The railways in Shikoku have been employing diesel railcars for their operations since JNR times, and thus fans endearingly refer to Shikoku as the "Kingdom of diesel railcars".
Connected to Honshu via the Uko Ferry, Takamatsu is the starting point for both the Series 58 Kiha and the Kiyuni 28, which are connecting cities throughout all four prefectures of Shikoku. Both of them are now available as models from Kato!
● E127-100 Oito-Line
Series E217 made the debut in 1998 for Oito and Shinonoi Lines in Nagano area. It is a general use DC electric train with body made of stainless steel and equipped with 3 doors on each side of the respective cars. For operation in the cold area, the car has an additional pantograph to cut frost on the electric wire. The interior of the car is specialized for sightseeing.
Together with simultaneously released 10-1368 HB-E Series 300 “Resort View Furusato”, please enjoy the world with Oito Line.
● E127-100
The E127 100s was introduced for operations in Nagano in 1998. In response to the harsh weather conditions in winter, the Kuha E126 also comes equipped with so-called "defrosting pantographs" in some consists. After technical updates in 2016, it is still in use today.
The train cars Series 838 were developed as a replacement for the Series 381 to constitute and make the Express "Shinano" more streamlined and cooler in preparation for the then planned Nagano Olympics. They were released in 1994 as JR Tokai's pendulum-type express train cars. Following the Series 381 "Panorama Shinano," various compositions of 6, 4, or 2 cars of series 383 including the streamlined Nagano-bound front car Kuro 383 and other front cars with gangway door openable for train combination are in operations.
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Kato will make in N scale KIHA 58, which is indispensable to talk about JR diesel trains, in a full renewal version by modifying the scale molds in response to the requests from numerous railroad model fans.
The express diesel train KIHA58, widely used throughout Japan since the debut in 1961, contributed to the railroad transport in Japan during the high economic growth period. As electrifying progressed, the train, carrying passengers in rural un-electrified areas, remained in service on un-electrified lines for a long time.
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Order Due Date: February 22, 2023
Anticipated Delivery Date: August 2023