PECO is a UK-based manufacturer of

model railway Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are Model building, modelled at a reduced Scale (ratio), scale. The scale models include locomotives ...

accessories, especially trackwork, based at Pecorama,

Beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

South Devon South Devon is the southern part of Devon, England. Because Devon has its major population centres on its two coasts, the county is divided informally into North Devon and South Devon.For exampleNorth DevonanSouth Devonnews sites. In a narrower s ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. PECO is the collective name for the Pritchard Patent Product Company Ltd, Peco Publications and Publicity Ltd, and Pecorama. Founded in 1946 by Sydney Pritchard in a small cottage, PECO now distributes its products globally.

Products

The company supplies products for

Z gauge Z scale is one of the smallest commercially available model railway scales (1:220), with a track gauge of . Introduced by Märklin in 1972, Z scale trains operate on 0–10 volts DC and offer the same operating characteristics as all other ...

, TT:120 scale,

N gauge N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer (or country), the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. Effectively the scale is 1:159, 9 mm to , which is the width of standard gauge railway. However the scale may ...

00 gauge OO gauge or OO scale (also, 00 gauge and 00 scale) is the most popular Standard-gauge railway, standard gauge model railway standard in the United Kingdom, outside of which it is virtually unknown. OO gauge is one of several 4 mm scale, 4 mm-sca ...

H0 gauge H, or h, is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, including the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''aitch'' (pronounced , plural ''aitches'' ...

0 gauge O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sca ...

Gauge 1 1 gauge, gauge 1 or gauge one is a model railway and toy train standard that was popular in the early 20th century, particularly with European manufacturers. Its track measures , making it larger than 0 gauge but slightly smaller than wide gau ...

, and

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

products for N6.5/Nn3,

OO9 OO9, often also denoted as 009 or 00-9 and commonly pronounced as Double-Oh Nine, is a model railway scale and gauge combination of 4mm scale, 4 mm scale and gauge tracks, which models a Prototype#Scale modeling, prototype track gauge of ...

, H0m,

O16.5 On30 (also called On2, O16.5 and Oe) Track gauge, gauge is the modelling of narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge railways in O scale on HO scale, HO () Rail gauge, gauge Rail tracks, track in 1:48 scale ratio by American and Australian model railro ...

, SM32 and

G scale G scale or G gauge, also called large scale (), is a track gauge for model railways which is often used for outdoor garden railways because of its size and durability. G scale trains use a fixed track gauge of to accommodate a range of rai ...

. The primary product ranges are its track systems. Other product lines include ''PECO Trackside'' – building kits and scenic items in gauges O, OO, TT and N – and a small range of

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

and locomotives, both kits and ready-to-run, for gauges N and OO9.

Track systems

There are two main types of PECO track system: PECO Set-track and PECO Streamline. Set-track consists of a range of rigid curves, straights, crossings and

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

(turnouts), made to the standard British

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

. It is similar to the track components supplied with train-sets, and is designed for the needs of less-experienced modellers, or those experienced modellers who do not want to spend a lot of time building trackwork. However, where part of a desired layout cannot be built using Set-track parts, Streamline components can be utilised as required. PECO Streamline is for the more experienced modeller. The range includes a wider variety of points and crossings, at different

radii In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is the line segment or ...

. In 00 gauge it is available with a standard flat bottom

rail profile The rail profile is the cross-sectional shape of a Railway track#Rail, rail as installed on a railway or railroad, perpendicular to its length. Early rails were made of wood, cast iron or wrought iron. All modern rails are hot rolled steel ...

and, since 2019 bullhead profile. Historically points and crossings have been available in the ''Electrofrog'' range, with live

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to ...

, and their ''Insulfrog'' range, with plastic insulated frogs. Since 2019 ''Electrofrog'' and ''Insulfrog'' are being phased out and replaced with their ''Unifrog'' range. ''Unifrog'' points have an electrically isolated metal frog, with the option to energise it via a wire connection. Plain track is supplied in 3 foot (914 mm) lengths (2 foot for Z gauge), to be cut to length as required. The track flexes allowing the modeller to use it for straight track or any radius curve, to suit the needs of the model. The Streamline range is supplied with different types of rail, identified by code numbers indicating the height of the rail in thousands-of-an-inch. For 00/ H0 track, 'Code 100' rail is the original type, and is designed for older ready-to-run models. 'Code 83' is designed to be compatible with North American track systems. 'Code 75' is designed for 'fine-scale' models, with smaller wheel flanges, to give a more-scale appearance. TT:120 PECO Streamline track is produced with code 55 rail.

Streamline track comes in code 80 and code 55. The 00/H0 track is scaled for H0; this is commercially understandable as the product range is supplied to the smaller UK market (mainly 00) and larger European / US markets (mainly H0). The sleeper length, sleeper spacing and set-track '6 foot way' is not correct for modeling UK track in 00 gauge and this can exaggerate the error in the gauge when running 00 models. To support the track systems, "PECO''lectrics''" is the company

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

for PECO's range of electronic

control system A control system manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices or systems using control loops. It can range from a single home heating controller using a thermostat controlling a domestic boiler to large industrial ...

s, point motors and switches.

Wholly owned subsidiaries

PECO as a company owns several other well-known model companies: * Ratio * Wills * Modelscene (formerly 'Merit') * Parkside by PECO (formerly 'Parkside & Dundas') * Harburn Hobbies, Edinburgh

Publications

Peco Publications & Publicity Ltd publishes the monthly magazines ''

Railway Modeller ''Railway Modeller'' is a monthly British magazine about model railways now published by Peco Publications in Beer, Devon. It has been in publication since 1949 with Vol. 1 No. 1 published as ''The Railway Modeller,'' being an Ian Allan Prod ...

'' and '' Continental Modeller'', as well as a large range of booklets explaining wiring, scenics, baseboard construction, outdoor railways, and similar topics.

Pecorama

Pecorama is a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

, and includes a display of many model railways, a shop, and the Beer Heights Light Railway. It is located in the village of

Beer, Devon Beer is a seaside village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England. The village faces Lyme Bay and is a little over west of the town of Seaton, Devon, Seaton. It is situated on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and it ...

References

{{reflist

External links

*PEC
website
1946 establishments in England Toy companies established in 1946 Companies based in Devon Model railroad manufacturers British brands Model manufacturers of the United Kingdom