PIKO and Hornby (Lima)

[Chrissaf]

Hi everybody,

I have a PIKO HO train sets, will HORNBY locomotives will wotk on the PIKO track? will HORNBY wagons will roll on the track?

Thank you!

[96RAF]

Ho and OO track are the same gauge 16.5mm so your locos will run on either track. What you cannot do is simply connect the two track types together as the overall profile of the track parts do not match. Modern Peco, Hornby and Bachmann track is fairly much interchangeable out of the box.

 

Note that older rolling stock may have large wheel flanges that do not run well on modern track.

 

Compare...

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[Chrissaf]

HO is 1:87 scale and Hornby 00 scale is 1:76.

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In general, both these scales use the same track rail width 16.5mm. But compatibility between Hornby and PIKO rolling stock and the PIKO track may depend upon the track code. Current Hornby track is Code100 which means that the height of the rail is 100/1000ths [1/10th] of an inch. Now if your PIKO track is also Code 100, then there shouldn't be an issue. If your PIKO track is a lower code say Code 60, 75 or 83, then modern Hornby rolling stock should be OK, but much older Hornby rolling stock may not be suitable due to their much coarser and deeper wheel flanges.

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Note also that PIKO is HO scale and Hornby is 00 Scale [as stated in my opening line of text]. This means that your PIKO HO rolling stock will look much smaller and 'out of place' when connected to or standing near any Hornby rolling stock on the layout.

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The rolling stock and track couplings used by Hornby may not be compatible with those used by PIKO.

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Another consideration is track curve radius. Modern Hornby long wheelbase rolling stock states on the box minimum Radius 2 which is a curve radius of 438mm. If any of your layout PIKO curves are tighter than that [less than 438mm] then you may experience derailments using long wheelbase Hornby rolling stock on it.

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TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

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See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/

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[LCDR]

The Piko website lists four HO curve radii 360mm to 548mm so similar to Hornby. Sounds like it will be compatible.