The Venerable LGB Stainz Loco (and friends)

I have the Fleishmann On30 version of the Stainz 2:

Rusty

I know the Stainz has come to symbolize LGB.  But do you think they would have achieved greater market penetration in the US if they had standardized on the all-black and more modern 2076D, or even an American prototype?  They certainly sold a lot of Moguls!

@Ted S posted:

I know the Stainz has come to symbolize LGB.  But do you think they would have achieved greater market penetration in the US if they had standardized on the all-black and more modern 2076D, or even an American prototype?  They certainly sold a lot of Moguls!

Seems to me LGB had pretty good market penetration in the US.  I picked up my first catalog at La Grange Hobbies (IL) in 1977 or 1978.

Besides, the 2015D wasn't all that hard to "Americanize."

Rusty

I prefer the European models and the 1:22.5 scale suits the 760mm and 1000mm protoypes for the gauge one track. The American standard gauge models are better suited to the 1:32 or 1:29 scale on lower profile rail than the regular LGB track.

Rusty: I have a 2015D and with dual motors it is a powerful puller!

PHOTOS of my Dortmunder and the 30th Anniversary Stainz:

That is actually my set box as received from my dealer! The folded document in that compartment is a certificate of authenticity for this run of 1000.

I have two more German beer cars: a Tucher Pils (Nuremberg) and a Berliner Kindl (Berlin).

An iconic model! I wonder how far across the earth we could get if all the 2010's and 2020's ever produced were lined up nose to tail.

OMG! It would be a Guiness moment to be sure! LOL!

Rusty: Here is a photo of the Amercanized version of the LGB 2015. It is an LGB 2017:

I have the 2017 as well. Bought it in 1985. It ran every Christmas for many years. Still like new in the original box. Very dependable.

The Marshall Field's passenger set from 1984 and the Christmas train my Dad left for me. I remember going to Marshall Field's in Chicago many times in the late 1970s to early 1980s with my dad when he got started with the LGB trains. I think they were the first place in the Chicago area that sold them.

NICE! THANKS for sharing! My one and only visit to Marshall Fields in Chicago was in 1981 and they had a nice display of LGB.

LGB was, and still is, considered a premium import and was initially marketed in the US in high-end retail stores like FAO Schwartz and Marshall Fields. 

Many of the original LGB starter sets first imported into the US came without a power supply, and the buyer had to purchase an MRC power pack to run their train. Later MRC power packs had a pulse feature which was anathema to LGB Buehler motors! Fortunately, most of the MRC packs had a switchable pulse function, and they were safe to use with the LGB motors.

LGB was always a quality product made of high-grade polymers like BASF Luran-S and Vestilene. Paints used were Mercedes Benz quality. Propulsion was by high quality Buehler 7-pole DC motors in sealed gearboxes. Back in the 1980's, I did service work on LGB locos which ran on commercial layouts in restaurants and a museum, and can testify to their ability to operate reliably under punishing conditions.

The early variations of the Stainz locos like the 2015D and the 2017D were interesting because they were the first engines to include a motorized tender, thus considerably increasing the pulling power of these locos.  There is a two wire polarity-observed connection between the engine and tender to insure good electrical conductivity. I am currently enjoying my 2015D!

The respective sockets for the connecting cable between the engine and tender are marked with a + and - so as to allay any possible short.