Kato 24815 Unijoiner

kpoole

New Member
Hey all! N-scale and Unitrack newbie here, working on putting parts and pieces together to somewhat recreate the Great Northern layout from the October 2007 MR. What are the Unijoiner parts for that are packaged separately, Kato part# 24-815? Are these to replace broken Unijoiners if/when this happens? Also, I'm guessing that the only reason I'd need the insulated unijoiners is to do power routing, for turnouts, etc? One last question...on a small layout like the Great Northern, will I need more than about one set of terminal feeds for power to the track?

Thanks in advance!

Kevin
 

myltlpny

Member
You're correct that the spare uni-joiners are for replacements. That's one of the nice things about Unitrack, a broken joiner doesn't mean a dud part. Unitrack turnouts are already power selecting. I can have a loco sitting on a siding, while another passes by, until I throw the switch. Insulated rail joiners are handy for things like reverse loops, signal blocking, power districts, etc.
As for your power question, if you're going to run multiple trains in separate areas of the layout, you'll need multiple feeds (and insulated rail joiners). It doesn't hurt to have multiple feed lines on any railroad, though. On my HO layout I have a feeder line every six feet. When I run my n-gauge stuff, I set up 3x5 layouts all the time with one feeder line.
 

kpoole

New Member
Thanks for the reply. For reference, I'm working on the N scale Great Northern layout from the Oct 2007 issue of MR. I'm dropping it on a 3'x5' table, and I'm worried about issues with the 12.375 radius curves. I can stretch it to the 13.75 radius curves if I have to, but it will limit my ability to add spurs, sidings around the outside. Right now I've got a 4-8-4 steamer and a GP40 diesel I'll be mixing in.
 

fieromike

New Member
On a related note, are the unijoiner tools hard to come by? I bought a rerailer (nice) and there was a tool included in the package. I don't use Unitrack, and thought I'd pass the tool on to someone that might need it.

Mike
 

kpoole

New Member
The tool does come with the rerailer, from what I can tell online. I haven't actually purchased my track yet, just trying to confirm what I do and don't need. Where did you hide your rerailer, since it looks like it's bright blue?
 

fieromike

New Member
Rerailer, Was: Kato 24815 Unijoiner

The tool does come with the rerailer, from what I can tell online. I haven't actually purchased my track yet, just trying to confirm what I do and don't need. Where did you hide your rerailer, since it looks like it's bright blue?
Right, the tool comes with the rerailer. I don't need it since I don't use Unitrack, so I thought I'd pass it on if someone needed one.

The rerailer isn't a section of track like Atlas's, but a portable ramp that you sit on the track and run your cars down the ramp. Its much easier to place cars on the track with it rather than fiddling with all of them by hand.
 

GRSJr

New Member
The tool does come with the rerailer, from what I can tell online. I haven't actually purchased my track yet, just trying to confirm what I do and don't need. Where did you hide your rerailer, since it looks like it's bright blue?

I made a pocket in the facia so it just slides in; readily available, but out of sight.
 
Top