Kato - 10-1506 - Passenger Train, Electric, Series 287 - Japan Railways West

Specific Item Information: Series 287 Panda Kuroshio `Smile Adventure Train`. 6 Car set. Comes in book type case. One unit is powered.

Model Information: Kato boxed sets for Japanese Prototypes come in various shapes and sizes. These may contain complete train sets with 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.

Prototype History: The 287 series (287系 287-kei) is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) in Japan on limited express services such as the Kinosaki and Kounotori from Kyoto and Osaka since 12 March 2011. 287 series EMUs were introduced on Kuroshio services from the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2012.

A total of 97 vehicles are on order. These consist of 46 vehicles for Kinosaki, Kounotori, Maizuru, and Hashidate services, formed as seven 4-car sets and six 3-car sets, which will partially replace the ageing fleet of 86 183 series vehicles currently used on these services.[6] A further batch of 51 vehicles for Kuroshio services consists of six 6-car sets and five 3-car sets, replacing older 381 series EMUs. These entered service from the start of the revised timetable on 17 March 2012.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: JR-West was incorporated as a business corporation (kabushiki kaisha) on April 1, 1987 as part of the breakup of government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR). Initially, it was a wholly owned subsidiary of the JNR Settlement Corporation (JNRSC), a special company created to hold the assets of the former JNR while they were shuffled among the new JR companies.

For the first four years of its existence, JR-West leased its highest-revenue line, the Sanyō Shinkansen, from the separate Shinkansen Holding Corporation. JR-West purchased the line in October 1991 at a cost of 974.1 billion JPY (about US$7.2 billion) in long-term payable debt.

JNRSC sold 68.3% of JR-West in an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 1996. After JNRSC was dissolved in October 1998, its shares of JR-West were transferred to the government-owned Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation (JRCC), which merged into the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT) as part of a bureaucratic reform package in October 2003. JRTT offered all of its shares in JR-West to the public in an international IPO in 2004, ending the era of government ownership of JR-West. JR-West is now listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nagoya Stock Exchange, Osaka Securities Exchange and the Fukuoka Stock Exchange.

From Wikipedia

Brand/Importer Information: Kato Precision Railroad Models (関水金属株式会社 Sekisui Kinzoku Kabushikigaisha) is a Japanese manufacturer of model railroad equipment in N and HO scales. The Tokyo-based company manufactures models based on Japanese prototypes (such as the Shinkansen bullet train) for the Japanese market, North American prototypes for the North American market and European high-speed trains for European market.
The Kato (pronounced kah-toe) model railroad companies were founded by Yuji Kato, father of current president Hiroshi Kato, of the parent company Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd.

The design and distribution of models for the North American market are handled by their U.S. subsidiary, Kato USA, located in Schaumburg, Illinois.
The design of special models for the European market is handled for some of them by their partner, Lemke, whereas the general distribution of Kato products in Europe is handled by NOCH; both companies are located in Germany.
As a result, some Kato European models are sold as Kato Lemke and others as Kato (alone).