Maker record
Piko
PIKO is a German model railway maker whose production began in 1949 with the PICO Express, presented at the Leipzig Fair. Its range includes locomotives and rolling stock, buildings, track, starter sets and digital equipment, with products in G, H0, TT and N gauges. The company’s production moved from Chemnitz to Sonneberg in the early 1950s, where it became part of the town’s toy-making industry. PIKO develops locomotives based on German railway prototypes, including the E 44, BR 23 and BR 95.
- Founded
- 1949
- Countries
- Germany
- Locations
- Chemnitz, Germany · 1949 · Sonneberg, Germany · Chashan, China
- Founders
- Richard Strauss
The story of Piko
PIKO’s model railway production began in 1949, when the PICO Express was presented at the Leipzig Fair. Production followed a request from the Soviet military administration for model trains for the Soviet occupation zone and other Eastern European states. After the German Democratic Republic was founded, production continued amid the changes in ownership and organization that accompanied the new state economy.
Demand for model railways expanded production in the early 1950s, and the production base moved from Chemnitz to Sonneberg. The name PIKO replaced PICO, and the company developed and produced locomotives including the E 44, BR 23 and BR 95. The Sonneberg state-owned enterprise was privatized around German reunification. PIKO Spielwaren GmbH was founded in 1992 under Dr. René F. Wilfer, who has managed the company since then. Today PIKO makes model trains and accessories in G, H0, TT and N gauges, with production sites in Sonneberg and Chashan, China.
