Kato Ho Amtrak P42 Upgrade To Katos

Discussion includes O, S, HO, N and Z, as well as narrow gauge topics.

Also includes discussion of traditional toy train and collector topics such as Lionel, American Flyer, Marx, and others.

I know that Kato did an N scale P42DC in Amtrak Phase V colors which is fine and dandy for those N scale modelders.Why did they not do one in HO Scale I am sure with the reputation they have they would have done very well with it.

I have many Kato Units on my HO scale roster and even though they are expensive they are worth every penny.Also I know they did the Pullman Bilevels in HO scale.

These cars are very nice especially the cab cars.However- These cars have long been gone from Amtraks active roster.

I see these cars on E-Bay frequently and they are not very easy models to sell.

I am sure if Kato would have spent the time and money doing HO SurflinerCalifornia Cars instead they would have been an instant hit.Even if they went for 45 to 50 dollars a piece, I would have at least 5 of them on my roster.

People complain about the Athearns, but with the updated drive train of the most recent DCC-ready releases, I dont see much to complain about.

Also, since Walthers holds the exclusive licensing rights to Amtraks Phase V logo, and since they contract with Athearn to produce the HO P42s in that paint scheme, its unlikely they would give Kato permission to take away from those sales.

The situation with the Pullman bi-levels has very little to do with Amtrak.

You have to consider that those were CNW cars originally, and then ended up in Chicago RTA ownership later.

Those probably account for most of the reason Kato decided to produce those cars, and offering the cars in Amtrak colors was only part of the plan.

Kato Ho Amtrak P42 Upgrade To Katos

However, since Walthers had beat them to the market with their own Pullman bi-level cars, its likely that a lot of people bought the Walthers cars and were satisfied enough with them that they didnt feel the need to upgrade to Katos.

The debate about Amtrak SurflinerCalifornia Cars has been going around for years now with very little to show for it (there are craftsman kits available from Union Station Products, but they require much assembly work and have some inaccuracies).

I personally think that Walthers would be the most likely manufacturer to produce models of those, since they already dominate much of the HO Amtrak passenger market, but theyve stated firmly before that they do not plan on doing those cars.

Even though the models could be sold in two paint schemes, they are still Amtrak-only cars, and for this reason I dont think its likely that Kato would take on that venture - especially considering how much theyve scaled back their HO production lately.

I think wed be lucky just to see them offer their HO F40PH engines in other paint schemes, since there are several that their existing models would be completely accurate for.

In the end, though, the model railroad marketplace is so complicated that its really hard to speculate about situations like this unless you actually share the knowledge of the RD department at the company in question.

Dont get me wrong, I am forever grateful for the release of the Viewliner, lol.