Piko 24564 H0 - MAV mail car, Era III

Model of a combined post and baggage car in Hungarian State Railways livery

A postal van instantly explains what a model train is actually doing on the layout — for decades, mail and passengers' luggage were traffic just as important as the travellers themselves. This PIKO model represents a combined post and baggage car in the livery of MÁV, the Magyar Államvasutak, set in Era III, the period from 1945 to 1970. The vehicle combines a postal compartment with a load space for luggage and consignments.

The model stands out for its well-executed body, carefully reproduced detail and excellent running characteristics. PIKO has prepared the car for the later installation of interior lighting, and add-on parts for display use are supplied in the box for anyone who wants to place the car on a showcase track. AC wheelsets are available separately under number 56061.

Model specifications:

• scale: H0 (1:87)
• item number: 24564
• manufacturer: PIKO
• length over buffers: 221 mm
• era: III (1945–1970)
• railway administration: MÁV (Magyar Államvasutak, Hungarian State Railways)
• vehicle type: combined post and baggage car, unpowered trailing vehicle
• interior lighting: model prepared for installation
• extras: add-on parts for display use included
• minimum radius: 358 mm
• AC wheelsets available separately: no. 56061
• age recommendation: 14 years and up

Please note: this car has no drive of its own.

It is an unpowered trailing vehicle without motor or electronics, intended for trains hauled by a locomotive; it is not a starter set and contains neither track nor a controller. A powered track and a locomotive are required to run it. The minimum radius is 358 mm, so despite the long body the car will also work on the tighter curves of smaller layouts.

About the post and baggage car:

For more than a century, rail was the backbone of postal traffic in Central Europe. Postal vans were coupled into stopping and semi-fast trains, and the postal staff sorted letters while the train was running so that bags and boxes could be exchanged immediately at the next station. On secondary routes a dedicated van for mail alone rarely paid its way, so a combined layout became standard: one part of the body housed the postal compartment, the other a baggage section with wide sliding doors looked after by the luggage guard.

The Hungarian State Railways, MÁV, were founded in 1868 and by Era III operated a dense network radiating from Budapest. Stopping and express trains — steam hauled at first, then increasingly worked by diesel and electric locomotives from the 1960s — almost always carried a post and baggage car, usually directly behind the locomotive or at the rear of the consist. Such a vehicle lends a model train credibility and gives the formation a clear structure: it is the natural place where a train begins or ends.

Prototype specifications (MÁV post and baggage car):

• operator: MÁV (Magyar Államvasutak, Hungarian State Railways, founded in 1868)
• vehicle type: combined post and baggage car with the body divided into a postal and a luggage compartment
• era: III (1945–1970)
• purpose: carrying and sorting mail and passengers' luggage in stopping and semi-fast trains
• area of operation: the Hungarian railway network

About the manufacturer – PIKO:

PIKO is a German model railway manufacturer that has been in continuous operation since 1949, when the company was founded in Sonneberg, Thuringia. More than seventy years of experience have produced one of the broadest ranges in Europe: models in scales H0, TT, N and G, from complete starter sets to precise models for collectors. Central and Eastern European prototypes occupy a large part of the catalogue — alongside German vehicles you will find Czech, Hungarian and Polish models, including PKP, PKP Intercity and PKP Cargo stock. PIKO's most finely detailed models, combining refined detail with modern digital technology, are marketed under the PIKO Expert label.