Piko’s BR80 & Railbus After 6 Months

A Consumer Report

Introduction

 

Just in time for Christmas 2008, Piko delivered examples of both the steam starter set, featuring a German BR80 0-6-0 tank engine, and the VT98 railbus and trailer. I was an early purchaser of both. This article summarises my experiences with each item over the past six months from an operating and servicing perspective.

I’m not commenting on aesthetics – you’ll either accept the look of the railbus/ BR80 or you won’t - nor comparing with other manufacturers’ products generally. Hopefully, this article, plus the many pictures of each on G-Sclae Mad and the web generally will enable you to form a judgement on whether or not to buy. With Jason’s permission, ( Permission Granted - Jason ) I hope to produce an update at the end of 2009.

As reference data, I run my layout about 7-8 hours on average per week during all four seasons. It contains both R1 and R3 curves and a lengthy gradient which peaks at 1 in 20 (5%). It’s a pretty good set-up to challenge motive power!

 

BR80 Tank Locomotive

As I write, my BR80 is in pieces on my workbench. No, calm down dear, there’s nothing wrong with the loco! The ESU chip I fitted has suddenly ceased to work. Back on raw analogue power, the loco has carried on running, completely unperturbed. This is a good indicator of 6 months’ experience: the BR80 has been a simple, rugged loco which performs day-in, day-out with little fuss. That said, the BR80 was far from “day 1 perfect”. An earlier article on this website outlines the work I found necessary to get the engine up and running to my satisfaction. Read it here: http://www.gscalemad.co.uk/pikos_br80.htm

In service, the BR80 has required no serious attention. My suspicion is that its wheels need cleaning more often than other locos I possess, persumably as they are not nickel-plated. However, this is trivial in reality. Some owners may find the absence of shiny wheel treads an aesthetic advantage, but it’s purely personal taste. Performance, haulage capability and smoothness have been consistently very good indeed. Skate wear has been minimal – they should certainly last another 12 months.

One clear bonus of having the BR80 has been its ability to haul loads which otherwise would require 2 locomotives (or one 2-motor loco). This means lower current draw (amps), so more locos can operate simultaneously. Cool!

Plus Points:

1. Exceptionally good slow running after initial modifications

2. Strong haulage capacity – equivalent to an LGB Mallet on my 1 in 20 gradient

3. Lower current draw on like-for-like loads

4. Smooth and quiet performer at all speeds on both analogue and LGB MTS controls – after initial setup!

5. No maintenance or spare parts required so far

Negative Points:

1. Initial setup could be offputting for inexperienced users (in reality simple: less than 2 hours including substantial cosmetic work)

2. Wheels need cleaning a bit more often than my other locos (a subjective observation, but seems to be correct)

3. Only available so far as part of a starter set, so expense may be greater than necessary.

The Bottom Line – would I still buy a Piko BR80?

Probably. It’s a good, simple engine which can be used and abused. My only reservations are the activity required to get started (obviously one-off tasks) and the need to buy a complete starter set. Fortunately, Piko have announced a standalone loco will be available in late 2009.

 

VT98 Railbus & Trailer

Piko’s railbus is, unlike the BR80, a “mainstream” offering: part of Piko’s range of German standard gauge equipment. The VT98 is supplied as a powered vehicle, with a central motor powering swivelling single axle driving wheels via cardan shafts, plus an unpowered trailer. Wires between the cars carry lighting circuits so that the two cars can have appropriate head and tail lighting. The wires appear fragile, but in service have proven resistant to even my ham-fisted paws. At least, so far!

In contrast to the BR80, the railbus was truly an “unpack and run” item. Although the wheelsets are chemically blackened like the BR80, the presence of 2 skates per side provided ample supply for the motor immediately. I should add that the trailer car is just that: as supplied it deosn’t pick up power.

Running proved that although the VT98 has a huge overhang on R1 (600mm diameter) curves, both cars go round a semi-circle together OK whether the trailer is pulled or pushed (photo below)

On the other hand, bench testing showed that running through an R1 reverse curve (as in R1 points used for a crossover) was not a realistic possibility at other than dead slow speeds and then only on perfectly level track. I wouldn’t attempt it in practice. See the photo below. Buyers beware!

Over the six months, my experience is that the motor coach can cope with just about any track conditions (e.g. wet/ dirt) the British climate can generate without affecting its running at all. I have ceased cleaning the wheels as the skates handle power collection just fine. In fact, I regularly use the railbus first in any running session to slice through any dirt accumulated on the rail heads!

Performance was excellent right out of the box, both in terms of smoothness and haulage capacity. Stress testing showed that eight LGB vans can be hauled up that 1 in 20 gradient of mine! Current draw peaked at 2 Amps pulling that load. The BR80 comments about low amp requirements apply equally to the railbus. The cardan shaft drive is somewhat noisier than an average G scale engine, but not obtrusively so.

I expected that skate wear might be greater than usual, since both vehicles rely on the skates to direct the swivelling single-axle wheelsets into curves, as well as pick up power (on the motor coach only). In practice, wear seems to be slightly lower than average on both vertical and horizontal sides of the special skates. I have no idea why this should be so, though possibly the fact that the skates are habitually drawn into a near perfect alignment with the rail heads may have something to do with it. Photographs below show the motor coach front skate’s surface and flange wear.

  

As with the BR80, I don’t expect to replace any skates in the next 6-12 months, but I’ll admit to a slight concern that as these are unique to the railbus and only supplied by Piko themselves, I could be a hostage to fortune at some point. Time will tell.

Other niggles? Well, the front windows on mine are rather easy for a wandering finger to push into the vehicle, though they are equally easy to push pack into place by removing the roof. The roofs, by the way, are a simple push fit on each coach, making installing lighting units completely painless, though most figures would require severe leg surgery to fit!

Another minor niggle I found recently is the railbus bogies’ moulded springs’ tendency to graze the power feed blocks supplied by LGB, though not Piko’s own. The photos below show what I mean:

  

I suspect that this is a classic case of each manufacturer working to their own tolerances, with unforseen consequences when brands are mixed. It is, in practice, not a big deal. I hear a “clunk”, but no damage appears to be done, other than a little wear to the VT98’s moulding. In the longer term, I’ll replace the LGB feeds with something else.

 

In an earlier set of posts I showed how I fitted both ESU and Massoth XL DCC decoders to my motor coach. This was a little trickier than expected as Piko have only allowed just enough space for their own rather narrow decoder, but as seems to be Piko’s style, dissassembly and tracing wiring was very straightforward. The full text and photos are here: http://www.gscalemad.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=2565

 

Finally, due solely to my own clumsiness I contrived to lose one of the trailer vehicle’s buffers in my garden in May. This gave me an instant opportunity to test Piko’s customer service and spare parts’ availability. Piko passed the test with flying colours, sending a spare buffer within 48 hours in response to my grovelling e-mail and completely for free. Excellent!

 

In summary, a very satisfying six months of railbussing!

Plus Points:

1. Ready to run “out of the box”

2. Smooth and powerful – haulage capacity equals an LGB Mallet on my 1 in 20 gradient!

3. Lower current draw on like-for-like loads

4. Low skate wear compared to other locos

5. No maintenance required so far

6. Simple lighting installation via pull out roof on each car

7. Spare parts readily availble from Piko

 

Negative Points:

1. Two cars together unable to run through R1 reverse curves (OK on R1 otherwise)

2. Cardan shaft drives noisier than average G scale loco (though it is slightly “diesel-ish”!)

3. Front window easy to dislodge – though easy to push back into place too

4. Special skates required – available only from Piko

5. Decoder installation (other than Piko’s) a little tricky due to lack of space

 

The Bottom Line – would I still buy a Piko Railbus?

Definitely. This is a cracking piece of kit! Without doubt my best G-scale purchase of the past 12 months.

 

PETER WHATLEY - 2009.