In loving memory of Richard Kughn who passed away today (6/8/19)

Sad to hear, thanks for posting. He truly did 'save' Lionel when the company was floundering and on the ropes. He had the passion and the vision to bring it back and helped preserve it. Some complained that he ruined the hobby for small business that had used the Lionel name over the years, but in retrospect, he actually brought the company back to a cohesive operation that enabled it to flourish and prosper. He had the ability to make it work again and by forming a business partnership with Mike Wolf, they brought Lionel into the modern age of train manufacturing and brought in newer prototypes as ell as reviving the 'Lionel Classics' in standard gauge.

Rest in peace Richard.

In my opinion he was the best thing for Lionel in my era.

Rest in peace Mr.Kughn....and enjoy running your trains in heaven.

HOLLY COW!!! Thanks for letting us know. He will be in the history books forever. Mr. Kughn thanks for bringing back the 700e and keeping a tradition still alive even when the decision to take over the company that could have ruined him. Tell Neil I said hello. 

Very sad news; sincere condolences to the entire Kughn family.  He was a grace to the hobby and will be terribly missed.

Sad to hear of his passing, condolences to the Kughn family,  rest in peace Mr. Kughn, you will be missed.

Sad news! I highly regard Mr. Kughn.  It was his Lionel era trains that brought me out of HO and into O.  The NS Dash-8,  was my first loco. I still have it.

I had the privilege of meeting him several times. A fine gentleman and always gracious. Spending an evening with him at his Carail facility was a unique and memorable pleasure. Rest in peace, sir.

I was not prepared for this, but to say I'm sad would be an understatement.

I'm very disappointed I never got to meet and thank Richard for everything he did for Lionel during his ownership. It was part of my childhood, and Lionel probably would not become the success that it was throughout the 90's without him. So many great trains like the new scale Hudson were built and so many great innovations like TMCC and RailSounds were born.

I'm incredibly grateful to Richard Kughn and his team at Lionel Trains, Inc. for all their hard work and just being an icon and inspiration to everyone in the hobby.

R.I.P. Mr Kughn, and my condolences to the entire family. 

Dave

Mr. Kughn, a class act from start to finish.

Steve

a great addition to anybodys collection,clear tracks ahead,rip 

My condolences to the Kughn family

I am truly grateful for all that Mr. Kughn did for Lionel trains and the hobby as a whole.

 Rest in peace Mr. Kughn.

My condolences to him and his family. 
Imet him at the 2000 LCCA/LOTS convention in Detroit. I tooured his CARrail and had him sign many lionel items I won throught the convention. HE was a great and pleasant man to meet and talk to.

Thank you Mr. Kughn

Condolences and prayers for the Kughn family......a sad day for us all....

Peter

Very sad news indeed.

Mr.Kughn done so much for Lionel and the hobby in general.

Prayers go out to his family ,close friends and all those that appreciated his contributions to our hobby.

I too was at the Detroit convention,  and respected his effort to preserve, perhaps not only Lionel, but the three rail hobby, and initiate the boom of new  products we lived through.  I especially respected him, as one of us who were train and vintage car fans, and appreciated touring his collections.  The good guys don't live long enough 

God bless him!

Words cannot adequately express how sad I was to awake this morning to this distressing news.

I knew Richard fairly well and met and spoke with him on a number of occasions back when he headed Lionel, as well as in the years thereafter. He truly saved Lionel Trains at the right time in its long, illustrious, and sometimes turbulent history, and I honestly feel that by doing so he saved the O gauge hobby in a very direct and enduring way. Chances are good that we would not be enjoying this forum today, along with the bounty of O gauge products produced in this century and in the closing decades of the previous century, had it not been for the dedication of this one individual and his vision for what Lionel was as an American icon and what it could become for future generations.

Sincere condolences from all on the OGR staff to Richard's family, friends, and many associates in the toy train world and beyond. A true gentleman has departed our ranks, but he will not be forgotten.

My sincere condolences to the Kughn family.

To say Richard was a GIANT in this hobby is an understatement....  He arrived on the scene for Lionel and the O gauge hobby as we know it today just at the right time with the right approach and the right product.  His vision and enthusiasm was legendary and inspired a whole new generation of hobbyists.  Richard's contributions to the hobby will always be remembered as well as his wonderful,  bigger than life personality and we will miss him very much indeed!  Our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends...RIP.....

Very sad news for the 3 rail hobby. I had visited Carail and his Detroit Madison Hardware operation many times. He also at one time had a fantastic classic car collection. His woody collection was unbelievable.

A true loss.  Condolences to his family.

I think all of us in this hobby are indebted to Richard. I think O and Standard gauge trains would not be where they are today if it were not for his actions. Condolences to his family. 

I met him and his wife in York back in the 90's. Rest In Peace. Condolences to the family.

Alan and Allan said it all. I would have so much more money if Richard Kughn had not resuscitated Lionel trains when he did. But a whole lot less fun. To say he saved O gauge is probably correct. Who knows how far Mike Wolf would have gotten at Williams or if he would have gone out on his own without Lionel.

Gerry

Very sad news indeed. I had the pleasure of meeting him several times over the years. He took a gamble and bought Lionel turning it around. I believe if not for him doing that we would not have or be enjoying what we have today. My prayers and condolences to his family..................Paul 2

I met Richerd one time in the parking lot of his car rail facility .  It was a great honer and one i will never forget.  His contribution to Lionel in the entire O gauge Hobby is unmeasurable.  Thank you Mr. Kughn and Godspeed on your  Journey .  My  condolences for your loved ones that remain.

God bless you Mr. Kughn

Bill Rennolds

RIP Richard Kuhn.

For those that want to learn more about him, here is a link to a recent article about him, with an interview, and pictures:

https://www.invaluable.com/blo...rains-richard-kughn/

A true visionary in the spirit of the founder of Lionel. 

My condolences to Richards family and friends. I have read many articles about Richards contributions to the hobby and though he is gone he left a positive mark and his legacy will go on.

Very sorry to hear of Richard Kughn's passing. 

I recall seeing him and his wife somewhat regularly years ago visiting York and the TCA Museum.  He always seemed to be enjoying the event just like the rest of us, many years after his formal ownership of Lionel was concluded.

As many others have said, the overall impact of the drive he had for new developments in the Lionel product line while he owned the company are immeasurable, and many of the actual products are still sought today.

Rest in Peace.

-Dave

Sorry to hear about the loss of Richard Kughn.Peace be with his family at this sad hour.

As with what Allan Miller and Alan Arnold wrote, I agree that Richard Kughn's name is as important in the history of Lionel as is the founder's name. I do wonder how many other CEO's would have been open enough to take a phone call from a long-haired rock and roller, listen to his idea and then start a partnership with him?

Richard Kughn will certainly be forever remembered by the train community for the electronic and digital advancements in the hobby. But he wasn't a one-sided person with a one-sided vision. Often forgotten or overlooked, he put a great deal of emphasis into the traditional product line of Lionel also.

I reentered the hobby by purchasing a Kughn-era Lionel 4-4-2 steam engine set at K-Mart. That locomotive is still running on my layout today after 30 years.  I hadn't seen Lionel product in a mass-market retailer in years. Richard Kughn himself said the Lionel 4-4-2 starter set was the single best selling item in the Lionel catalog.

And the new product tooling was not limited to the high end only. Before I had to downsize my own collection, I had every single traditionally sized waffle box car Lionel made. Then there was the traditionally sized spine car. There were the many reissues of popular postwar items such as the aquarium car and the toxic waste flat car and many others. Many others.

It should also be considered that although Lionel did have a US manufacturing plant during the Kughn years, Lionel was even at that time, doing overseas contracting for parts and components of Lionel products. That first set I bought at K-Mart said "Made in America" on the box, but on the inside of the engine shell, it was engraved "Made in Macau." I don't say that at all as criticism of Mr. Kughn, but rather in defense of subsequent Lionel CEO's, who have come under more scorn for overseas production. It's much easier to be the consumer of a product than it is the person responsible for and thus running the company.

While the newer more recent Lionel catalogs are much bigger with much more product, my favorite catalogs to browse through are the ones from the Kughn-era of Lionel. If he didn't "save" Lionel, he certainly had the vision to take the company forward into the future, while having a firm eye on the glories of the past that made Lionel Trains so important to so many of us.

God bless him, great man for the hobby, he will be sorely missed.

The hobby has lost one of its legends.  

Condolences to Mr. Kughn’s family and friends.

Curt

A video from the LCCA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMpMd_elwFo

LCCA met with Dick and Linda Kughn at their home in Dearborn, MI, prior to the 41st annual convention (July 2011) and presented to them the first LCCA commemorative "Dick Kughn Box Car". This very limited car features the artwork of LCCA member Angela Trotta Thomas and depicts a painting of Dick Kughn as an eight-year-old boy finding his first Lionel train set in a trash can. Also featured on the car is a portrait of Dick Kughn while he was the CEO and owner of Lionel Trains Inc. The text on the car reads: "Richard Kughn, Owner Lionel Trains Inc 1986-1995" and "This Young Boy's Dream Taught Us, The Things You Want Are Always Possible".

Gary