# Piko Water Tower



## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

I am considering getting the Piko Rio Grande water tower but I model in 1.20. I know the tower is roughly 1.22 scale but was wondering how close it really is. Now, i'm not a total purist when it comes to scale but i do like things to be "close".  If someone has a picture of one with a connie or climax in it for comparison it would be greatly appreciated. The water tower is a temporary fix. I want one so i can have my engine facility up and running, but right now i don't have the time to get one built. The piko one would be moved to a future location when all is said and done.


Terry


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## K27_463 (Jan 2, 2008)

The PikoTower does a good job of impersonating some of the smaller Rio Grande towers, such as Los Pinos or Cresco. It is WAY too small to represent the dual spout tower at Chama for example. However, a 1:20 Chama tower is so large that many will not have enough room for it . It is about double the size( in all three dimensions) of teh Piko model. however, with that said,the Piko does not look too bad, and is the best choice for a quick solution.


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

I agree with Jonathan that it would look fine. And if you want to spruce it up a bit here are some tips from Jack Thompson: 
piko tower 
A couple of pics down on this page I think is a 1:20.3 tender next to the tower.


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

Yup, i think that will do nicely.


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## Doug Tome (Jan 2, 2008)

Terry, 

I have sent you a email with a comparison picture of a Piko water tower and my 1/24th scale water tower (50,000 gallon). Hopefully  this will help you decide what you want to do. 

Parking my LGB mallet under the Piko water tower looked pretty bad. The water tower was to small for the size of the tender. It just did not look believeable.

Feel free to post the picture here if you want. I had pictures on file on the old forum format. Since the change I am not sure if they are around. As far as trying to figure out the new format and posting pictures.........................forget it.


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

The Piko water tower is not exactly a true scale model, but it is still a really good rendition of the typical D&RGW tank.  We painted up the Rio Grande version with Polly Scale D&RGW building colors (cream and brown).  I would try to avoid the "Durango" version since it has this lettering across the sides, and I'm not sure if it comes off or not.

We run mostly 1:22.5 equipment and it looks fantastic with this scale.  But I also run a 1:20.3 C-16 and it looks good with this as well.  When you start getting into bigger locos, then the tank might look a little small.  However of the easy to build plastic kits out there it's the best.  The Pola tank is way too small, and not very proportionate.

Remember that the real towers were massive structures.  Going true scale means the tank is going to be huge, and perhaps too overpowering.

Below are some photos of the Piko tower on the layout.  I forget the manufacturer of the Los Pinos pump house...anyone know this company?  They make/made some other nice D&RGW inspired structures in resin.


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## steamtrain95993 (Feb 21, 2008)

Gents,

How do these tanks compare to the ready built tank made by Aristocraft?  At least I think it's Aristocraft.  They come in a box with windows in them so you can see the product inside.  You just open the box and put it on the layout.  Thanks for your help.

Mario


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

Doug, i didn't get your email and I know it is gonna be small, I'm just looking for something to get me by until I can get out to your place and get those plans from you. Then I'll have to build the thing...... 
The other thing is that my line is a smaller narrow guage railroad so they wouldn't have a massive tank to begin with, at least i wouldn't think so. Oh well, i'm gonna keep lookin around maybe get the piko maybe not. 
Mario, i have seen the aristo water tower and it is tiny for even 1/22 use. I believe it was made for 1/29th. 
Terry


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Doug Tome on 02/22/2008 8:09 AM


*«snip...»* Since the change I am not sure if they are around. As far as trying to figure out the new format and posting pictures.........................forget it.



Boy, some people are just no way to please. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/whistling.gif As you can see all of your lonely images are still safely tucked away in their cozy 1st Class playpen.


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

Wow, that is a huge difference..... (sigh) what to do what to do? I'm gonna have to look around some more. Is there anyone that makes a 1:20 scale tower?  I know i could make my own but i really want to get one up before operations start this year. 
Terry


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

I realized I'm starting to beat this thread to death, but i have one more question. I noticed that piko makes three different water towers. The nnormal piko tower (shown in Doug Tome's photos), the durango tower and the rio grande tower. Unless my eyes decieve me, the rio grande tower looks fatter than the others. Can anyone confirm this? If so it may be "good enough" for now. The piko standard one just seems like it would be much too small. Thanks again for all the help. 
Terry


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## Al McEvoy (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By paintjockey on 02/23/2008 6:38 AM
I realized I'm starting to beat this thread to death, but i have one more question. I noticed that piko makes three different water towers. The nnormal piko tower (shown in Doug Tome's photos), the durango tower and the rio grande tower. Unless my eyes decieve me, the rio grande tower looks fatter than the others. Can anyone confirm this? If so it may be "good enough" for now. The piko standard one just seems like it would be much too small. Thanks again for all the help. 
Terry


Important note - the tower on the left in Doug Tome's comparison picture (bottom photo of the series) is NOT a Piko water tower but is in fact a POLA American Water Tower.  POLA's tower is shorter and narrower than either the Rio Grande or Durango towers.

Here are the dimensions from Piko and POLA models along with the source URL: 
252x335x450mm  - Rio Grande  Ref.  http://www.piko.de/produkt_db/check.php?page=detail&grand_id=5&parent_id=2&child_id=10&id=62210
252x335x450mm  - Durango  Ref.  http://www.piko.de/produkt_db/check.php?page=detail&grand_id=5&parent_id=2&child_id=10&id=62231
208x300x375mm - POLA Western Style ref.   http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/pol/pol330923.htm

I have the Durango tower (still unassembled) and - yes - the letters "DURANGO" on two of the 4 tank wall sections are pretty well painted/silkscreened on and so the tank sections will need to be covered with primer and a new paint/stain/weathering job since my RR is an eastern US line.

I have mocked mine up (with rubber bands) and it looks dimensionally OK standing next to my Bachmann 2-8-0 Connie.  When the water tower spout is lowered it hangs just over the fill hole in the tender.

I suggest go for either of the Piko kits and you will be fine until you decide to get the 1:20.3 monster.

Al


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By San Juan on 02/22/2008 9:56 AM
The Piko water tower is not exactly a true scale model, but it is still a really good rendition of the typical D&RGW tank.  We painted up the Rio Grande version with Polly Scale D&RGW building colors (cream and brown).  I would try to avoid the "Durango" version since it has this lettering across the sides, and I'm not sure if it comes off or not.

We run mostly 1:22.5 equipment and it looks fantastic with this scale.  But I also run a 1:20.3 C-16 and it looks good with this as well.  When you start getting into bigger locos, then the tank might look a little small.  However of the easy to build plastic kits out there it's the best.  The Pola tank is way too small, and not very proportionate.

Remember that the real towers were massive structures.  Going true scale means the tank is going to be huge, and perhaps too overpowering.










 

Great information on water towers. Since I too will be building a 1:20.3 layout which will require a tower or two, this is quite useful.  In fact, this was one of those scale details that had not occurred to me until now.


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi,

I  built my own to 1/20th scale as the Pola one was too smal. It is based on a 10 liter paint buckety and the rest is plastic.

Having delved into the archives (which are very useful indeed) here is the link to it - 

http://archive.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=40523

For some reason Ithe second part has disappeared, my aplologies for that, but as you can see the tank has been completed


Here are some photos of it 










The Climax is a modified Bachmann one for scale.

one before painting, the 10 liter bucket is wrapped in 5mm sheet.











and one of the roof


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## Al McEvoy (Jan 3, 2008)

Just to add confusion to indecision, Kamloops Junction also makes what appears to be a very nice western-style water tower kit - all wood construction - that appears to be of sufficient size so as not to appear to dinky on a 1:20.3 railroad.  
Go here: http://www.kamloopsjunction.com/watertower.html


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## Al McEvoy (Jan 3, 2008)

Nice work, Peter!   What are the overall dimensions of your scratch-built tower?


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

I realized the two photos I posted may look purdy, but they don't help much with the scale question.  So I searched through all of our layout photos and surprisingly seem to never have taken any with rolling stock of any scale right next to the Piko tower. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/ermm.gif

But I did find these two photos that might be helpful.

The first shows the Piko (Rio Grande) tower with some what I'm guessing to be 1:22.5 sized equipment nearby.  The flatcar is from Hartland, the reefer is from Bachmann, and the boxcar is from USA.  The buildings in the background vary from Pola and Piko, and the freight depot (barley seen behind the rolling stock) is from Pacific Coast Garden Railway Supply.











The second photo is an interesting one.  Here our 1:20.3 Bachmann Connie pulls a train of 1:22.5 LGB cars next to our now retired Pola tower.  Although it doesn't show the Piko scale comparison it does show the Pola scale comparison.  The Piko tower replaced this old Pola one and looks a lot better in my opinion.


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By San Juan on 02/23/2008 12:10 PM
I realized the two photos I posted may look purdy, but they don't help much with the scale question.  So I searched through all of our layout photos . . .  I did find these two photos that might be helpful.











The second photo is an interesting one.  Here our 1:20.3 Bachmann Connie pulls a train of 1:22.5 LGB cars next to our now retired Pola tower.  Although it doesn't show the Piko scale comparison it does show the Pola scale comparison.  The Piko tower replaced this old Pola one and looks a lot better in my opinion.









Yes, indeed. The difference is dramatic and the photos are very useful. Many thanks.


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks for all the help! By the looks the rio grande tower just might be the way to go. Thanks again! 
Terry


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By peter bunce on 02/23/2008 10:53 AM
I  built my own to 1/20th scale as the Pola one was too smal. It is based on a 10 liter paint buckety and the rest is plastic.








Very impressive that someone would do this. It is more trouble than I would go to, considering that somewhat similar ones are available on the open market. Nevertheless I have to admire the effort anyone would go to in order to reproduce one of these structures.  Nice work !


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## Russell Miller (Jan 3, 2008)

This sit has the best 1:20.3 tank that I've been able to find. http://mysite.verizon.net/bryie/pcgrs/id33.html 
Russ


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By blackburn49 on 02/23/2008 5:08 PM
Posted By peter bunce on 02/23/2008 10:53 AM
I  built my own to 1/20th scale as the Pola one was too smal. It is based on a 10 liter paint buckety and the rest is plastic.








Very impressive that someone would do this. It is more trouble than I would go to, considering that somewhat similar ones are available on the open market. Nevertheless I have to admire the effort anyone would go to in order to reproduce one of these structures.  Nice work ! 


Hi Ron,  Not really you are quite far away from most of the USA. but at least Alaska is a state of it: I am even further away in England! Now the the US Mail has mucked uppost from the US (airmail only - thus expensive) , it is easier to build, iff I can get a plan. That was the case here, and I wanted a proper size version so a lucky find (the bucket (US measurement would be about 2 or 2.5 gallons) made it 'do able'.


As luck would have it via the blog site 'http://120pointme.blogspot.com'   Pacific Coast  (http://mysite.verizon.net/bryie/pcgrs/id2.html)  have just released one of 50,000gallons either a twin spout as at Chama, or a single spout - price as I expected is $529, and higher for the twin spout, and extra for a cedar shingle roof. They will be good: you can stand on them whilst the are being built - the top will preclude that when finished!

Their site does have some very nice photos - have a look, also the 'blog' is always interesting (no connection with either!)


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By peter bunce on 02/24/2008 4:07 AM
Posted By blackburn49 on 02/23/2008 5:08 PM
Posted By peter bunce on 02/23/2008 10:53 AM
I  built my own to 1/20th scale as the Pola one was too smal. It is based on a 10 liter paint buckety and the rest is plastic.








Very impressive that someone would do this. It is more trouble than I would go to, considering that somewhat similar ones are available on the open market. Nevertheless I have to admire the effort anyone would go to in order to reproduce one of these structures.  Nice work ! 


Hi Ron,  Not really you are quite far away from most of the USA. but at least Alaska is a state of it: I am even further away in England! Now the the US Mail has mucked uppost from the US (airmail only - thus expensive) , it is easier to build, iff I can get a plan. That was the case here, and I wanted a proper size version so a lucky find (the bucket (US measurement would be about 2 or 2.5 gallons) made it 'do able'.


As luck would have it via the blog site 'http://120pointme.blogspot.com'   Pacific Coast  (http://mysite.verizon.net/bryie/pcgrs/id2.html)  have just released one of 50,000gallons either a twin spout as at Chama, or a single spout - price as I expected is $529, and higher for the twin spout, and extra for a cedar shingle roof. They will be good: you can stand on them whilst the are being built - the top will preclude that when finished!

Their site does have some very nice photos - have a look, also the 'blog' is always interesting (no connection with either!)




Now I got it. You have the same problem we have with freight rates, but even more so.  I imagine most every structure you have or will have will be scratch-built.


The website you mention is one of the sponsors here. I have indeed looked at those models and am considering one of them for my Phase III layout. Those are impressive water towers even if a bit pricey. 


I will need structures that don't mind being half-buried in the snow--although I may resort to dropping a tarp over the structures as winter advances. That would leave just the issue of the weight but not so much of the standing water when spring hits--which it will here in about a month and a half . with any luck it will come a little earlier this year. Might as well get some_ real mileage_ out of this _global warming_ I keep hearing about.


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## gigawat (Apr 4, 2012)

Has anyone found or made a functional water tower for the live steam trains? That would be fantastic!


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## ChaoticRambo (Nov 20, 2010)

Posted By gigawat on 03 May 2012 03:35 PM 
Has anyone found or made a functional water tower for the live steam trains? That would be fantastic! 
The piko water towers are functional


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## Big65Dude (Jan 2, 2008)

Terry -

Here are some pix of the Pico "Rio Grande" water tower I "bashed" a few years ago, taken recently in a definite 1:20.3 setting - Roger Cutter's RGS East layout in North Central Maryland: 



















If you'd like to see some more shots of it, click on my name below and go to the "Structures" drop down menu.


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

Posted By gigawat on 03 May 2012 03:35 PM 
Has anyone found or made a functional water tower for the live steam trains? That would be fantastic! 
Just last wee I looked at a video of a functional water column here on MLS. This was not a tower/tank but a column that comes up from the ground and has a similar spout. I just did a site specific search and couldn't find it. It may have been wiped out with the "glitch" reset. It was very cool though.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Maybe you mean the fourth post down in this thread? 

http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/11/aft/124368/afv/topic/Default.aspx 

Larry


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

That's it Larry! Thanks! I was searching water column and spout. I forgot it was the "pans" thread.


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