Kato USA - 156-0961 - Passenger Car, Commuter, Nippon Sharyo Gallery - Chicago Metra - 8504

Prototype History: The 85 foot Bi-Level "Gallery" commuter car continues to be a favorite design of many commuter rail agencies throughout the United States and Canada. The design made its debut on the Chicago & North Western railroad for their Chicago area commuter service in the 1950s.

The big and beautiful looking gallery-type passenger cars were developed to enforce the commuter transportation rules of Caltrans, a 50 mile railroad from San Francisco to San Jose. These modern Bi-level coaches carry a large number of riders in comfort. Their universal design of cab car/passenger car offers easy maintenance, cost reduction, and compatibility with AMTRAK coaches. In order to make US officials happy. these cars adopt a large portion of their parts from US manufacturers. Furthermore, final assembly takes place in the U.S. Hence they satisfy the provisions of the 'Buy America' act.

The cab cars can carry 139 passengers and the coaches 149. They weigh (empty) about 120,000 lbs. They can travel up to 100 mph (160km/h).

Road Name History: Metra (reporting mark METX) is a commuter railroad in the Chicago metropolitan area. The railroad operates 241 stations on 11 different rail lines. It is the fourth busiest commuter rail system in the United States by ridership and the largest and busiest commuter rail system outside the New York City metropolitan area. There were 83.4 million passenger rides in 2014, up 1.3% from the previous year. The busiest day for Metra ridership occurred on June 11, 2010?the day of the Chicago Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup victory rally?with over 429,000 passengers.

Using Chicago's rail infrastructure, much of which was created in the 19th century, the Illinois General Assembly established the RTA, and later Metra, to serve commuters by rail. Metra's creation was a result of the anticipated failure of commuter service operated and owned by various private railroad companies in the 1970s. Freight rail companies still operate some routes; however, these operations are guided by contracted service agreements. Metra owns all rolling stock and is responsible for all stations along with the respective municipalities. Since its inception, Metra has directed more than $5 billion into the commuter rail system of the Chicago metropolitan area.

From Wikipedia

Brand/Importer Information: KATO U.S.A. was established in 1986, with the first U.S. locomotive model (the GP38-2, in N-Scale) released in 1987. Since that time, KATO has come to be known as one of the leading manufacturers of precision railroad products for the modeling community. KATO's parent company, Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd., is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

In addition to producing ready-to-run HO and N scale models that are universally hailed for their high level of detail, craftsmanship and operation, KATO also manufactures UNITRACK. UNITRACK is the finest rail & roadbed modular track system available to modelers today. With the track and roadbed integrated into a single piece, UNITRACK features a nickel-silver rail and a realistic-looking roadbed. Patented UNIJOINERS allow sections to be snapped together quickly and securely, time after time if necessary.

The Kato U.S.A. office and warehouse facility is located in Schaumburg, Illinois, approximately 30 miles northwest of Chicago. All research & development of new North American products is performed here, in addition to the sales and distribution of merchandise to a vast network of wholesale representatives and retail dealers. Models requiring service sent in by hobbyists are usually attended to at this location as well. The manufacturing of all KATO products is performed in Japan.

Supporters of KATO should note that there is currently no showroom or operating exhibit of models at the Schaumburg facility. Furthermore, model parts are the only merchandise sold directly to consumers. (Please view the Parts Catalog of this website for more specific information.)