Peco & Piko

[rab]

In my not infrequent eBay n gauge searches

i've occasionally come across references to PIKO.

In my ignorance I had always assumed this was another

far Eastern company trying to cash in on the PECO name.

Having now had time to do a bit of research,

(posh name for Internet browsing),

I've found that they are actually a German company,

apparently started about the same time as PECO,(late 1940's).

 

I just wondered if there was ever any 'dispute'

between the two companies over the name similarities.

I assume if there was it would have eminated from PIKO,

as they were the 1st company.

 

Also, what is PIKO stuff like, how does it compare

with PECO and Farish,and will it run with them OK

[PaulRhB]

If they started getting upset because the names are almost the same sound in English then all hell would break loose in the world

It also depends how you pronounce Piko, some say Pee-co, others pie-ko and yet more Pik-O

I use the middle one and just clarify the spelling of telling someone to search for it.

There's no real cross over in their ranges to get confused about and neither has ever tried to ride the others brand so no there's never been a problem. Peco's Continental Modeller regularly covers Piko products in their reviews and Toyfair report so definitely no ill feeling there.

As DM has said Piko produce decent quality models at good prices in a range of scales up to G.

[Joseph_Pestell]

In France, Piko is pronounced Peco.

[FelixM]

The German pronounciation of Piko is like the English one of Peco. That sometimes causes confusion, but usually only once.

 

I've heard Englishman pronounciating Piko like pie-ko. In contrast, Germans pronounce Peco like Peh-ko.

[Gwiwer]

Having lived for a short time in the village of Beer, home to Pritchard Patent Product Co. Ltd better known to us all as Peco I can assure you that in all conversations I had with the people there they were utterly untroubled by the German business of PIKO Spielwaren GmbH.  

 

They operate in substantially different markets with Peco aimed at (though by no means exclusive to) British modellers and PIKO covering European themes as regards rolling stock.  Peco however is known and respected world-wide for its track and accesories which form the major part of the business.  PIKO was once an East German state-controlled business.  It manufactures in Sonneburg, Germany, and in China and owns its own production facilities.

 

Peco owns the brands of Wills, Ratio, K&M and Modelscene (which was formerly Merit) and among other things publishes the magazine Continental Modeller which carries advertising for PIKO products.   

 

Both are usually pronounced Pee-coh though I know of British modellers and retailers who use "Pie-coh" for the German firm in order to distinguish it from the British one.

[D9020 Nimbus]

Well, until I heard someone pronounce it, I always thought "Peco" was pronounced Pek-oh :-)

[jpendle]

I always assumed Peco was 'P Co' as it's the Pritchard Patent Product co, the clue's in the name.

 

John P

[McRuss]

As far as I know the name Piko for the german manufacture is a short form for Pionier Konstruktion (pioneer construction).

 

Markus

[ColinK]

I have a Piko G scale diesel loco, while it is OK, the quality is much below that of LGB. The main problem is that the electrical connectors come apart. However, it was much much cheaper than LGB locos.

[FelixM]

Having lived for a short time in the village of Beer, home to Pritchard Patent Product Co. Ltd better known to us all as Peco I can assure you that in all conversations I had with the people there they were utterly untroubled by the German business of PIKO Spielwaren GmbH.  

 

They operate in substantially different markets with Peco aimed at (though by no means exclusive to) British modellers and PIKO covering European themes as regards rolling stock.  Peco however is known and respected world-wide for its track and accesories which form the major part of the business.  PIKO was once an East German state-controlled business.  It manufactures in Sonneburg, Germany, and in China and owns its own production facilities.

 

Peco owns the brands of Wills, Ratio, K&M and Modelscene (which was formerly Merit) and among other things publishes the magazine Continental Modeller which carries advertising for PIKO products.   

 

Both are usually pronounced Pee-coh though I know of British modellers and retailers who use "Pie-coh" for the German firm in order to distinguish it from the British one.

 

Completely agree. The place name where PIKO manufactures is Sonneberg though. "Berg" means hill / mountain, whereas "Burg" means castle / fortress. Both can feature in German place names.

[FelixM]

More about German place names in case you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WThm2GSAkh0

[Ron Ron Ron]

Piko factory open day 2015.

 

With their own equivalent of the "Bachmann scrum' at the factory sales stall.......

 

 

 

[Horsetan]

... depends how you pronounce Piko, some say Pee-co, others pie-ko and yet more Pik-O ...

 

Let's call the whole thing off.

[Bernard Lamb]

I am reminded of another person from the same part of the world as the firm Piko.

Klaus Fuchs.

His name did cause concern in certain parts of the UK.

SWMBO,also hailing from that part of the world, still has trouble spelling English words not being sure as to the use of e or i in many cases.

Bernard

[No Decorum]

I am reminded of another person from the same part of the world as the firm Piko.

Klaus Fuchs.

His name did cause concern in certain parts of the UK.

SWMBO,also hailing from that part of the world, still has trouble spelling English words not being sure as to the use of e or i in many cases.

Bernard

Her spelling is akin to that of a native English speaker, then.

[Devo63]

I like to collect models of early steam locomotives from the mid 19th century as a sideline to my GWR obsession interests. In this field Piko turn out a quite nice representation of the Leipzig & Dresden Railway 'Saxonia' in HO scale. This is similar to the Trix 'Adler' set in that the locomotive is unpowered with the actual drive being fitted in a luggage van. The two coaches (2nd & 3rd classes) are very attractive and, being more recent in production, much better finished than the Trix coaches or the ones supplied by Hornby for the 'Rocket'. They turn up quite frequently in the 100 to 150 GBP price range. I was lucky enough to get my set for under 50.

 

Dave R.

[ELTEL]

Piko factory open day 2015.

 

With their own equivalent of the "Bachmann scrum' at the factory sales stall.......

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOcYgWFgT5o&nohtml5=False

 

Off course the Bachmann scrum is now part of model railway history as all of those know who went to Alley Pally will know.

 

Terry

[alfsboy]

Piko probably derives from the US term "pike" for railroad  derived from from turnpike no doubt

Peco is a knock off of the name of a famous car exhaust accessory  company who's products are designed to turn a clapped out escort into a boy racer hot rod   

[Horsetan]

Of course the Bachmann scrum is now part of model railway history as all of those know who went to Ally Pally will know.

 

I think the "tradition" began at Warley, which is still the "go-to" show if you want to understand what the word "teeming" means, mixed in with more rucksacks than you'd find outside of an Antipodean Backpackers' Conference, and the heady whiff of various grades of body odour...

[Allegheny1600]

Piko factory open day 2015.

 

With their own equivalent of the "Bachmann scrum' at the factory sales stall.......

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOcYgWFgT5o&nohtml5=False

I think that's great!

Yeah, I know there's the scrum but even there, folk are waving happily!

What I really like is Piko showing how they do still make things in their own native country, wish Hornby could do the same, let alone Bachmann!

I really think Piko are a company to watch, they've taken Roco on and are doing rather well at it so any ailing British model railway companies should look here to see how it's done.

Cheers,

John

[Horsetan]

....I know there's the scrum but even there, folk are waving happily!

 

Unlike Warley, where the scrum has been known to involve the kind of aggression often seen in London traffic queue-jumping.

[Ron Ron Ron]

......What I really like is Piko showing how they do still make things in their own native country, wish Hornby could do the same, let alone Bachmann! ....

 

 

Bachmann ?

....but Bachmann do make their "things" in their "own native country".

 

 

 

.

[alfsboy]

No idea how you got that idea, but if you'd read a bit more carefully, you'd find that Piko dates from the GDR period, where anything remotely smelling of American would be "highly undesirable"

No-one would dare mention that pike was American  as it would imply knowledge of degenerate imperialistic decadence  so  it would go unoticed anyway .

Edited April 13, 2016 by alfsboy

[melmerby]

Bachmann ?

....but Bachmann do make their "things" in their "own native country".

 

 

 

.

Bachmann being an American company of course, albeit owned by a Hong Kong company that manufactures at Dongguan in China!

 

Keith

[Pacific231G]

What I really like is Piko showing how they do still make things in their own native country, wish Hornby could do the same, let alone Bachmann!

 

while our very own Peco also shows that it's possible to make things in its native country.  It's a curious coincidence of similar named companies remaining loyal to manufacturing in their own countries.

 

I seem to have quite a lot of Piko stock from both DDR and BRD eras and of course it runs on Peco track.

DDR era stuff includes two ex Prussian G8s  in French (040D) and Dutch livery while post communist era I have a far better built SNCF 040B  (ex Prussian G7) and a fair number of "boring" wagons (the vans, opens and low sided flats that made up the bulk of most goods trains) courtesy of very good offers at a show in Paris  from a French magazine publisher who'd used them as subscription sweeteners and had leftover stocks; there was no scrum !!

 

I've always pronounced Peco with a Pea as in Pritchard and Piko as pie but now wonder about the latter.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Pacific231G