Piko 27748 H0 - Set of 2 WP Post Container Cars, CH-AAE, Era VI

Set of two container flat wagons in CH-AAE colours

A set of two container flat wagons in CH-AAE colours — one of the largest private freight wagon owners in Europe. The version reproduced by PIKO represents an era VI setting and brings the look of modern intermodal transport to a layout.

Both wagons are loaded with twenty-foot containers carrying accurately reproduced WP Post printing. Sharp printing contours and careful underframe construction give good running qualities. The set forms a natural basis for extending a container train with further wagons.

Model specifications:

• Scale: H0 (1:87)
• Catalogue number: 27748
• Manufacturer: PIKO
• Model length: 157 mm
• Era: VI
• Coupling: NEM 362 coupler pocket with close coupling kinematics
• Minimum radius: 358 mm
• Two-wagon set
• Load: two 20 ft containers with WP Post printing
• Wheelsets for AC operation, available separately: no. 56061
• The model is painted and ready to run
• Recommended age: 14 years and over

Please note: this model is not a starter set — a locomotive and powered track are required.

The wagon model does not include track, a locomotive or a controller. To put it into service you need powered track and a locomotive — analogue or digital. The wagon itself has no drive or electronics, so it behaves the same way on analogue DC track as in a digitally controlled DCC layout.

Model railways – digital or analogue control?

The digital DCC control system allows several locomotives to run independently on the same track. Each vehicle receives individual commands while the rail voltage stays constant, which makes realistic operation possible and allows the lights and sound effects of every locomotive to be controlled separately. In an analogue system all vehicles on a given circuit are controlled at once by varying the supply voltage. PIKO model 27748 is an unpowered wagon without electronics, so it can be marshalled into trains hauled in either analogue or digital operation.

About container flat wagons and the AAE

The container flat wagon is one of the pillars of modern intermodal transport. Its flat, lightweight construction with fixed or repositionable locking pins allows ISO containers and swap bodies to be carried in various arrangements, with transfer done by gantry crane or reachstacker at the terminal without touching the load itself.

AAE — Ahaus Alstätter Eisenbahn — was founded in February 1989 as a freight wagon hire company. The name comes from the concession it took over for the nine-kilometre Ahaus – Alstätte line, which gave the company railway undertaking status and access to the European system of technical standards. After a partnership with the American GATX, the fleet grew from 2,500 wagons in 1994 to around 30,000 over the following decade and a half, making AAE one of the largest private wagon owners in Europe.

In 2002 the headquarters moved to Baar in Switzerland — hence the country code CH in the keeper marking CH-AAE. In September 2014 the takeover of AAE by the Hamburg group VTG was announced, and the transaction closed in early 2015. The wagons still run under the AAE keeper code, though hire is managed by VTG.

Prototype data:

• Axles: 4 (two bogies)
• Keeper: CH-AAE (Ahaus Alstätter Eisenbahn, part of the VTG group since 2015)
• Load: ISO containers and swap bodies
• Top speed of typical wagons in this group: 100–120 km/h
• Role: intermodal and container trains

About the manufacturer – PIKO:

PIKO is a German manufacturer of model railways with more than seventy years of tradition, founded in 1949 in Sonneberg. Today it is one of the most popular model railway brands in Europe and a leading producer of Polish prototype models, including locomotives and coaches in PKP, PKP Intercity and PKP Cargo colours. The range covers H0, TT, N and G scales, from individual wagons to comprehensive starter sets and digital control systems. The PIKO Expert range combines a high level of detail with modern digital technology — with factory-fitted DCC and sound decoders in selected models. PIKO products are valued by modellers and collectors worldwide.