PIKO Track

[brains]

Has anyone tried or used the PIKO track?  I am looking to obtain quite a bit of track to start building outside this spring and have been looking all over.  I recently paid $50 for a 5 ft section of straight track and now I see that Wholesale trains has PIKO 5ft sections for $20.  Is it a good investment?  I am also going to the ECLSTS in couple weeks to what deals I can find there. 

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Ed

 

[ttrigg]

I've recently acquired a couple cases of PIKO and have ohnly used it in a large oval on the patio as a "test track" for some recently acquired equipment. Not really long enough to make any conclusions other than it mates up well with my existing LGB rails. I've got a section of PIKO and a section of "new" LGB sitting on the roof of storage shed to test how well it "ages" and to see if it patinas like the "old" LGB.

[PIKO-Man]

Hi Ed:  Sorry for the delayed reply.  I missed your post a month ago.  If you're still in the market for track, or just want to get a bit more knowledge about track, here is some info for you.

I do have a "little" experience with PIKO track.  It is made from the very same materials as LGB track was.  I put track made from those materials down in my garden in 1990.  It's still good!  The Code 332 rail is exactly the same, from the same metal supplier.  in metallurgical terms, it's called "Messing64" in German.  In layman's terms, that means it is a medium-hard "virgin" brass, i.e. no scrap materials.  It's a very "pure" brass alloy.  There are other brass rail alloys out there from some well-known brands, but most have a higher percentage of scrap iron, aluminum and other trace elements.  That's why those rails stay shiny yellow while actually developing what appears to be surface rust.  The PIKO rail naturally weathers to a nice dark brown and you just need to clean the tops of the rails.  As far as I know, this quality of rail material is not readily available in China, only in Europe.

The PIKO ties are made of ultra-violet stabilized high-density polyethylene (HDPE).  They will last for decades outdoors, with little or no degradation, such as disintegrating into a powder or becoming brittle.

PIKO track is Made in Germany and is priced quite competitively.  If you're out in the garden and working around the natural shapes of the land, the cleverness of the PIKO geometric system may not be as important to you, but when it comes down to fitting pieces together, such as in a switching yard, the geometry of the system reduces the number of little "fitter" track pieces that may be needed.

The PIKO track program is pretty complete, but still growing.  The new curved switches will be delivered later this year and they are beautiful - going smoothly from an R3 to R5 curve.  Of course, PIKO also offers flex track components if you want to take that route.

PIKO track is well-stocked in PIKO America's warehouse in San Diego, so retailers can quickly and reliably get whatever they need, year-round.  You don't need to worry that something will not be available while you're in the midst of building your railroad.

Oh, to answer your question, PIKO track is a top-quality product, and in my view a quality product is always a better investment, even if it costs a bit.  And in this case, quality doesn't have to cost you more!

If you have any questions, give PIKO America a toll-free call at 877-678-4449 or 619-280-2800 or email [e-mail].

Happy Railroading!

Jonathan Meador
PIKO America

 

 

[ttrigg]

To back up Johathan's comments. I've had some PIKO out for most of 4 months now, along with the last of my "new" LGB (5 years old, just out of the box.) PIKO mate exactly perfect with LGB using both LGB or PIKO slip-on connectors and Split Jaws. The rail head of the PIKO seems to be very slightly narrower than the LBG, could be the difference in production runs. The PIKO is aging every slightly slower than the LGB (could be that the LGB is actually older from the box. Did not note the difference when I put them down.) It could be my imignation but the Piko seems to have less "sing" as the wheels run over it. The area I noticed it is a two line mainline, same subroadbed, same ballast, so I would have thought the "rail noise" would be the same.