Private company

PIKO

Logo: PIKO, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

German model train brand

Piko is a German model train brand in Europe that also exports to the United States and other parts of the world.2 It employed 163 people.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1949Founded1
  • HeadquartersSonneberg1
  • Websitewww.piko.de
  • Legal formGesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Volkseigener Betrieb1
Dampflokomotive
Photo: Tekatka191, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Piko (stylized PIKO, pronounced "peek-oh") is a German model train brand in Europe that also exports to the United States and other parts of the world.2

The story

PIKO was founded in 1949 as a state-owned enterprise in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) to make model trains for Eastern Europe. In 1992, after the reunification of Germany, the company was purchased by PIKO Spielwaren GmbH. PIKO Spielwaren GmbH was founded in April 1992 by Dr. René F. Wilfer, PIKO’s president, who had been working in the toy industry since 1986 and had previously managed a model building company.

From Wikipedia’s article on Piko (model trains), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • rail transport modelling

Listed on Wikidata.1

Products

PIKO manufactures more than 1,500 products in these model train scales:

G scale: American and European-prototype weather-resistant models for indoor and outdoor use, including starter sets, locomotives, passenger and freight cars, track, buildings, controls and accessories.

HO scale: European-prototype models including starter sets, locomotives (most in both 2-Rail DC and 3-Rail AC versions), passenger and freight cars, track, buildings, controls and accessories.

TT scale: European-prototype locomotives and cars.

Read the full text

N scale: European-prototype locomotives, cars, and buildings.

Its headquarters factory in Sonneberg (Thuringia) Germany makes the G-scale and some HO-scale products, while its PIKO China factory in Chashan, China, makes the HO-scale "Expert", "Hobby", "SmartControl", "SmartControlLight" and "myTrain" lines, as well as the N-scale and TT-scale lines.

Manufacturing

Distribution

In Germany, PIKO products are distributed from the firm's headquarters in Sonneberg to a network of retailers. In other countries, PIKO distributors and representatives perform a similar function. In America, sales and distribution to retailers is handled by PIKO America in San Diego, California.

From Wikipedia’s article on Piko (model trains), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1949Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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