THANK YOU for keeping the LGB hobby alive!! And God Bless!
Your donation will help in our efforts to have a new blog at least every week!
Alright, YT has never done this before. But ......
First let me say YT really admires JH Neumann for his enthusiasm for the LGB Hobby and his lifelong commitment to LGB trains and the LGB fan community. YT also realizes that with advanced age the past often seems closer to your heart than the present. BUT....
Here is the link to the 2018 LGB catalog
LGB 2018
I think it is a very good and broad offer for the LGB fan. One of the best in recent years, actually. Coming back from extinction (no production from 2006-2009) is hard for a product that is slightly complicated to say the least. A regular LGB loco consists of up to 150 different parts or more. Handrails are not molded into the form but are a part by themselves. As are wheels, bumpers, domes, cabin doors, and so much more.
Just the motor block of your average LGB engine is a well-thought-out assembly of 15 to 40 parts (depending on type and model). All available as single spare parts. You know where this is going. Because this is exactly the reason that LGB trains are liked around the world with a following of fans and customers for more than 50 years and counting. And it is also a reason for delays in manufacturing, maintaining and reworking the molds for locos and cars.
We as TrainCraft by Klaus have it on our banner to keep the Original old LGB locos up and running and the history of the Old LGB alive. But without any new items to purchase there would be no new fans and customers. All of us old guys would just simply pass away one day without any future for the hobby.
It takes a great effort to get a company back from the dead and a product running again. Money, knowledge and management are key factors. Now take a look at the 2018 LGB catalog. It's a download so it may take a while on your computer. But look. YT hasn't seen an offer that big since the early 1990's. And LGB was never cheap. Ever. Actually it is less expensive today than in its heyday. Considering costs of living back then and today.
And there are new and young(er) LGB fans again, today! Take a look at how many Garden Railway clubs and societies there were in the USA and Canada in 1990, 2012 and today in 2019 : it went from roughly 240 down to maybe 30 back up to 120 today. Yep! You didn't expect that, now, did you!! And each garden railway club has its own G Scale layout and trains operating on it. Younger people in growing numbers are joining the G Scale community and they come with their own taste in train(-set) types, color scheme and price range they are willing to spend. Not to mention that LGB has narrow gauge railroads at its heart and narrow gauge by defintion is a pretty limited affair. The number of original models than you can rebuilt in G scale is just not that big compared to regular gauge.
It has always been a master characteristic of LGB to announce a 100 and deliver max 30, meaning you get 30 percent of what they say they will have. At any time, under Wolfgang Richter and some say, even more under Rolf Richter, LGB announced 10 new items and then had 1 item in stores nine months later. and the rest took up to 2 years to be available for purchase. Bad management? I refer to my paragraph about the 150 different parts ... Klaus Baumann (VP Sales at the original LGB) told stories manifold about how they had to create so-called hand-models from wood, metal and some molded plastic so they could have a photo for the next catalog and say "NEW Items for ... A good example is right here
Ability to actually deliver a new item to a dealer vs showing it in the catalog hasn't changed much over the last 50 years. A look at Only Trains, one of the best and fairest dealers in the USA for LGB and other G Scale Trains shows that out of 46 LGB locos (steam,Diesel and electric) 21 are available in stock, which is about 45%. That is pretty good.
A word about prices, German prices that is. Germany had a currency change in 2002, from DM to Euro as had all European Union countries with their currency. People liked it and hated it. Some compared it to a monetary reform. Life went on. We have the internet now. And Amazon.com. There is just something really wrong when someone compares apples to oranges. It's like comparing what you did at age 37 to what you do now at age 72..... It just doesn't work aside from inflation, general economic power, and assimilation of the former East Germany into what Germany is today. Yes, the Deutsch Mark was a hallmark of the reborn Western Germany (after WWII) signaling a wealthy-to-be society. But... go and see Germany today. With the Euro. It is a rich country. Beautiful. They reintegrated and rebuilt not only East Germany, they rebuilt every single building they still had (by 2003). And Germany's history goes back more than 2000 years. That's how long the territory of today's Germany is inhabited by people who built castles, villages, towns, roads, bridges, railways, churches and what not. Oh, and LGB trains! To hang on to a price scheme from 25 years ago from a completely different economy is just not right.
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Klaus' Plea: I want to keep you informed and entertained with our blogs without ads or the need for subscription.It takes great effort and time to entertain the blog sites. Please support us in our endeavor of keeping the blogs ads-free, the LGB history alive and promoting this delightful avocation by donating any amount you feel comfortable with. Send me a check or go to our Go-Fund-Me page at .https://www.gofundme.com/keep-the-lgb-traincraft-blogs-alive
THANK YOU for keeping the LGB hobby alive!! And God Bless!
Your donation will help in our efforts to have a new blog at least every week!
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