese railways it was actually quite common for mail to be carried in mixed trains alongside passengers. This car, an Oyu 10, was internally divided into two sections: one half (marked with the red post office symbols) was essentially a mobile sorting office, while the other half was for carrying large baggage. Traditionally, Japanese travellers didn't carry big items with them, things like golf clubs or bicycles would be sent separately. Sometimes these might travel in the same train as the passenger, but not often, and when you arrived at your destination you had to present a receipt, called a chikki, to collect your item.

As such, the coaches presented here are classic late-Showa era rolling stock. Mail stopped being carried on JNR in 1986, as did the chikki system for handling packages and large items of luggage. Since the blue livery replaced the earlier brown ('grape') livery from 1964, those two dates bracket the period through which these coaches might be seen running together. You could mix some of the brown and blue coaches together if you wanted to, and in fact there are even a few Suhafu 42 and Oha 47 coaches in blue that are seen on the mainline today, albeit behind (most often) steam locomotives such as D51s and C57s on special trains.

Kato 10-034-1 Old Passenger Car Set (Blue)

What's in the box?

• Oha 46 third class
• Oha 47 third class
• Suhafu 42 heavyweight third class + guard's compartment
• Oyu 10 mail/baggage coach
• Tool for turning off working taillights included

All come with Arnold Rapido couplings included as standard. Like the Kato 10-034 Old Passenger Car Set (Brown) these coaches can be upgraded to knuckle couplers (Kato 11-702) or magnetic couplers (Kato 11-711).

As they come, the Oyu 10 and Suhafu 42 each have working taillights at just one end. While that sounds 'cheap' it actually makes sense. If you want taillights, you make sure that coach is on the track with the lights visible at the tail-end of the train. Turn the coach the other way around and the lights won't come on, at least, not when being pulled forwards. That means you could add additional coaches to the train (for example, behind the Suhafu 42) but not have the taillights 'on' at the back of the coach (in this case, the Suhafu 42) sitting within the consist. So, it effectively gives you two ways to use the Suhafu 42 and Oyu 10 — one way round to have the lights on, and the other way around to have the lights off. 

Performance and detailing

There's not much to say about performance. Despite feeling relatively light, the coaches are very free rolling and handle relatively tight curves without derailing (Unitrack R282, for example). While some might find the Rapido couplings unsightly, they do exactly what they're meant to do, which is to keep the coaches together even in long trains at high speeds. Overall, pretty much what you expect from modern Kato trains.

Paintwork is excellent, featuring slightly different shades of grey on the roof, as per the prototypes. The roof on the Oha 46 is painted JNR Grey#1, the Oyu 10 Mouse Grey#1, and the Oha 47 and the Suhafu 42 both JNR Dark Grey.

The lettering is done neatly and includes white carriage numbers and red Japanese post office markings. Incidentally, the marking is a katana, テ, a legacy from when the post office was called the Teishin-sho. By the time these cars were running, the post office was part of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, or Yusei-sho, but the symbol remained unchanged.

The ends of the coaches with the working taillights are marked '49-4 Saitama Works' which indicates both the location of their last service and the date of that service, i.e., fourth month of Imperial era Showa 49 (= April, 1974).

In terms of detailing, these are good rather than perfect. Kato favour moulded detail for the most part, but the details that are present are done well. There are nicely made ventilators on the roof, frames around the gangways, and a surprisingly amount of detailing underneath the chassis including battery boxes and generators.

The bogies are especially nice, and while you might imagine all four coaches come with the same generic bogies, they are in fact supplied with the correct designs: the Oha 47 with the TR23, the Suhafu 42 and Oha 46 with TR47, and Oyu 10 with TR50 bogies. On the other hand, all four coaches come with standard disc wheels. In reality, the Oha 47 should properly come with spoked wheels, and some Suhafu 42 cars had spoked wheels and some had disc. Replacement spoked wheels are available (Kato 28-193) and simply slip into the bogies once the disc wheels are pushed out.

The coaches come pre-fitted with electrical pick-ups. The warm white LED lighting kits are the ones you want to install interior lighting; either Kato 11-213 for a single kit or 11-214 for the six pack.

Conclusion

As is often the case with Japanese model railway products, the pack is good value as it comes, but if you're prepared to spend some time and money, can be upgraded substantially.

There's a cleverness to this that feels very different to the 'one size fits all' approach seen in the British model railway market. Kato have a recommended price of ¥8,250 (about £39) for the four coaches, compared with an RRP of almost £48 for a single Graham Farish Mk1 coach. By that metric, the Kato coach pack is an absolute steal. Throw in a pack of spoked wheels (Kato 28-193, ¥2,640), four lighting kits (11-213, ¥792 each) and a pack of the basic knuckle couplers (11-702, ¥440) and that's a total of ¥14,498 (just under £70).

So, the price almost doubles if you want the coaches to be 'all singing, all dancing' ones with interior lighting, realistic couplings, and spoked wheels were applicable. Casual hobbyists probably won't care to spend the money since the coaches look absolutely fine as they come. With the extra money, how do they compare with the British ones? Well, the Farish ones have far more fine detailing including separately fitted wire handrails and pipes. British coaches tend to have more complicated liveries, too, especially the ones from the steam and transition eras. You also get authentic wheel sets and NEM coupler pockets right from the start, reducing or eliminating the need for tweaks after purchase. On the other hand, Farish coaches are not built for internal lighting and lack electrical pick-ups — unlike many of the coaches from the other big UK brand, Dapol.

To me, this exemplifies a lot of things about Japanese N scale railway modelling. Obviously, there's a lot of value for money, but also an acceptance that some modellers will be happy to spend additional money (and/or time) to upgrade the base model to a higher specification. There's a focus on producing a starter pack that includes four useful coaches that, by themselves, would make up a classic local or secondary mainline passenger train from the JNR era. Stuck behind a red ED75 or red/white DD51 you have a perfectly valid consist that doesn't need anything added to improve it. Just be sure to put the postal car behind the loco and the Suhafu at the end if you want to operate the train in the most prototypical way!

Kato EF66 Sound Card (22-231-5) Deep Dive & Review

In previous blog posts I've looked at steam and diesel sound cards; this time, I'm looking at an electric locomotive sound card. This is another Sound Priority card, like the DD51 card, but also like that card, has the Controller Priority mode available as well. It's a very noisy card, and a lot of fun to use.

Background

Introduced during the late 1960s to be the face of a modern, fast railway network running alongside the Shinkansen, the EF66 was primarily intended to move containerised freight trains at high speed between major cities. Over the years its role expanded to include passenger trains as well, most famously the Blue Train sleeper trains. The class enjoyed a long life, the final example (EF66-27) retiring in 2022. Across its many decades of service the type was well liked by drivers who appreciated its speed, power, and good hill-climbing abilities even with very heavy trains.

Given how popular the EF66 is among Japanese railfans, it's no surprise that both Tomix and Kato have cranked out many different models of the class in all its various forms. My example is the Tomix one, representing one of the early 0-series machines in its condition post-1974. While the model looks good, how well does it play with the Kato sound card?

EF66 Sound Card (22-231-5)

What's in the box?

• EF66 sound card with removable protector for the exposed electrical contacts
• English and Japanese instructions on the backing card
• Removable (bilingual) card that sits on the Sound Box control panel

As with most of the cards produced for the Japanese market, the package is a blister pack that slides open and clicks when closed, ensuring the sound card is kept safe when stored inside the pack. Besides the packaging itself, there's a plastic cap that goes over the electrical contacts — these keep this delicate part of the card safe, so be sure to put it back on after use!

Using the EF66 card

When you turn the card on using the Eject button, you hear the compressor start up and some background hums. Pressing Button #6 will start up the 'blower', the big fans that keeps the machinery inside the locomotive cool. Then you press #3 to release the air brakes and you're ready to go — after giving the customary short toot followed by a long toot from the whistle (#1).

But before you turn the throttle, there are a couple of dials on the Sound Box to review. By default, the card works in Sound Priority mode, meaning that it reacts according to where you have set the Start and Sync dials on the Sound Box.

In Sound Priority mode, the Start dial adjusts when the train moves relative to the start-up sound effects. For me and my Tomix model, just above 0 seemed to work best, giving a good response from the model while also keeping the headlights on when it was stationary.

Changing the Sync setting in Sound Priority mode adjusts the pitch of the motor noises to match the speed of the locomotive. Negative numbers slow down the progression from lower-pitch growls of motors starting up to high-pitch whines of motors running fast, while positive numbers speed it up. Where to turn this will depend on your model. By default, leaving the dial at 0 is fine for modern Kato models. A slightly positive number (+1) seemed cosmetically better for my Tomix EF66 (model# 7142) which has, I think, a heavier motor with brass flywheels.

As the locomotive speeds up you can hear the motor sounds getting louder and louder, and full blast, even from the modest speaker in the Sound Box there's enough sound to fill a room! Slowing down engages the brakes, including the classic high-pitched squeal you expect from modern traction. In fact, the EF66 was noted for making a unique repertoire of noises compared to other classes of electric locomotive, including the roar of its cooling fans and the growl of the hollow shaft (quill) drives connecting the motors to the axles.

The card details six main features, one for each button:

1. Whistle (3 tones to choose from)
2. Coupler (alternates between coupling and uncoupling)
3. Air brake (application when moving, release when stationary)
4. ATS (button toggles the sound on or off)
5. Coasting (can also be used for adjustments after stopping — described below)
6. Blower starting up or shutting down

There are some nuances to these buttons worth mentioning. For a start, the three whistles available for Button #1 includes one with a neat Doppler effect, which has obvious utility if you like watching (and hearing) trains racing along the track at full speed! To choose between the tones: press #1 and #2 simultaneously until the Eject button flashed red. Press #1 to listen to the three different whistles, and when you are at the one you like, press #2 to lock it down.

Button #5 can be used for last moment adjustments when stopping at stations or just in front of a wagon. Tapping #5 cuts out the braking sound effect and the train coasts a little, and if you stop short, holding #5 down allows you to use the throttle to inch the train forwards without the motor sounds starting up.

Conclusion

The sound effects were taken from real EF66 locos shortly before they were withdrawn. You can hear previews of the sounds on the Kato website, here. This is one of the more expensive sound cards at ¥4,000 (around £18) but still pretty good value, especially if you collect model EF66s — as many do, given their fame. Of course, that value only stands if you already own the Kato Sound Box.

Overall, a solid addition to the Kato sound card range!

Kato DD51 Sound Card (22-271-1) Deep Dive & Review

This article follows on from my long look at the Kato Sound Box and the C11 steam locomotive sound card. You might want to read that first to get a better understanding of how the Kato Sound Box works and how it compares to the on-board DCC sound features more familiar to European and American railway modellers.

Background

The DD51 is probably the best-known Japanese diesel locomotive. Introduced in 1962, a total of 649 were built and they enjoyed an extremely long and successful career on the Japanese railway both before and after privatisation. JR Freight inherited the majority of them, putting them to good use on heavy freight trains (often coupled together in pairs) and they remained in service until 2021. As it happens, Kato designed the sound card to match the 'A-Updated' DD51s based at the Aichi depot like the one Kato produce as model 7008-H. The other companies owned smaller numbers using them on passenger trains, particularly sleeper trains.

It makes sense then that Kato have produced a sound card for a numerous, long-lived diesel class. Compared to the C11 card, this card is a Sound Priority card, which means that it is designed to provide a more immersive experience right from the start. Where the C11 card was quite easy to use with few subtleties, the DD51 card rewards careful use.

DD51 Sound card (22-271-1)

What's in the box?

• DD51 sound card with removable protector for the exposed electrical contacts
• English and Japanese instructions on the backing card
• Removable (bilingual) card that sits on the Sound Box control panel

Like most Kato sound cards, this one comes with the packaging that will slide open so that the card can be returned after it has been used, the cardboard sliding back over the plastic blister, keeping it safe until next time. That's important because the copper contacts on the sound card are delicate and if scratched or snapped would render the card useless.

Using the DD51 card

When you plug the card into the Sound Box and press the button to switch the sound effects on, you immediately hear a start-up sequence. The engine then ticks over until you adjust the throttle. Before you do that, though, try pressing and holding down button #6 — the engine now shuts down. Quite a nifty effect if you're just starting a running session and want to 'park' the loco while you think about what you want to do. Pressing #6 again starts the engine up once more, and button #1 blows the whistle, which you might want to do before setting off, just to let your N scale people know the engine is about to move!

So far, so simple. When you turn the throttle up slowly the engine doesn't immediately start to move. Instead, what happens is that the engine revs up until the driver notches up the throttle and the locomotive starts to move, and then it slowly accelerates to simulate the momentum of a heavy train. You can adjust the rate at which this happens using the Sync dial: more negative and the process happens more slowly (as if pulling a really heavy freight train) or more positive to speed things up (better suited to when running light engine or toying with one or two wagons in a yard).

Obviously, the point to this is to simulate how trains really work, and the need for careful driving if you want to start or stop the train within the limits of your layout. But there's an extra feature if you stop just short of the wagon or coach you want to couple up to. Hold down #5 while turning the controller throttle and the locomotive will move instantly, just as if you were using a traditional controller. Even better, it will still play the proper sequence of sounds, like the motor revving, it just speeds up the sequence to match the controller.

For whatever reason, this doesn't work when braking a train from speed though. If you are tootling along and need to stop quickly, pressing and holding #5 won't do anything to speed up the stopping process. So, you're left with either waiting until the train slows down slowly or else immediately stopping the train using the Eject button.

In any event, once the train is running the engine revs up when you increase speed, and if you reduce speed, you'll hear the engine idle until you increase the speed again. The voltage to the model isn't changing any, so the motor is working as hard as it was, but the sound effects have changed to make it sound like the diesel engines inside the locomotive are idling. When the model works harder, perhaps by going up a steep slope, the Sound Box detects the change in Back EMF and the sounds now change to the diesels revving up as they tackle the increased workload. It's all very clever.

The card details six main features, one for each button:

1. Whistle (3 tones to choose from: press #1 and #2 together to select: Eject button goes red, press #1 to cycle through them, then #2 to lock down your choice)
2. Coupler (alternates between coupling and uncoupling)
3. Brake (application when moving, release when stationary)
4. ATS (button toggles the sound on or off)
5. Engine straight to idle (also used for stopping adjustment as described above)
6. Engine start-up/shut down sequence (plays coupler slack clanks while moving)

Inside the Sound Box there's a nifty 'comic book' that lays out (in English and Japanese) ways to use sound cards to 'tell a story' as you drive the train. Steam, electric, diesel, and multiple unit examples are given — rather generic examples, but enough to make it clear how you can use the sound card creatively.

So, imagine the DD51 in a yard, waiting to pick up some container flats before hauling them out and onto the mainline. Your driving experience at the Sound Box might be something like this:

• Check controller is in reverse
• Turn throttle all the way down
• Press #6 if you need to start the engine up — not usually necessary
• Check Sync is slightly negative to simulate momentum (-1 to -2 seem fine to me)
• Press #1 quickly to give a quick warning to any N scale people standing too close!
• Slowly dial the controller up to less than 25% full voltage — have faith in the excellent flywheel-equipped, 5-pole motor! It'll take some time before the loco starts to move, but when it does, it'll crawl towards the wagons
• Within 5 cm of the wagons, turn the throttle down to zero
• You can use the Start dial very effectively to tweak the speed of the locomotive: turn it positive to make the engine inch forward faster, turn it negative to slow it down — this gives you on-the-fly fine tuning that'll stop you missing the wagons before you stop or crashing into them because you're going too fast!
• Press #2 to hear the coupling sound
• Change the direction on the controller to forwards
• Optionally, dial the Sync setting to even more negative to simulate the momentum of a heavy load
• Press #1 quickly and then a second time for a longer 'toot' to get the traditional Japanese pattern to indicate the driver is ready to move forwards
• Slowly turn the controller up to around 25% to accelerate the train out of the siding

As you can see, there's a lot going on, which underscores the point that the Kato Sound Box is more than just passive sound effects playing in the background. To really use the system well, you can use other dials (specifically, the Sync and Start dials) alongside the throttle to get the full immersive experience.

But there's more! If Sound Priority mode isn't your cup of tea, and you want the locomotive to act in response to the throttle just like it would without the Sound Box, you can toggle over to Controller Priority mode by pressing #3 and #5 at the same time. When the green light over the Sync dial flashes, the Sound Box no longer simulates momentum. 

You can use the Start and Sync dials in this mode though. Turning the Start dial down, even as far as -4, effectively damps down the response from the throttle, so that the locomotive doesn't start moving until you've turned the throttle up quite a way. Sound effects are moderated accordingly, so you don't have the sight and sound of the model roaring away too quickly. The Sync dial sets how quickly the sound effects cycle up and down the 'notches' as the speed of the diesel engines change. Turn the dial towards the positive numbers (+2, for example) and it cycles through the notches faster, giving a more satisfying range of sounds from the engines even though the model itself is still moving relatively slowly.

Incidentally, the sound card remembers which of the two modes it was used in last. Switching between this done using that #3 and #5 button combination mentioned before, the flashing green LED over the Sync dial indicating that the change has happened. When it flashes, the card is in Controller Priority mode, but when it stays on constantly, you're in Sound Priority mode.

Conclusion

While the C11 card was relatively straightforward, the more I play around with this card, the more I respected the clever engineering that went into it. Of course, if you want to use it for plain vanilla background sounds, the Controller Sync mode gives you that. However, the Sound Priority mode really is something else: immersive, quite fiddly to use at first, but ultimately very rewarding.

Kato have a full listing of their sound cards on their website, here, and if you click through to the page for the DD51 sound card, you can hear a preview of the sound effects described in this post. With a retail price of ¥2,900 (around £12) the value seems hard to fault, assuming you already have a Sound Box to play it on.