the c57 is arguably the most famous steam locomotive built for passenger service in Japanese railroad history.......215 units were built in the years surrounding wwll (1937-1947) by the giants of japanese railway manufacturing - hitachi, kawasaki, and mitsubishi. the "lady", the nickname lovingly bestowed by the japanese because of the locomotive's elegance in operation, had a top speed of 100 kp.......even with the rapid electrification of japan's railway operations and the arrival of the shinkansen, the c57 remained in service until the late 1960s.

i acquired this c57 from a large reseller in japan who routinely eschews any evaluations of model railroad items.......upon arrival, the overall appearance of the model was pristine with the exception of one of the already installed number boards having become dislodged and one having slight paint abrasion.....i proceeded with a test run which manifested n scale factored running speeds  achieved at 26% on the rheostat and operation in both directions smooth and consistent......the head lamp is comparatively vibrant although the orange color characteristic of pre chip led design.......the wheel sets are extremely clean.........for the accessories, as aforementioned,  one set of number boards have  already been installed with the resulting dislodgement requiring remediation....coupler alternatives for the front and rear, the head mark, the whistle and the remaining number boards - are available awaiting a new owner's ministrations.......instructions in japanese with pictures are available........

i believe that kato released the 2013-1 with a knuckle coupler for the tender end as the factory setting; the arnold coupler for the rear is included in the accessory packet.......please be aware of this unusual - for the big 3 n scale japanese steam locomotive manufacturers - configuration.......

these post introduction of head lamp pre core less motor kato designs - 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2013-1, 2014, 2015 - have aged beautifully - real gems......

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