Kato USA New Product Preview - N North American Crossing Gate

Shipping at the end of April 2017, Kato USA is excited to finally announce a new Automatic Crossing gate for the North American market! Fully DCC friendly and with right-handed printing and US Prototype sounds (4 to choose from), this automated gate is easy to use and even simpler to set up, thanks to plug and play sensor tracks and an isolated power supply!
You can get more information about Kato UNITRACK, the crossing gate, and related accessories on our website - www.katousa.com...
Contact your local hobby store to order this new Automatic crossing gate - Don't know where your closest Kato retailer is? Visit our shop finder! www.katousa.com...

[@lt1caprice57l]

I'm impressed that the first/default E-bell sound is the same as an actual General Signals Type 2 E-bell, and the last one is a WCH E-bell. It's the little stuff that matters and Kato nailed it here.

[@Brandonvilches0721]

8:39 they have E-bells!! That’s so cool!

[@kevinpavelchik9189]

I have nothing but admiration for the folks at KATO and their finely-engineered equipment. It's plain to see that the did an excellent job creating this crossing set ---- HOWEVER. In all my travels across the USA and Canada over the last 64 years I have NEVER seen a North American railroad crossing that had more than one gate arm per lane! I don't know how KATO could have overlooked such an important detail -- it just doesn't look right?!!!

[@seymoarsalvage]

They were installed on a street in my town after a few deaths from people going around the gates. They just kept busting the new gates down... so they took them back out and said fuck it 😆

[@LordRusty5]

When they come out with this in HO Scale, then I'll get excited.

[@iatif1995]

Same

[@revistytrains]

same

[@____Johan____]

same

[@seymoarsalvage]

Don't....

[@Trainfan1055Janathan]

Is this available in HO-SCALE?

[@STUAA2025]

First Sound Switch: (Fast WCH Mechanical Bell Sound Effect) 8:06 Second Sound Switch: (Another WCH Mechanical Bell Sound Effect) 8:22 Third Sound Switch: (WCH Electronic Bell Sound Effect) 8:37 Fourth Sound Switch: (Default) (General Signals Electronic Bell Or NEG Electronic Bell Sound Effect) 8:54

[@ZakWolf]

Yeah, I especially like the inclusion of a couple of actual electronic crossing bell sounds. Many railroad crossings in my area tend to go with the WCH e-bells (mostly replacing Safetran mechanical bells that failed over the years.)

[@raymondanthony127]

I'm getting one for sure. The automatic crossing gates will definitely be an interesting add on to my unitrack set up. When I saw the original Japanese version of the gates a few years back, I knew there and then that there would be a North American version made as well. It was just a matter of time.

[@IMRROcom]

Nice., I can see a few people wanting to get some.

[@GrotrianSeiler]

I just treated myself to one of these. They're very expensive but very nice. Love it. Nice work Kato. Someday everyone will say KAH'-toe, the way it's meant to be.

[@AmtrakProductions]

Will there be a ho scale product also made?

[@NoahDoane]

I would love a simple and functional set of crossings for HO scale similar to this!

[@kimjongoof5000]

I thought this was an unofficial review until I saw the channel name. Excellent job on that 👍

[@calvinnguyen7059]

I wish that the gates will come up and down more slowly

[@markhayes6407]

Nifty idea and it would be nice if there was double track available.

[@SGTGhost]

Finally something that I need, thanks Kato

[@wrailfan]

Fix the speed of the gates and make it in HO and I'm sold.

[@NOVARailandWeatherEnthusiast]

wrailfan how about O scale!

[@mratsfrailfan1894]

CSX RF&P Guy nah just n and ho

[@markdm5415]

the gates shoul move slower, not nap up, snap down imagine standng under that ate when it came down

[@tomnook2612]

Boom

[@LaneMphoto09]

@@markdm5415 yes but the only thing is that if the train is going fast it will get to the crossing before the gates are fully down

[@treasurecoastrailfan]

Would be an amazing 10/10 product if you could modify it a bit more such as, speed of the gates going up and down, only having 1 gate on each side, etc. So far 8.5/10

[@ChicagoCUBSfan0]

I got your Kato starter set. Union Pacific

[@Fairhavenbranch]

I purchased mine today. A wonderful product all around!

[@ClinchfieldModelRailroad]

Does the system have the smarts to know if the added sensor before the signal is tripped (starting the bell and signal) but then the train reverses direction before reaching the crossing and backs out ? Will it reset ?

[@jacko9759]

Nice unit looks like Kato is really getting into the swing ok thinks , think this is a lot easier than other systems, I like it, Jack

[@christophers.o622]

Very informative & great video, I will now have to buy one in a double track set up/adapter for my Kato Amtrak Superliner N gauge train set up.

[@northernerierailroadproduc114]

Can you make one for ho scale PLEASE???

[@robertlee9676]

Great product I got mine yesterday hard to find but I got

[@richardbaldwin3604]

When i use a second sensor to extend the time the gates are down it doesnt work. I tried everything. Read the manual a dozen times. Both sensors work for setting off the gate but raising it

[@oliverleibold5758]

I just wish they would close slower, does anyone have an Idea to slow the barriers down?

[@robertlee9676]

I got mine earlier this year and it's awesome

[@The301trainman]

I had the old one . Yup you can count me in for 2 . Thank you

[@mychemicalbromance97]

looks great, would love it if we could program our own sounds, but the few given are nice enough. We have a spot in our store layout waiting for one of these. Our layout is all unitrack

[@iatif1995]

When will they ever be in HO Scale

[@AmtrakProductions]

Nice crossing. Will a HO scale version be made?

[@shikellamybandassociation1989]

Thomas the tank engine in strousburg Thomas the tank engine

[@ZakWolf]

I don't know. Kato mostly makes N-scale stuff, since Kato is a Japanese company and N-scale is hugely popular in Japan (due to the smaller homes there.)

[@iatif1995]

@@ZakWolf So now i know why N scale is popular in Japan

[@althompson1191]

Wow I see 4 type warning sounds

[@syedowais1607]

Hey katousa is in my village of Schaumburg

[@gaberansom7666]

Please please make a ho scale one

[@justinsrailvideo8195]

Does the crossing set fit with the upcoming North American road/plates and uni-tram system minus the tracks? Also, will Kato USA be announcing a North American streetcar?

[@trainsbybob]

@KatoUSAinc Michael, will you guys be producing an HO version of this?

[@KatoUSAinc]

It's possible, but we have no idea if Japan plans on doing so.

[@GP9railfan]

KatoUSAinc Tell them to get on it lol There’s tons of us HO scale folks drooling over these.

[@joejackman6174]

I do have one question. Is the clicking sound as pronounced in actual use as it is in all of the videos I have seen?

[@jaistorey6839]

I will give this video a 10 out of 10 good work. keep up the awesome work!!!!!

[@trips4leo]

I wonder if you can do a double track extension piece for the road or an unitram track crossing in the future.

[@KatoUSAinc]

There will be a double track extension piece released at exactly the same time. It's mentioned in the video towards the end. You can see all of the item details on our website!

[@ZakWolf]

At least it's got much better crossing bell sounds now; the older Kato American crossing gate from the late 90s and early 2000s had a very cheesy electronic pinging sound (apparently it was supposed to simulate a Japanese crossing bell.) The first bell sound is apparently supposed to be a General Signals e-bell, and the fourth is a WCH e-bell.

[@KatoUSAinc]

The 90's crossing gate was never meant to be American style - it was a Japanese market release imported to the US. This time it's been properly done up with US prototype details. :)

[@chiane1968]

Those gates go up and down with the speed of a door in Star Wars. Can't they make them with prototypical movements?

[@rickbean1193]

that engine you have i got one but its nuber is 501 and a car that goes along but only one car😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 i love your vids

[@jmichaelpatrick8573]

Very nicely explained, best product review I’ve seen

[@more5347]

I just got into this stuff, it's really amazing. but I need a tutorial on how to attach the support piers to the underside of the track. I haven't found a video for that.

[@KatoUSAinc]

Pillars come with S-Joiners. These will clip into clearly notched slots on any of our bridges or Viaduct tracks. You cannot use pillars with our ground level track segments.

[@wolfyfloof4701]

Is there one for HO scale

[@johnstranahan2378]

Would I be able to connect the crossing gates to a PLC? I want to use my own proximity sensor fed into the PLC.

[@metra160]

Can you make a video on the new GS-4s!

[@jeffd.7618]

I bought the Japanese version when it first came out and of course the instructions are in Japanese, do you have a way I can get the English version of the instructions cause I cant find them anywhere without buying a whole new unit.

[@glennmcferon5189]

is there away to adjust the speed of the gates coming down?

[@KatoUSAinc]

No

[@libbadibbadoo]

It uses springs, so I'm wondering if using springs with different tensions would change the speed at all.

[@theventuracountyrailfan]

Mine is great! Only wish gates were slower

[@rrrailroad6888]

If only we had this luxury for HO. One day...

[@EverythingTrainsMedia]

Also, if you guys make this in ho scale, make the crossings more realistic for the U.S. crossings. , with only one on each side.

[@markhayes6407]

up to 6 or 7 tracks is cool!

[@blossomutonium8985]

The lights don't turn off until the gates are all the way up, not before they go up, please fix that.

[@Ruiluth]

I like the idea and the motion is smooth, but (at least compared to gates where I live) it's much too fast. All the crossing gates I've ever driven through take about four times as long to come up or down. I'm sure somebody will come up with a mod for it soon though.

[@ThatOneRailfanYT]

Will this work with power trains 2.0? (The N Scale track, and the level crossing?)

[@KatoUSAinc]

The track and crossing are designed to work with standard DC and DCC N Gauge railroad models. I can't guarantee that they'll work with a battery operated system like the power trains, and I don't know what the gauge on their wheels are. Chances are unlikely, though.

[@tomnook2612]

If its in 1:160 scale, it will

[@nikoplanes774]

I modified it and now there are 16 tracks xD... But for some reason until 8 there's sound, after 8 not

[@GP9railfan]

Make these in HO scale and I’d buy a few...

[@Chessie1985]

Very nice going to have to pick one of those up

[@michaelmorgan7893]

Can that thing be ran on infrared? Likely I would want to run my layout at night without the gates staying down due to darkness. Otherwise I'd have to locate a light source over the track at the sensor points.

[@KatoUSAinc]

The sensors that are built in are photo sensors - if you want them to operate off of infrared you'll have to rip out and put your own sensors in.

[@LDTrains]

Awesome! Any idea when they are going to make this for HO?

[@trainknightt]

There's multiple for HO

[@cedricbethea2343]

Gates could have been double tracked or more realistic with the gate but is still awesome

[@theworkshop593]

Is that ho scale

[@littlestar5737]

Please make this in HO scale. I will buy two of them in a heartbeat.

[@mpfy2k]

So cool and realistic! can't wait to get it!

[@WarbonnetProductions]

Will you guys make Warbonnets that are labeled Santa Fe?????

[@richardbaldwin3604]

Price is crazy. Buuuuutttt I bought one last night hahaha. The japanese version cuz I model japanese n. Cant wait love Kato products

[@jetpack5]

Why is there four crossing bars

[@richardlevine5118]

I just purchased a few Kato engines and cars. They are made and run very well. I like the crossing gates and would buy it, however I have Bachmann EZ track system. Can this be adapted? Are there conversion tracks? Or do I have to buy Kato track. Thanks you!

[@KatoUSAinc]

There are no conversion tracks for Kato to EZ Track, unfortunately. You can slice off the connectors on the bachmann track and remove the joiners from the UNITRACK to create two flat surfaces and join them with generic rail joiner clips, but you would have to shim the heights to match.

[@Ruiluth]

If you're looking for advice, ditch the Bachmann track. It's overpriced, low quality, and almost any other brand of track is better. My three favorites are Kato unitrack, Atlas code 80 Snap-Track, and Atlas code 55. Atlas code 80 is the cheapest option of all but it doesn't look as nice or have as many options as code 55, while Unitrack is the most reliable, although the geometry is weird.

[@coolleo149]

I might get this KATO scale railroad crossing with some KATO Amtrak trains. :)

[@goldenstateaviation2861]

How would we use it if we wanted to have two tracks.

[@Neville60001]

I want to buy a Shinkansen train set and use this with it-is that possible?

[@KatoUSAinc]

Absolutely. It will work with any N gauge train.

[@Neville60001]

@@KatoUSAinc, again, thanks for the info. How much does it cost?

[@ericzerkle5214]

No crossings ive seen have signals on all 4 sides.....

[@freddymitchell7598]

Is there a way to shut off the sound on the crossing?

[@TIMG128]

brilliant. LOVE kato

[@robertrich226]

question: looks like the gates go down / lights off as soon as the engine passes over the sensor on the exit side. SO... if you have a train with 30 cars (that I assume won't trip an infrared sensor), then the gates / lights aren't "on" while the cars are passing over?

[@KatoUSAinc]

You can put the sensor track far away from the crossing so it closes after the full train has passed - that's the advantage of the separate sensors.

[@mrodtoo]

@@KatoUSAinc I've connected the two sensor far away from RR crossing and that works normal detecting in bound train. In either direction the gates go up after the last car leaves the RR crossing sensor. I thought the gates & sound would go up after leaving the second remote sensor. Am I miss understanding how it suppose to work or do I have it connected wrong?

[@unionpacific1973]

This would be nice in HO scale

[@cpjjp4705]

Does it need dcc decoder??????

[@ranger6729]

Looks great. How about a HO version? Option for 2 crossing gates vs having 4?

[@latinalover2715]

Want to get one

[@michaelyackovich155]

Love it but ohhhhh the price

[@sethkimmel7312]

WOW! I want one. Only question will this fit on a T-Trak module?

[@justinsrailvideo8195]

Seth Kimmel can't see why not.

[@sethkimmel7312]

yeah but T Trak has standards on how far the track is from the front of the module. My concern is that the front of the crossing is too long and I don't feel like having to cut back the front of the crossing...

[@benclark3513]

where's the speaker?

[@houstonrailfanproductions8191]

8:39 I have a crossing by my house with that same bell.

[@TamDuong-nm8qo]

WCH Type 1.5 is at 8:39

[@TrenUluxo]

Can you hook up the Kato road plates up to this or the rerailer track it’s self

[@KatoUSAinc]

If you're talking about the DioTown actual road plates I don't believe it's meant to integrate with those, no.

[@ronstrainsandmore]

Looks great

[@tristansworld7527]

what do i buy for the extra sensors so the gate comes down well before he train is in the crossing?

[@KatoUSAinc]

The gate comes with two sensor tracks to allow the gate to come down before the loco arrives at the crossing.

[@TrainBoyProductions-ij5fi]

Great job on it 👍 it look awesome amazing and beautiful

[@Sparky0566]

Did they change the volume on these. I just got one and you can hardly hear it and the volume is turned all the way up...

[@KatoUSAinc]

There's a volume knob you can use to adjust it.

[@MrTech2three]

thank you kato!

[@kennethhickman8119]

Is it for dcc or just dc?

[@EverythingTrainsMedia]

Please make this in ho scale, with the double track feature, and can you guys make the Amtrak auto train in ho scale. With 20 cars for the first run, and more metra bi- level commuter coaches. Also bring back the sd38’s in EJ&E. Also, make the Amtrak empire builder in ho scale. This would be nice, a full line just doe the empire builder. Also, could you guys at Kato make the Reguler bi- level autoracks in ho scale, in multiple road names, with the Kato ho scale kinematic couplers. These are all great products that would sell, so yeah please!

[@joeviking61]

Wow, this is very slick....looks like I'll be doing some excavation work

[@ATSFVentaSpurNscaler]

QUESTION ABOUT KATO UNITRACK WITH DCC. This North American Crossing Gate looks fantastic. I can't wait to get one. I like the fact that it's compatible with both DCC and DC operations on the track. That's important because I'm getting ready to switch the power supply for my N scale Kato Unitrack from DC to DCC. I'll be using KATO terminal joiners as my DCC feeder wires. This brings me to my question. What gauge is Kato terminal joiner wires--24 AWG or 22 AWG? I scoured your website at katousa.com for wire gauge answers, but found none. In your website's FAQ section named "Unitrack Specifications and Clarifications", anyone can quickly and easily find what code of rail is used in Unitrack. But in that same section, nobody can find what gauge of wire is used for Kato's own track power feeders, including for feeder tracks and terminal joiners. Your website's FAQ subsection "Using Unitrack with DCC" would be the perfect place to specify Kato's wire gauge, so if a modeler wants to make suitcase wiring connections into Unitrack terminal joiner wires, then he or she will already be informed of the correct AWG size to acquire for the run-and-tap wire suitcase connectors. Knowing Kato's correct AWG size is essential to that purpose for connecting the DCC feeder (Kato terminal joiner) wire to the DCC bus wire with the properly sized suitcase connector. Please add this crucial DCC information to your website's FAQ about what AWG size that Kato uses in its track power wires. But before you do that, please answer my question here. Is it 22 AWG or 24 AWG? Thank you very much for your attention in this matter. Sincerely, Tom Pilling

[@markellis7819]

What's the length of the sensor track?

[@mgd76yt]

great product! Is there an intended era for this? looks a bit modern for my layout...

[@robynwatts6578]

Can the sensors be reinstalled into a curve radius section of track?

[@KatoUSAinc]

They're built into the straight track pieces so it's not really feasible to put them in a curved section, unfortunately.

[@michaelmorgan7893]

I'd like to see someone come out with realistic looking American trackside signals in N scale. Most of what I see looks like European prototypes, and on the wrong side of the track. I'd like to see a searchlight signal in N scale that is totally enclosed on the back side of the target, without wires and solder blobs coming out the back of the signal heads. Trains are made now to rivetcounter standards, I'd like to see signals, especially the old searchlights, the same way for N scale. I like this, it's the first self contained crossing system for N that actually looks clean.

[@365n4]

Is there an HO Crossing Gate in the pipeline ???

[@cadillacescalade5428]

How much would this unit go for ? An will one be made for Ho scale?

[@KatoUSAinc]

Pricing is listed on our website for the product - no plans for it in HO at this time: katousa.com/N/Unitrack/accessories.html