Manufacturer
Kato USA Inc.
100 Remington Rd.
Schaumburg, IL 60173
www.katousa.com
Era: Present
Comments: Following the success of its modern commuter locomotives and passenger cars, Kato has added a contemporary N scale station to its product line. The injection-molded plastic kit, produced by German model manufacturer Faller, is based on the Metra station in Schaumburg, Ill. The kit includes the station, two passenger shelters, and two platforms. The latter have a footprint of 3″ x 9-3⁄4″ each.
A well-illustrated 16-page instruction book takes you through every step to assemble the station. The parts fit together well with little sanding or filing required. Though it’s molded in realistic colors, I’d recommend applying a flat coat (which I did) or paint to the non-brick portions of the kit. The brick parts of the walls have a factory-applied wash, which makes the mortar detail stand out.
The kit includes a peel-and-stick clock face; yellow safety stripes; and station signs for Metra, Amtrak (1971-2000 and current heralds), CalTrain, Metrolink, and Virginia Ry. Express. There are also two printed paper interior view blocks for the tower and station.
For those wanting to illuminate the station’s exterior, there are 27 holes in the soffit for surface mount (SMD) light-emitting diodes, sold separately.
Kato and Faller teamed up to produce a kit that accurately captures the look of the Schaumburg, Ill., station. Just add an Electro-Motive Division F40PH, a Motive Power Industries MP36PH, and some bi-level cars, and your commuter operations will be off and running.
The high angle from which the photo was taken made me think that the model station's roofs might be flat, unltil I enlarged the picture. It's a good thing that the roofs do slope, because the Chicago area gets enough snow to make flat roofs a bad idea.