125 years of trains

Classic model train maker LGB, Nuremberg, Germany, will celebrate 125 years in the business this year with more than 200 new products.

The celebratory trains will feature a complete line of nickel-plated “Ni” track sections; new Amtrak locomotives, passenger coaches and freight cars; Disney, Coca-Cola, Peanuts and Wild West-theme rolling stock; a classic LGB Mogul loco featuring a new Vanderbilt-style tender; special models to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk; models exclusively for LGB Club members; and an easier-to-install model catenary system.

The Disney train set features a loco and two cars depicting the famous Disney characters. The train is equipped with sound and a “Direct Decoder” interface to allow easy installation of an LGB MTS decoder for digital operation. The Peanuts Christmas Car features Snoopy's doghouse and has working Christmas lights and, of course, a sad, thin Christmas tree.

Several Amtrak cars will be launched, including the Amtrak Amfleet Coach, Phase III, a replica of an Amfleet passenger car featuring the railway line's distinctive livery and lettering scheme as it appeared for years in regular service. The Amtrak Amfleet Café Car, Phase III, City of San Diego is a reproduction of passenger café car featuring metal wheels and interior lighting.

In addition to a large collectibles line, LGB will also have a new lineup of starter sets for 2006. Recommended as an introductory product to LGB, each train set includes the necessary elements to start a collection: a rugged steam or diesel loco, passenger or freight cars and track.

At this year's Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair, Anneliese Aumer, export manager for LGB, discussed the company's 125th anniversary and its near-term plans.

“We have been working very hard to grow the 'World of LGB' into new markets, and the Hong Kong show is an important part of that effort,” Aumer told Playthings. “We had a very prominent position at that show, and I was able to make contacts with potential customers from central Asia, East Asia and South America.”

Much closer to home, the company, which started in 1881 as a tin toy maker in Brandenburg, Germany, will also celebrate 125 years in the business with a festival in Nuremberg, July 14-16, showcasing anniversary models, layouts, production demonstrations, games, and real trains modeled after LGB trains.

“With thousands and thousands of LGB fans coming from all over the world, this promises to be the biggest event in the history of G scale,” Aumer said.