Track cleaner from Piko

there's no guessing where the batteries go, they go in the hood and the front of the hood slides up.

Finally a picture of the cleaning "pads" from the brochure.

It's this material:

silicon-mesh.jpg


Commonly called drywall sandpaper, because sanding the patching compound used with drywall creates a lot of fine dust, and clogs normal sandpaper immediately. The open screen mesh clears out readily... typically a fiberglas mesh with silicon carbide.

From the pictures, small strips are clipped into the holders. It's a lot smaller than the prototype shown that had a much larger piece. I hope that the sandpaper can be readily changed by the use, rather than having to buy the plastic clips with the sandpaper installed.

Also there's no controversy about speaker, you could try to mount underneath, but pretty darn small diameter, there is a mounting place on the underside of the cab roof.

Greg
 
Greg,
I am 99.9% certain the 'block' and motor will be the same across all the models, but could I trouble you to ask the question of your contact please?
 
Thanks Greg..
On/off/reverse could also be labelled 'NMRA/off/Large-Scale' of course. :nerd::nod:
 
We got word people were looking for information on the G-Scale GE 25-Ton models...

Our new blog post lets you download a new information booklet regarding the models for 2018. The booklets/flyers will arrive in San Diego with the locos roughly on November 9th. The products should make their ways to retailers - and then hopefully lots of garden railroads - soon after that.
GE 25-Ton Diesel Loco - New Model Info Booklet

  • All locos will have the same gearbox, which was designed and tooled specifically for this model.
  • All locos have an all-wheel gear drive, powerful precision can motor, directional constant intensity LED lights and more.
  • The models are a highly-accurate 1/24 scale.
    • When you see what is packed inside, you will see why we did not make it smaller.
    • 1/29 and 1/20th scale folks will still be able to use it, with many already interested in it for kit-bashing.
  • There are three track powered versions for 2018 - 38500 D&RGW, 38502 Blue Goose, and the 38150 Mighty Hauler Starter Set.
  • The battery-powered loco, the 38501 Clean Machine, will have a on/off/reverse switch so folks can run two back to back for faster cleaning.
    • The switch is, we think, cleverly located just under the frame.
    • The Clean Machine can run on regular or rechargeable batteries. (Batteries are not included in the model.)
    • 1000 or 1100 mAh rechargeable batteries, should give you a couple hours of cleaning/running time. Of course, better batteries improve running time.
    • The battery block can house 6 AAA batteries and is contained inside the nose/hood of the loco. (Simple lift out works on all models. Only the Clean Machine is battery powered.)
    • The loco "cleaning pad" design has been designed to give great running and cleaning.
    • The mesh cleaning pads price was reduced in the last few months due to finalized design being more efficient. The price was reduced by 50% (It was originally going to be a retail price of $29.99, and is now $14.99 due to the creatively simple design and tooling.)
  • The locos are completely new tooling, from the ground up. Even the gear boxes are a completely new design.
  • The locos have space for a pancake speaker, mounted at the top of the cab.
  • The loco has space for a decoder, for those who want more functions or sound.
  • The loco is ready for installation of an Exhaust/Smoke unit. (It will fit in the prototypical location of the early models... inside the cab and above the controls.)
    • We hope to have a speaker, decoder, and exhaust/smoke unit available in the future... but the loco was the priority for this year.


And just in case anyone is interested... PIKO is pronounced “pee-Co.” not “pie-Co.” :)
 
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Thanks Dan...

My understanding is there is room under the cab floor for a decoder, is that a separate space and can you approximate the space?

Will the track powered unit have the "reversing" switch?

The cab LED and the headlight LEDs (front and rear) were mentioned as Jonathan handled the battery version, do all versions have these 3 LEDs?

Thanks so much!

Greg
 
And just in case anyone is interested... PIKO is pronounced “pee-Co.” not “pie-Co.” :)

might well be over in the good old US of A but in the UK its "pie-Co" so as not to confuse it with the other model railway company Peco, or at least it is in ever shop i have been to.
 
Many thanks to Dan for the 'heads-up', and additional information.. :):rock::clap::clap:

Thanks also to Greg, for rattling the cage for us all. :)
 
might well be over in the good old US of A but in the UK its "pie-Co" so as not to confuse it with the other model railway company Peco, or at least it is in ever shop i have been to.


Exactly - we know that the "correct" German pronunciation should be "Pee-ko", but as Wandgrudd says that causes too much confusion over here with the British-made Peco products - hence the deliberate mispronunciation as "Pie-ko" so that people know what is being referred to.... it's a bit like how we say "Eye-Keeya" instead of the correct Swedish version of "Ick-eeya", which doesn't make them sound good to the English listener.... ;)

Jon.
 
Re pronunciation, I’m a Brit and have always, even in the UK, referred to it as ‘pee ko’. I’ve never heard the term ‘pie ko’!
 
Pie...food ..good...
Pee...toilet...
 
First, I joined this chat board only to verify what the new loco is and isn't. I will not be able to answer every question folks might have, but we are trying to get as much info out as we can. (Especially since this our first North American diesel loco.) Everything on web sites, blogs, etc. would be official and needs approval before it can be published, so it can take time. We hope you understand.


To Greg... and anyone interested...
1. The GE 25-Ton Diesel model has space for a decoder. It fits underneath the cab floor. The interior cab floor is one of few adjustments we made to the dimensions of the real loco. The models cab floor was, in essence, raised to be in line with a box that held batteries for the loco. Most folks would never notice the adjustment. (Moving the cab floor gave us just enough space to be able to mount a full sized PIKO 36122 decoder upside down.) I do not have the dimensions for the decoder, but I know it will mount a standard-sized PIKO decoder and has mounting posts provided for it.

2. A person controlling the throttle on a track-powered model would be able to easily change directions. The track-powered versions will not have the reversing switch, it will only be on the battery-powered track cleaner.

3. All versions of the loco come with directional LED front and rear lights. There is also a small LED that lights the cab interior. The interior cab roof has a small space for the LED to stick through, and a speaker 'grill' so sound can fill the cab when using a pancake style speaker. PIKO engineers created a completely new circuit board to control these functions... anyone who likes looking at function and design will probably love the way the speaker and lights fit together.

- An extra for folks getting the track-powered models... The track-powered models include a small sound and exhaust/smoke controller (circuit board) installed in them already. (We have visual confirmation of this on the 38500 D&RGW and 38502 Blue Goose already.) This will make it much easier for folks who wish to install those features in the future! The board is located in a small opening on the bottom of the cab, that will be visible when the loco is turned upside down. There are two switches and one sound volume knob.

...

Yes, PIKO and PECO are pronounced the same way. That could cause some confusion between PIKO the German company, and PECO the British one. Just remember the PIKO brand is the one that you want to buy more of! :) (Not knocking PECO, in fact we like them... just making a joke.)


I hope the garden railroad fans at G Scale Central have a great weekend. We look forward to hearing what you guys think of our new loco once you get a chance to run one!
 
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Joking aside dan-at-piko
Thanks for the update..we appreciate it
 
It has to get here first! :);):nod::nod:

Now I have to find if any made it to the UK?
And, if so, who used them and where?? :think::think:

I quite fancy a blue one as well... :nod: Bit of a NCB theme, with my dismals.. :)
 
First, I joined this chat board only to verify what the new loco is and isn't. I will not be able to answer every question folks might have, but we are trying to get as much info out as we can. (Especially since this our first North American diesel loco.) Everything on web sites, blogs, etc. would be official and needs approval before it can be published, so it can take time. We hope you understand.


To Greg... and anyone interested...
1. The GE 25-Ton Diesel model has space for a decoder. It fits underneath the cab floor. The interior cab floor is one of few adjustments we made to the dimensions of the real loco. The models cab floor was, in essence, raised to be in line with a box that held batteries for the loco. Most folks would never notice the adjustment. (Moving the cab floor gave us just enough space to be able to mount a full sized PIKO 36122 decoder upside down.) I do not have the dimensions for the decoder, but I know it will mount a standard-sized PIKO decoder and has mounting posts provided for it.

2. A person controlling the throttle on a track-powered model would be able to easily change directions. The track-powered versions will not have the reversing switch, it will only be on the battery-powered track cleaner.

3. All versions of the loco come with directional LED front and rear lights. There is also a small LED that lights the cab interior. The interior cab roof has a small space for the LED to stick through, and a speaker 'grill' so sound can fill the cab when using a pancake style speaker. PIKO engineers created a completely new circuit board to control these functions... anyone who likes looking at function and design will probably love the way the speaker and lights fit together.

- An extra for folks getting the track-powered models... The track-powered models include a small sound and exhaust/smoke controller (circuit board) installed in them already. (We have visual confirmation of this on the 38500 D&RGW and 38502 Blue Goose already.) This will make it much easier for folks who wish to install those features in the future! The board is located in a small opening on the bottom of the cab, that will be visible when the loco is turned upside down. There are two switches and one sound volume knob.

...

Yes, PIKO and PECO are pronounced the same way. That could cause some confusion between PIKO the German company, and PECO the British one. Just remember the PIKO brand is the one that you want to buy more of! :) (Not knocking PECO, in fact we like them... just making a joke.)


I hope the garden railroad fans at G Scale Central have a great weekend. We look forward to hearing what you guys think of our new loco once you get a chance to run one!
Top marks for taking the time to explain the detail :clap::clap::clap:

So who ate all the pies :mask::mask::mask::mask:
 
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