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Piko and the new BR 64 2-6-2T


markoles
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Guys,

 

I've been quietly watching the Piko G scale offerings improve over the last 2-3 years.  Granted, their initial starter sets seemed chinsy and I've not been over excited about their apparent re-issue of old MDC stock.  The mogul/switcher with sound and improved wheels was a nod in the right direction, while keeping the price point reasonable.  (I view the new Piko 2-6-0 / 0-6-0 as a step up from the LGB 2-4-0s of 10 years ago, but targeting that same demographic).

 

In the past year, however, I have to admit that Piko appears to be serious about G-scale.  Their huge Crocodile is just a beastly looking machine.  The HSB diesel reminds me of an elephant, but it is reasonably like what I saw at the HSB last September.  The TEE is an impressive train, too.

 

Despite all of the above,  I've not really been overly excited about Piko.  Until I saw this: a video of their newest steam engine:

 

 

 

Now, besides the fact that Drew Carey has apparently quit his job as a comedian and has moved to Germany to head up a model train company,  this looks like a really nicely made, well detailed, and smooth running steam locomotive.  There was another video posted showing this engine running with two coaches and a goods wagon. 

Watch this:

 

When the locomotive is in the tunnel, you can see that there are lights under the running boards at time 2:40.  All I can say is 'wow'. Watching the video to the end, it appears our fellow modeler has some full size switch throws in his operating room, or at least some good video editing skills. I also note that the 3 axle passenger cars look to be well done as well.

 

I wonder if they will utilize this chassis to create a similar locomotive for the north american market.  While the Prairie type did not see widespread use, there are specific examples who did, ATSF comes to mind.  The valve gear and drive rod detail appears to be very well made.  In my opinion, that's what makes or breaks a steam engine model.  In any case, the initial offering price from any number of our favorite retailers appears to be less than $600.  Not bad, considering that altertnative locomotives like this are either Maerklin or Aster or huge $$$. 

 

Anyone else excited to see well made steam returning to G-scale?

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That's very cool, thanks for sharing! At that price point they are going to sell well! I'm almost even tempted, and I only collect Northern American trains. I will also be hoping to see some realistic true-to-scale American steam from them in the future.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I was curious about this model after reading this post and found out from my local shop that it actually is priced under 500 before taxes. I am really hoping they have some realistic north american steam models in the works. 

 

Mike

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shop is called the moose caboose. His prices compete with and are usually lower than anything i can find online and thats before you add shipping into the equation. He did say that if i wanted to preorder it before 2014 that it would be less than 500 but that piko expected prices to go up slightly in the new year, so the price could go up slightly but even then it still sounds cheaper than anything i am reading online. 

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  • 1 month later...

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.

 

 

P1050167

 

P1050168

 

P1050169

 

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Bearcat,

 

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. 

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Hi,
I thought I had pictures of my Marklin BR64 together with some other engines. Turns out I don't have any pictures of it at all. This T9.3 is about 2" shorter but gives you an idea of the size compared to a MTH Santa Fe "Hudson".

Bjorn

post-69-0-21677200-1391691012_thumb.jpg

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Bjorn,

 

No problem!  Hey, that Marklin T9.3 looks cool, too.  If we assume both locomotives are actually scale 1:32, then that shows the difference between North American clearances and Continental clearances!

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Bearcat,

 

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.

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Bearcat,

 

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. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Bearcat,

 

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. 

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