Product Review Kato N Scale Amtrak P42 Superliner Starter Set

Product Review Kato N Scale Amtrak P42 Superliner Starter Set
Train sets are one of the ways many people get started in the hobby. This N scale Amtrak set from Kato includes everything you need to get going: a locomotive, three passenger cars, track, and a power pack.
Amtrak's P42DC locomotives were introduced in 1996 and are still in service today. The model is in Amtrak's "Phase V" paint scheme, overall silver with the wavy blue top, that can be seen on many rail lines in the United States.
This train set includes a model of P42 No. 161, which was recently repainted in a special commemorative scheme for Amtrak's 50th anniversary. Kato P42 locomotives can be purchased separately if you want to expand your roster, and they have made models in many of the special Amtrak schemes as well as the standard Phase V colors.
The P42 locomotive is DCC ready, so it's easy to convert it to DCC operation later if you want to.
Double-deck Superliner cars have been a staple on many of Amtrak's long distance trains for years, and can be seen all over the country. Amtrak trains that use Superliners include the Coast Starlight, California Zephyr, Empire Builder, Southwest Chief, Capitol Limited, Sunset Limited, and more!
The train set includes a sleeping car, a sightseer lounge, and a coach. Kato sells additional Superliner cars separately if you want to expand your fleet later on. These cars have detailed interiors and are set up for electrical pickup. Kato sells lighting kits separately if you want to light the cars.
The model train set has some of Kato's excellent Unitrack, enough to make an oval approximately 53" by 26". Unitrack is a very good quality model train track, and it can be set up and torn down easily. Kato has a full line of Unitrack track components available, including many different sizes of curves, crossings, and turnouts (track switches).
Because Unitrack is easy to set up and change, it's great for trying out different layout designs.
The train set also includes a DC power pack and plug in power supply. The power pack will work with any DC powered model train locomotive, and it has enough power to run multiple engines at one time if you want to. It has connectors for Kato switch controllers, in case you want to use those to control turnouts in the future.
The power pack also has short protection, so if something gets on the track and causes a short, the power pack will protect itself by shutting down. A reset button will turn it back on.
Dan has a lot of Kato locomotives, many of them decades old, and they still run great. This is a very well made, high quality train set that will provide years of enjoyment.
If you've been thinking of trying out the model railroading hobby, or if you're looking to give a train set as a gift, you might want to consider a set like this one.
Model railroading is a cool hobby!
#amtrak #nscale #modeltrains #trainset #passengertrain #scalemodels #train #dieseltrain

[@watchtrainsnow1099]

Kato has good judgement of what detail to model, and what to mold in. What is amazing to me is I have old engines, and the handrail plastic is still soft and resists breaking.

[@DanielCortopassi]

The plastic Kato uses for handrails and some other small parts is pretty durable. Thanks for watching!

[@timf2279]

That was a great review. To the point, knowledgeable and at a good pace. Thank you for not having music, talking about the weather, or how the mailman is doing when he brought your box.

[@DanielCortopassi]

I'm glad you appreciate the format. I've been using the same basic review setup for several years now and most people seem to like it. Thanks for watching!

[@timf2279]

I look forward to more videos.

[@DCCSOUND-xe9ii]

I also have many KATO vehicles, and I like that both the N and HO scales are precisely made and run very smoothly.

[@DanielCortopassi]

Kato's consistently good mechanical quality is one of the main reasons I have a lot of Kato locomotives. They run great. Thanks for watching!

[@gacj2010]

Daniel 's the best...he knows his stuff

[@DanielCortopassi]

Thanks so much!

[@younhitchborn]

Great video. I just ordered this set and the Superliner 10-1789 6-car set. I found a hobby shop in Illinois selling it for cheap and I couldn't pass it up.

[@DanielCortopassi]

It's a good set. Kato makes very reliable engines. Thanks for watching!

[@emmonstrex65]

I'm looking for my first model train- N scale as I live in a small apartment. Great video, subscribed 👍

[@DanielCortopassi]

N scale is great for small spaces. Thanks for watching and subscribing!

[@aidensypolt]

Kato is making a ALC-42 varient of this set.

[@DanielCortopassi]

That sounds pretty cool. I've been seeing those on the Coast Starlight for the past year or so. They're neat engines. Thanks for watching!

[@stevehughes5403]

I thought the coupler Height was pretty consistent on the set itself. So taking off points was pretty harsh. Since these cars will not likely be used on my freight trains I would give them a pass being low. Thanks for the review.

[@DanielCortopassi]

I run all the equipment I review through the same tests. I did mention that the cars stayed coupled to each other in spite of that. Thanks for watching!

[@PhilBender612]

Ugh, no wonder I stripped all 4 screws on my Kato power pack. 😆Jk Thats really funny they molded in phillips head screws. Nice review Dan, Im not into N scale but I'm impressed with the detail and mostly scale accuracy. Thanks for showing it to us.

[@DanielCortopassi]

Yeah, that part is a little weird, but I guess they were going for a look? In any case, it's a pretty nice train set. Thanks for watching!

[@trekkeruss]

@@DanielCortopassi If you look at photos of say, the original Shinkansen train cabs, you will see screws in the corners of panels. So yeah, they were trying to mimic a cab control panel. BTW, it looks to me like the rail joiner tool is meant to be a wheel and clearance gauge as well?

[@mgr_video_productions]

Great video and review Dan! Excellent timing for it too since the Christmas holiday season is upon and coming soon.

[@DanielCortopassi]

I'm glad you liked the review. Someone asked for a review of this set and I thought it would be good to put it out at this time of year. Thanks for watching!

[@SGTGhost]

Nice, good for anyone starting out

[@DanielCortopassi]

Yes, this is a great set for someone just getting into the hobby. Thanks for watching!

[@paulkirkmanMYTRAINS]

Very nice review !!!!!! Fare on everything. 👍👍

[@DanielCortopassi]

I'm glad you thought so. Thanks for watching!

[@BritanniaPacific]

Working marker lights are a consistent problem I see with passenger cars, but this is the first I’ve seen a locomotive without the marker lights. I don’t know how kato intends to rectify this in the future.

[@DanielCortopassi]

It looks like the red marker lights in the N scale Kato P42s have separate red lenses. They're not lit at all, but I'm thinking that it would be possible to make them work using some fiber optics and LEDs. Maybe one of these would be a good candidate for a future DCC Shop episode. Thanks for watching!

[@metrickarma]

This was the first thing I bought from Kato. Several thousand dollars later I can easily say I'm always impressed and happy with the quality of their products!

[@DanielCortopassi]

Kato makes really nice models. A large percentage of my N scale locomotive fleet is by Kato. I have a bunch in HO as well. Thanks for watching!

[@rdanscale3416]

Hey Dan it's been a While since I Looked in on a Video I thought it was definitely time to back on the Rail 😉 & this video hit the Right spot back a few months ago i had to part with a few of my Engines & Rollinstock stock about the time my mom had her second stroke she doing allot better but it's still hard for her to get Around, but we are to we're I can start getting back some of my stuff I had to part with i was looking at Kato's Newly released Amtrak 50 Anniversary Engines & the Operation LifeSaver 50th i decided on buying the OL it is a for Sure cool looking & for my cars I chose the Amfleet Viewliners Intercity Express for there Neatness in looks there cool Trucks but I also chose them Dan because the Super Liners are a bit hard to Find but I looked on Kato's website & N Scale Supply's & Kato is going bringing them out with the New charger Units i was hopping Kato would since the 50th Anniversary of Amtrak would Reissue all of there Past Super Liners with new Road #s some of which I missed out on when I got back into the hobby in 2015 But this Video brought back Great Memories of the Day I tapped the Buy button at Model Trainstuff & a few Days later I had my Train Set the Box was packed well it didn't have a scratch on everything inside was also packed very well & setting up the set was a breeze but I took every step carefully to make sure it went together as intended I read the Instructions front to back went through the set up sheets a bazillion of times & every time I did I never got tired of it but Videos like yours helps us Guys as Well when we're looking to make changes or hooking up a correct way with our Wiring and soon I'll have a Video of my New little Operation Life Saver so if you can Dan check it let me know what you thought of.. Dan Hope you Nicole had a Great Christmas give em' Dittles 🐈 and Pups a Rub on the Head under the Neck for me you Take Care Allen D RDA N Scale

[@DanielCortopassi]

Sorry to hear about your mom, but we're glad she's doing a little better. We're glad you enjoyed the review of the Amtrak set. Kato makes some nice models. We hope you had a nice Christmas, too. Thanks for watching!

[@squalli1297]

I wish this product review was available 20 years ago! I'm not sure if this starter set was available then, but I've had my share of trials & errors with other brands since the '90's. Kato's products still stand the test of time with hardly any maintenance. I'm not paid by Kato to endorse their products-they're the gold standard in my opinion. Excellent review!

[@DanielCortopassi]

I'm not sure that this particular set is that old, but I agree, Kato makes excellent quality locomotives. They run great for years. Thanks for watching!

[@Neville60001]

I want to buy a starter set from Kato, but I want to buy one of the Japanese sets of a Japanese train.

[@richardverghese1353]

can you have two kato p42 locos pulling coaches on dc control without harm to motors

[@DanielCortopassi]

Yes. On DC you can run more than one locomotive as long as they're fairly close in speed. Two of the same type and brand will usually work fine. Thanks for watching!

[@blkft]

Nice starter set and a very informative video. Heck yeah! Throw Dad under the Bus at 13:10! 😁👍

[@DanielCortopassi]

I'm glad you liked the video. That really did happen. Thanks for watching!

[@andresgarces10]

Nice video Daniel! I would be nice if you do the same but with HO train set. I own a train set by Hornby but the scale is OO so I want to buy an HO one, and as far as I know the most common ones are from Bachmann and their quality isn't great

[@DanielCortopassi]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep it in mind. I'm not sure if Kato is offering any HO sets these days but you could expect the same level of quality as the N set. I'm not sure if they're still doing it, but Athearn had some HO sets out few years ago. I don't have one of those, but I have a lot of Athearn HO models, and for the most part they also run very well. Bachmann can be kind of hit and miss. Thanks for watching!

[@mattbalboa1349]

Dan, I would appreciate your advice and guidance. I recently became owner of a box containing some old metal coaches. and two Hobbytown E unit shells. They have no trucks, no guts, etc. The E's especially, are too nice to just toss, but I am not a scratch builder of any skill, and have no idea where to begin in bringing these back to life .

[@DanielCortopassi]

I haven't ever had any of the Hobbytown models, so I can only give you some general suggestions. I don't know if there were any specific mechanisms made for them, though I think I recall people talking about Hobbytown drives for different models. You could try searching around for those. The other route would be to find a donor mechanism, like maybe a Proto 2000 E unit chassis. It might take some work to get the different brand chassis and body to fit together. Swap meets or eBay might be good places to look. Once you get them running, you could get detail parts to dress them up. In any case, I would start with the mechanicals if they were mine. Good luck and thanks for watching!

[@Uptownloki47]

There is a guy still making hobbytown kits and I believe the e unit chassis is one of the ones offered.

[@Trains-With-Shane]

I love Kato products, Aside from my "rescue" layout which is old Atlas Code 80 every other piece of track that I use is Kato Unitrack. And the majority of my locomotive fleet is also Kato. I have always been fond of the way the Kato power packs' directional control and throttle have large levers and actions that are more "realistic" than a standard directional switch and a "stereo" style knob on a power pack like say Bachmann or Rokuhan make. As you mentioned Kato stuff isn't cheap but it's certainly a practice in getting what you pay for. Their support in the market is also unmatched.

[@DanielCortopassi]

I have a lot of Kato locomotives, both in HO and N and I can always count on them to run great. I use their track all the time for temporary setups and on my workbench. Thanks for watching!

[@mosindesire]

Fantastic video with great information, many thanks.

[@DanielCortopassi]

I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!

[@jhoodfysh]

Great model Daniel thanks for the review.

[@DanielCortopassi]

I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!