This short article summarises my learning points, good and bad, for Piko's BR80 (starter set version) and VT98 railbus after six months of use.
Piko BR80 & Railbus - Product Review After 6 Months Use
- Thread starter whatlep
- Start date
Thank you very much for posting this extremely useful and informative review. Your conclusions persuaded me to pick up the US profile version on ebay. Once it arrives, I'll be removing paint from the wheels, adding weight, adding a DCC decoder and a few detail bits.
maybe redo that valve gear...
maybe redo that valve gear...
There is also the issue (reported in the German press) of excessive lubrication getting into the electrical contact/pick up points. A good cleaning would help there.
As far as the valve gear, on one of the German language forums, there was discussion of a replacement gear set, but never heard anything more about it.
As far as the valve gear, on one of the German language forums, there was discussion of a replacement gear set, but never heard anything more about it.
top tip, DONT RUN THE PIKO RAILBUSS ON DIGICAL< on zero srtreching(00) it will burn the motor out.. bet you carnt gusess how i found out 
Thanks for those useful reviews Whatlep, I had a look at the BR80 recently and wasn't sure whether to get one or not. The haulage sounds very good though!
Thanks for all your comments. A couple of bits of feedback:
BR80 - yes, the first batch of BR80s were horribly over-greased and needed attention to fix. You can see the problem in a picture on my initial review of the BR80 which is in the same part of the Forum as the 6 month review.
I've only seen the new BR80s available as a standalone item in photos, but they clearly don't have the wheel treads blackened (so should run better out of the box) and do have a limited amount of red on the connecting rods. In my opinion, they still need a paint brush to look good!
Railbus - I was aware that Mike had an issue. On the other hand, I had no issues running the railbus on LGB MTS as an analogue loco for a week or two before I chipped it.
It's worth pointing out that all the Piko models appear to have 5-pole motors with different running characteristics to the LGB (Buhler) 7-pole motors most of us are probably used to. They draw more current, get hotter and are slightly more noisy in my opinion. That said, they perform very well indeed as you can see from pictures of my layout (albums bit on this Forum) and on YouTube (search for Whatlep or Ruritanian Railways).
(Edited for grammar and to add comment re standalone BR80)
BR80 - yes, the first batch of BR80s were horribly over-greased and needed attention to fix. You can see the problem in a picture on my initial review of the BR80 which is in the same part of the Forum as the 6 month review.
I've only seen the new BR80s available as a standalone item in photos, but they clearly don't have the wheel treads blackened (so should run better out of the box) and do have a limited amount of red on the connecting rods. In my opinion, they still need a paint brush to look good!
Railbus - I was aware that Mike had an issue. On the other hand, I had no issues running the railbus on LGB MTS as an analogue loco for a week or two before I chipped it.
It's worth pointing out that all the Piko models appear to have 5-pole motors with different running characteristics to the LGB (Buhler) 7-pole motors most of us are probably used to. They draw more current, get hotter and are slightly more noisy in my opinion. That said, they perform very well indeed as you can see from pictures of my layout (albums bit on this Forum) and on YouTube (search for Whatlep or Ruritanian Railways).
(Edited for grammar and to add comment re standalone BR80)
Peter-
Now if we can get the single BR80s here in the US. One indy dealer lists them, but Silvergate does not have them, or much of anything new in the last few months actually.
Also, noting your sig, I see your railway is like mine with political and name change? Fun figuring out the long lost German names....
Now if we can get the single BR80s here in the US. One indy dealer lists them, but Silvergate does not have them, or much of anything new in the last few months actually.
Also, noting your sig, I see your railway is like mine with political and name change? Fun figuring out the long lost German names....
chass tip re the coupling worked well for me, was suffering repeated derailments on the r1 curves with the trailing car, did chasses mod, snip springs, no more derailments.. 
There are some good close-up photos of the new standalone BR80 from Piko on Scottish Garden Railways' website here:
http://www.gardentrains.co.uk/2001web/2001webhtms/pricepolapiko.htm
You will each form your own judgement, but for what it's worth, I would still get out my paintbrush and perform the improvements described in my original BR80 review. Nice that Piko have given the standalone version a different number so you can have two BR80s on the layout without duplication. Now there's a thought... :thinking:
http://www.gardentrains.co.uk/2001web/2001webhtms/pricepolapiko.htm
You will each form your own judgement, but for what it's worth, I would still get out my paintbrush and perform the improvements described in my original BR80 review. Nice that Piko have given the standalone version a different number so you can have two BR80s on the layout without duplication. Now there's a thought... :thinking:
Thanks for posting the link to the addt'l photos.
Warning, turn the volume off on your computer when clicking on the link!
I wonder if anyone has attempted to "Rewire/Rework" the trailer so that it can backfeed power to the power car???
Spule 4 said:
Sandy's has real train sounds on his website for years
He's a genuine train nutter - fascinated by anything to do with trains
Cheeky Monkey said:Yes but it does mean having to install a chip in the trailer to operate the lights........although it NEVER stalls
I take it that your reply was in reference to my question about backfeeding power to the power car from the trailer????
Why would a chip be neccessary? Would there not be a way of running wires to the wheels of the trailer, then routing them to the cables that connect the two units?