In this video I'm going to be showing you a brand new G scale model train product...
The Piko Clean Machine.
Which is a battery operated track cleaning locomotive.
But before I get into the detailed product review...
I want to tell you an interesting story about how the Piko track cleaning locomotive happened to come to my house.
I've been building up my G-scale model train collection over the last few years...
And my go-to place when I need something new for my collection is TrainWorld.com
Because they have excellent prices and a really great selection of not just G-scale but all types of model trains.
And i haven't had any trouble with them at all... I've been delighted with their service...
So, that's where I go when I need something.
And the story of how the track cleaning locomotive came to my house starts with an email that I got from UPS...
Notifying me of the tracking number for a shipment from TrainWorld.
And that struck me as odd because I didn't have anything on order with TrainWorld at that time.
So, last night a box arrived on my doorstep...
And the very first thing that I did was to take a look at the envelope that was taped to the outside of the box.
Because when you get something from TrainWorld they usually put a copy of the receipt in that envelope on the outside of the box.
And I opened it up and I wanted to make sure that I hadn't just been billed for something maybe...
That I had backordered a long time ago and forgotten about or whatever, but...
Instead of a receipt, in the envelope was a really nice letter.
The letter was from Ken Bianco Junior. The Biancos are the family that owns TrainWorld.
I had seen Ken on many videos on TrainWorld's YouTube channel.
So, I was impressed to get a personal letter from Ken!
And the letter says, in part...
I stumbled across one of your YouTube videos the other day and I couldn't believe the amount of views and subscribers you have.
Congratulations on your success and thank you for your help promoting our hobby and sharing it with the world.
Your G-scale videos are amazing and it seems you have gathered a nice collection of model trains.
Well, yes I have. And most of them have come from TrainWorld.
Well anyway, he sent me the Piko track cleaning locomotive at his expense...
And I'm gonna put it to the test here and see how it does with my layout.
If you've watched some of the model train videos on my YouTube channel...
I'm sure you've seen this section of outdoor track that I have on my side yard.
This track sits out in the weather all year long, and it oxidizes.
If you own an outdoor G-scale layout, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
If this track sits out here unused for a couple of weeks...
When I try to run a train on it, watch what happens.
It can't make a good electrical connection. It'll either run very jerky, or stop all together.
This point in the track right here is where my outdoor track meets up with the track that I keep protected indoors.
This whole length of track along the side of my house is oxidized and...
Normally I have to bend down and use some fine grit sandpaper on it...
To get the track cleaned off good enough for the trains to run.
I'm 61 years old now. Bending over is getting more painful as I get older.
So, let's see if the Piko clean machine can solve the problem...
And keep me from having to bend over and use sandpaper on this entire length of track.
Taking a look at the bottom side of it... These two little abrasive pads are where the magic happens.
As the train moves along the tracks, those two pads will scrape against the rails and hopefully that'll clean off the track.
Now I want to make sure that your expectations are realistic.
Don't expect this little locomotive to clean your rails with just one pass.
It takes quite a few passes over the rails for this thing to fully do the job.
That's normal. That's what you should expect... and it's no problem.
If you've got an outdoor layout, this thing will work best on sections of the layout where...
It loops around and you can just let it make a bunch of continuous runs through the layout.
I've run it over this section of track about ten times now...
Since this track has been outdoors with no trains running on it for a long time and is very heavily oxidized.
I promise I have not cheated! I have not run any sandpaper over the track.
Let's see now what happens when we try to run the locomotive down the track.
Well, that's a good sign right there.
It made it past the spot where it got hung up earlier, before I used the clean machine.
And it looks like it's doing fine now over the entire length of the track.
So, there you go. Success!
And I sure appreciate not having to bend down and sandpaper the track!
Thank you to Ken Bianco Junior for sending this to me.
And if you're interested in one for your layout...
Head over to TrainWorld.com type "Piko Clean Machine" in the search box...
And you'll find it. It sells for well under $200.
It comes with two sets of cleaning pads.
I have no idea how many uses you can get out of them yet.
But if you need more, you can order those at TrainWorld, too.
I'm Jim Zim. If you found this video useful and you think other model train people should see it...
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Thanks for watching!