In 2021, Sekisui Kinzoku Kabushikigaisha, the manufacturer of the popular model railway brand, KATO, began a new project in October 2021 to incorporate the method of STEAM education towards railroad model and diorama making.
STEAM or STEM Education refers to on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (the “A”: is for Arts education).
Today, I will be reviewing the KATO 25-923 N Gauge “Deep with STEAM” Red Train Kit which features the Keikyu Deha 268 which is the train many will find in the front of Hobby Center Kato in Tokyo.
It’s important to note that this is a non-moving train. It’s more of a model kit for people who want to put a train on top of their desk and the ability to turn on the LED lighting in the train.
Photo by Stealth3327/Source: Wikipedia – Keikyu 268 series EMU displayed at the Sekisui Kinzoku headquarters building
The fact that the company is able to showcase a classic Keikyu Deha 268 series train next to their building is a major plus!
The original 230 series was a prewar train that was built for intersuburban passengers.
So, what is the Keikyu? Well, it was a train that operated on the Keikyu Railroad aka the Keikyu that ran near Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka and the Miura Peninsula. The railline ran as far back as 1897 and the following year, Daishi Electric Railway Co., Ltd. was established. The company would change their name in 1899 to Keihin Electric Railway Co.
During World War II, the Keihin Electric Railway, Shonan Electric Railway and Shonan Peninsula Automobile merged to form the expanded Keihin Electric Railway.A year later, the Tokyo-Yokohama Electric Railway merged with Keihin Electric Railway and Odakyu Electric Railway to form the Tokyu Electric Railway.
As of March 2020, 73 stations are in operation.
As for the train itself, its origins began with the Shonan Electric Railway De1 Type train introduced by Shonan Electric Railway. Fastforward to the World War II and the Shonan Electric Railway and the Keihin Electric Railway Dexx trains would become the Deha trains with new numbering.
The version that is seen at Hobby Center Kato is the Deha 268. Not to be confused with the Deha 236 located at the Keikyu Museum (formerly it was located in Kawaguchi City) as of 2020.
Which now leads us to the KATO 25-923 N Gauge “Deep with STEAM” Red Train Kit.
The goal of this is for people to build their own train and integrate a lighting kit.
So, because this N scale train is a kit, everything is made of plastic (the only steel are the wheels and the pantograph, there are also two copper bars to conduct light and an LED chip with two metal prongs that need to come in contact with the copper bars) and I caution people to not press to hard when working on this because you can easily lose parts (such as the very small tubing) or damage things that are not as durable such as the Pantograph.
But it’s easy to assemble, although somehow I tried to fuss with the couplers that I ended up detaching the two pieces and was fussing with them for nearly half an hour to put them together that I gave up.
There is one thing I must mention is that it shows you how to put the metal pieces and this chip for the lighting showing you the front on the left and rear on the right. But then how to put the top of the train on, it becomes reversed (which you can’t tell on the diagram itself).
I did do a few experiments of what happens if the chip metal pieces are behind the bar and when I put it on the trains, the red lamps turn on. But when I put the chip’s metal pieces in front of the copper bars, then the whole compartment is lit up. And surprisingly, that LED light is super bright!
I powered mine via the railroad tracks, but for those who want to model it on their desk or wherever, you get a small track and a cable to connect it to a 9V battery. The connector is included, you just need to provide the battery and you are good to go.
Again, this kit only lights up the inside of the train. There is no motor to make it move. But because it does come with metal wheels and a coupler, you can use it as a passenger train that lights up!
But you really have to admire the kit and for the most part, for a KATO release, it’s not to expensive at 2997 yen ($22 US dollars). It’s primarily a display piece but it’s good for those who have gone to the Hobby Center KATO location and have seen the Deha 268.
But it’s a cool kit, cool gift that is on the lower end for pricing of KATO releases and it fits with the concept of STEAM Education refers to on Science, Technology, Engineering. Arts and Mathematics.
Please note that there are other two other KATO STEAM releases, the 25-924 which one needs to solder and build a toro brass wagon. And the 25-922 diesel locomotive which comes with a power motor unit but the actual train itself is made of a laserprinted sheet (that is not paper thin which is good) that needs to be glued.
But if you are open to this, get it soon as the are made in limited quantities.
Overall, the KATO 25-923 N Gauge “Deep with STEAM” Red Train Kit is a good learning tool. Would be great to introduce students at a young age to make their train light up. But if anything, it works great for a display piece or for educational purposes (as it was designed for). And as long as it stays close to the low price point, its worth checking out!
