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Vintage LGB Model Trains
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The roots of G-scale model-train pioneer LGB (which stands for Lehmann Gross Bahn, or Lehman Big Train in English) go back to 1881, when Ernst Paul Lehmann began making tin and wind-up toys in Brandenburg, Germany. Some of Lehmann's earliest toys...
The roots of G-scale model-train pioneer LGB (which stands for Lehmann Gross Bahn, or Lehman Big Train in English) go back to 1881, when Ernst Paul Lehmann began making tin and wind-up toys in Brandenburg, Germany. Some of Lehmann's earliest toys include a small porcelain doll on a wind-up mechanical swing and a tin couple and their dog, which was sold as "Walking Down Broadway." The couple is believed to be Lehmann and his wife, and this toy was made from 1890 to 1895. The decision to place the couple on a prominent boulevard in New York City, and to print the description and instructions on the box in English, suggests the early importance of the U.S. market to the German toy manufacturer.
In contrast, when LGB was founded in 1968 by Lehmann's grand-nephews, Eberhard and Wolfgang Richter, it took almost two decades—until 1984—for LGB to release a United States locomotive, the Mogul, which was first introduced on U.S. railways in 1864. In addition, it was not until 1987 that the German firm opened a branch in the United States in San Diego, California.
From the start, LGB was an audacious entry in the world of model trains, then dominated by brands such as Märklin, Lionel, and Hornby. Ignoring the trend on the parts of model railroaders away from O scale and toward half-size HO, LGB went big, building its trains in G scale, which was roughly twice as large as O scale and four times the size of space-saving HO. Just as radically, the company designed its model trains to be run indoors or out, rain or shine. This was accomplished by making its tracks out of non-rusting brass rails and its locomotives and rolling stock out of heavy duty plastics such as Luran-S, which was supplied by German chemical giant BASF.
The inspirations for LGB's move into what would become known as garden railways were the often scenic, narrow-gauge, real-world trains in Austria and Germany. One such railway, the Steiermärkischen Landesbahnen, opened a line to the Austrian town of Stainz in 1892. A small, tank-engine-style locomotive was named after the town and became the first locomotive in the LGB line, as well as the logo for the company itself. Today, vintage Stainz locomotives from LGB's earliest years continue to be prized among collectors of vintage model trains.
Quickly, the hobby of garden railways took off in the United States, spurring magazines and myriad cottage industries—in Southern California, a hotbed for garden railroaders thanks to its sunny climate, enthusiasts could purchase bonsai trees whose scale worked well with that of LGB's G-scale trains. Naturally, LGB offered trains running on scenic roads—Switzerland's Glacier Express, Colorado's Durango & Silverton, to name but two—and it also replicated the graphics and colors of railway lines, from the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe to the Southern Pacific. In addition, LGB got heavily into the branding game, selling trains emblazoned with the logos of Coca-Cola, Disney, and Peanuts.
Continue readingThe roots of G-scale model-train pioneer LGB (which stands for Lehmann Gross Bahn, or Lehman Big Train in English) go back to 1881, when Ernst Paul Lehmann began making tin and wind-up toys in Brandenburg, Germany. Some of Lehmann's earliest toys include a small porcelain doll on a wind-up mechanical swing and a tin couple and their dog, which was sold as "Walking Down Broadway." The couple is believed to be Lehmann and his wife, and this toy was made from 1890 to 1895. The decision to place the couple on a prominent boulevard in New York City, and to print the description and instructions on the box in English, suggests the early importance of the U.S. market to the German toy manufacturer.
In contrast, when LGB was founded in 1968 by Lehmann's grand-nephews, Eberhard and Wolfgang Richter, it took almost two decades—until 1984—for LGB to release a United States locomotive, the Mogul, which was first introduced on U.S. railways in 1864. In addition, it was not until 1987 that the German firm opened a branch in the United States in San Diego, California.
From the start, LGB was an audacious entry in the world of model trains, then dominated by brands such as Märklin, Lionel, and Hornby. Ignoring the trend on the parts of model railroaders away from O scale and toward half-size HO, LGB went big, building its trains in G scale, which was roughly twice as large as O scale and four times the size of space-saving HO. Just as radically, the company designed its model trains to be run indoors or out, rain or shine. This was accomplished by making its tracks out of non-rusting brass rails and its locomotives and rolling stock out of heavy duty plastics such as Luran-S, which was supplied by German chemical giant BASF.
The inspirations for LGB's move into what would become known as garden railways were the often scenic, narrow-gauge, real-world trains in Austria and Germany. One such railway, the Steiermärkischen Landesbahnen, opened a line to the Austrian town...
The roots of G-scale model-train pioneer LGB (which stands for Lehmann Gross Bahn, or Lehman Big Train in English) go back to 1881, when Ernst Paul Lehmann began making tin and wind-up toys in Brandenburg, Germany. Some of Lehmann's earliest toys include a small porcelain doll on a wind-up mechanical swing and a tin couple and their dog, which was sold as "Walking Down Broadway." The couple is believed to be Lehmann and his wife, and this toy was made from 1890 to 1895. The decision to place the couple on a prominent boulevard in New York City, and to print the description and instructions on the box in English, suggests the early importance of the U.S. market to the German toy manufacturer.
In contrast, when LGB was founded in 1968 by Lehmann's grand-nephews, Eberhard and Wolfgang Richter, it took almost two decades—until 1984—for LGB to release a United States locomotive, the Mogul, which was first introduced on U.S. railways in 1864. In addition, it was not until 1987 that the German firm opened a branch in the United States in San Diego, California.
From the start, LGB was an audacious entry in the world of model trains, then dominated by brands such as Märklin, Lionel, and Hornby. Ignoring the trend on the parts of model railroaders away from O scale and toward half-size HO, LGB went big, building its trains in G scale, which was roughly twice as large as O scale and four times the size of space-saving HO. Just as radically, the company designed its model trains to be run indoors or out, rain or shine. This was accomplished by making its tracks out of non-rusting brass rails and its locomotives and rolling stock out of heavy duty plastics such as Luran-S, which was supplied by German chemical giant BASF.
The inspirations for LGB's move into what would become known as garden railways were the often scenic, narrow-gauge, real-world trains in Austria and Germany. One such railway, the Steiermärkischen Landesbahnen, opened a line to the Austrian town of Stainz in 1892. A small, tank-engine-style locomotive was named after the town and became the first locomotive in the LGB line, as well as the logo for the company itself. Today, vintage Stainz locomotives from LGB's earliest years continue to be prized among collectors of vintage model trains.
Quickly, the hobby of garden railways took off in the United States, spurring magazines and myriad cottage industries—in Southern California, a hotbed for garden railroaders thanks to its sunny climate, enthusiasts could purchase bonsai trees whose scale worked well with that of LGB's G-scale trains. Naturally, LGB offered trains running on scenic roads—Switzerland's Glacier Express, Colorado's Durango & Silverton, to name but two—and it also replicated the graphics and colors of railway lines, from the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe to the Southern Pacific. In addition, LGB got heavily into the branding game, selling trains emblazoned with the logos of Coca-Cola, Disney, and Peanuts.
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