Kato USA - 106-088-1 - Union Pacific City of Los Angeles 11 Passenger Car Set - Union Pacific - 11-Pack with Interior Lights

Specific Item Information: Set Includes: Storage Mail -Unique Tooling- 5653 Baggage-Dormitory -Unique Tooling- 6002 44 Seat Coach 5428 44 Seat Coach 5440 Dome Chair 7003 Lounge -New Tooling- 6200 10-6 Sleeper -Unique Tooling- Pacific Ocean Dome Diner -Unique Tooling- 8002 5 Double Bedroom-Lounge Sleeper -Unique Tooling- Boise 11 Double Bedroom Sleeper -Unique Tooling- Placid Lake Dome-Lounge Observation -Unique Tooling- 9001 The "City of Los Angeles" was one of the Union Pacific's "City of" trains, and a direct competitor to trains such as the California Zephyr and Santa Fe Super Chief. With many railroads in the 1950s vying for the attention of the travelling public, the Union Pacific spend 10 million dollars in 1954 to upgrade its passenger services, promoting its commitment to high quality passenger service as well as creating one of the most iconic trains of the golden age of american railroading.

One of the most iconic images of this train were its dome cars ("Domeliners"), which, like the California Zephyr, granted its passengers with an unparalleled view of the countryside as the train would make its trips between Chicago and Los Angeles.

Model Information: Kato boxed sets for North American Prototypes come in various shapes and sizes. These may contain complete train sets with locomotive, track and power pack or may be as simple as a pair of passenger coaches. Many of the sets use "bookshelf" boxes with cardboard sleeves and carefully cut foam inserts.

Road Name History: The Union Pacific Railroad (reporting mark UP) is a freight hauling railroad that operates 8,500 locomotives over 32,100 route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Union Pacific Railroad network is the largest in the United States and employs 42,600 people. It is also one of the world's largest transportation companies.

Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP); both are headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Over the years Union Pacific Corporation has grown by acquiring other railroads, notably the Missouri Pacific, Chicago & North Western, Western Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Southern Pacific (including the Denver & Rio Grande Western).

Union Pacific Corporation's main competitor is the BNSF Railway, the nation's second largest freight railroad, which also primarily services the Continental U.S. west of the Mississippi River. Together, the two railroads have a duopoly on all transcontinental freight rail lines in the U.S.

Read more on Wikipedia and on Union Pacific official website.

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.)