Manufacturer
Kato U.S.A. Inc.
100 Remington Rd.
Schaumburg, IL 60173
www.katousa.com
Comments: An upgraded N scale Alco PA-1 and powered PB-1 are available from Kato in the Southern Pacific Daylight paint scheme. The colors and striping match the Kato N scale Morning Daylight, reviewed in the July 2008 Model Railroader. Unlike those cars the PA has the post-1946 SP Daylight lettering scheme.
The PA has the same mechanism as when we last reviewed it in the September 1998 Model Railroader. The model now has illuminated number boxes.
The model comes with a printed-circuit (PC) board mounted on top of the frame. The headlight is a light-emitting diode. The model can be converted to Digital Command Control by replacing the PC board with a Digitrax DN163K0A decoder.
All the blackened metal RP-25 contour wheels are in gauge and the Kato operating knuckle couplers are at the correct height.
At 2 volts the model started moving at .7 scale mph and accelerated smoothly to 170 scale mph at 12 volts. The prototype had a top speed of 120 mph.
A single Kato PA-1 has a one ounce drawbar pull, equivalent to about 14 N scale passenger cars on straight and level track.
