Those videos got me pretty jazzed up about this engine, too. One question I had was related to the valve gear and side rods. Are they plastic? They look kind of thin?
The Piko boxcars are old MDC molds, I believe, and more like 1/32 scale. The caboose is a narrow gauge 1/24 scale model of a D&RGW caboose, not sure about the ore cars or 2 bay hopper cars. The other Piko models, like the crocodile and taurus locomotives strike me as being something like 1/26~ 1/29, but I haven't taken a scale ruler or looked up dimensions. To me, the attraction of this engine in particular is the seeming level of detail, without being so far out of my price range. I had been strongly considering adding the LGB HSB 2-6-2T loco, especially after spending 4 days riding the HSB in 2012, but haven't yet. This locomotive, being a standard gauge model, would fit with the rest of my railroad much better than the HSB 2-6-2T. And while I'd love to have one of the 2-10-2Ts, that's out of the question, unless someone is looking to make a donation.
The side rods are indeed plastic but they look pretty good to me. Like you said the boxcars match up really well to MTH or Aristo but are a bit of a stretch for LGB. I suppose if you had an LGB engine and a freight set of just Piko cars it wouldn't be so bad but mixing and matching would definitely show the difference. Im pretty happy with this BR 64 so far , I just happened to have 5 LGB streamline cars on my track when it arrived so i hooked it up to see how it would pull. It had no problem with those heavy cars so Im confident Ill have no problem towing three or four of the Piko passenger cars that go with this. The shop I purchased this from has a sale today so Im seriously considering buying the Krocodile next. If so Ill take a few pictures of that also.
Looks great!! Did you take any video of it? It appears that the rear driver set is hinged to allow R1 curve capability. How big is this engine? Heavy? Looks great! Jim and I have been discussing this locomotive for a while.
It will take R1 no problem. As far as scale is concerned I have some piko boxcars and they are definitely not 1.22, they look to be more like a 1:29. The engines on the other hand do appear to be closer to the 1:22 range. Piko seems to be all over the place as far as scale is concerned. I have not taken any videos yet but there are some very good ones on you tube. Watching those videos is what convinced me to order one.
I just picked up one I ordered from a dealer in Northern KY. Wow what a huge step up from the older Piko engines. These are very nicely detailed and unlike the mogul lineup, all of the side rods actually move and have a purpose. The led lights that shine down onto the side rods and wheels are a cool touch. Only thing I can find that I dislike is the motor is noisier than the LGB Buhlers but thats about it. Id post pictures of mine but Im not sure how to. I bought mine for $525 which is cheaper than I could find anywhere online. Shops name is Rhineland Trains. If someone can help me with posting pics Ill do so.
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Piko and the new BR 64 2-6-2T
in General Discussion
Posted
The side rods are indeed plastic but they look pretty good to me. Like you said the boxcars match up really well to MTH or Aristo but are a bit of a stretch for LGB. I suppose if you had an LGB engine and a freight set of just Piko cars it wouldn't be so bad but mixing and matching would definitely show the difference. Im pretty happy with this BR 64 so far , I just happened to have 5 LGB streamline cars on my track when it arrived so i hooked it up to see how it would pull. It had no problem with those heavy cars so Im confident Ill have no problem towing three or four of the Piko passenger cars that go with this. The shop I purchased this from has a sale today so Im seriously considering buying the Krocodile next. If so Ill take a few pictures of that also.