PIKO ICE-3 HO Model

I have just taken delivery of an HO model of the German ICE-3 High Speed Train made by Piko.

It joins my existing high-speed fleet of a TGV Thalys and TGV Duplex. I ordered a 4-car "starter set" (complete with track and controller) and 2 additional cars to make up a 6-car train. The length of the 6-car ICE is similar to my TGV's which have 7 cars, because the TGV cars are shorter.

The ICE model has some interesting features:

• The motor is mounted in the Bistro car, which is one of the intermediate cars. It drives the inner axle of each bogie, and all 4 drive wheels are fitted with traction tires.
• None of the wheels on the Bistro car pick up power, so it will not run on its own. Power pickup is via all 8 wheels on one of the end cars.
• The couplings between the cars include a 5-pin electrical connector which transmits the track power from the end car to the Bistro car, and feed power back to the lights in the end cars.
• The "couplings" are male and female, so each car can only be inserted in the train in one direction.
• The Bistro car includes an 8-pin connector for a DCC decoder. I installed a Lenz 1014 which I had laying around, and everything worked fine including the lights.
• The wiring throughout follows the standard DCC colour codes (a nice touch). The couplings to the rear of the bistro car are wired for lights only, so it would not be easy to add additional power pickups to the rear cars.
• The LED lights are a nice white colour (not too bluish). The centre light at each end, just below the windscreen, is white only and the lower two lights change from white to red, depending on the settings for the DCC decoder. I left the decoder set for the default of directional headlights, although I don't usually use directional headlights for locos (preferring independent front and rear lights).
• The model depicts the original Class 403 ICE-3 which is only suitable for use in Germany and neighbouring countries with compatible overhead power and signalling systems. (The Class 406 trains can operate on international services.)
• The cars are numbered 403-015, 403-115, 403-215, 403-315, 403-615 and 403-515. The 4th digit of the number represents the car type - see Train Composition Table. 403-215 should be a first class car but the model is 2nd class.
• I have ordered my cars to produce a "plausible" 6-car set, with 2 x 1st class, bistro and 3 x 2nd class cars. Prototype trains have one extra 1st and 2nd class cars - 8 in total. Piko do not make all cars necessary for an accurate 8-car set.
• The last two digits correspond to the number of the complete set, i.e. 15. I have used 15 as the DCC address for the train.

I like this video of 2 ICE's passing in the Netherlands. Although there are many videos of ICE's at speed, the ones in this video are travelling slowly so it easy to see the train properly.