Large Scale Central

Good old LGB reliability

General Discussion
#1

I must confess that I am a devotee of early (1968) to late 1980’s LGB production. Having need to satisfy the demands of a few household utility bills, I searched my collection for a few sets to list on my local (Australian) eBay site.

I came up with three early LGB sets from 1968 - 1970 production. I purchased these many years ago and apart from testing when purchased, they have remained in their boxes. Of cause, prior to listing I needed to test them. A little oil was added to each axle and the locomotives performed brilliantly without any attention required. On a 12 volt power supply all three locomotives, around 45 years old each, ran to a snail’s pace crawl.

Being the early 2100 series motor drive and affectionately known as ‘growlers’, they did issue the usual growling noise. How many locomotives nearly fifty years old can one test run with basically no attention, straight out of the box?

LGB’s impeccable reputation was earned.

My posting is in relation to these early LGB products and hopefully further postings (if any) will not cause angst.

#2

Other than oil, my 1938 ScaleCraft 2-rail 0 scale ran flawlessly. All of the ScaleCraft have original gears, too.
The only real issue I have seen in gears on UINTAH and SUMPTER Meyers, caused by two things:
Idiot owners adding lead into USA toolboxes glued to the runing boards, and B) not knowing how to open them up for lubing without the motor coming unseated.
My 2018D’s are original wheels and wormgears…however, both are on motor #3.
The 2015 and 2017 just keep on running when I drag them out.
TOC

#3

Only 45 years old? Pah! I got that beat. I bought a train show special, a Marx O-27 set , die cast 999 loco, lithograph cars probably late 40’s to early 1950’s covered in a full inch of dust. Seller said it was an attic find and was blowing it out for $25-bucks. Bought it took it home, cleaned them up, oiled all the important bits, put it on the track and after sputtering a little it took off like a stabbed rat! Still have it still runs great.

Funny thing, shortly after I got it, it flew off an O-27 curve and hit the floor, put it back on the track to find to my great surprise that the only “damage” was that the impact FIXED the now operating headlight!

Go figure . :wink:

(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/vsmith/Marx%20999%20litho%20set.JPG)

Here is the set after the first round of dusting off.

#4

Back to about 6am, the day before Christmas in 1982, I joined a line of shivering, feet-stamping anorak-wearing people outside Koenigs Train Store in Kaiserdamm, Berlin, as we eagerly awaited the arrival of that big red truck that looked just like an LGB box. As it arrived and pulled up outside the store, a ragged hoorah rang out and the store owner and his sons began the job of unloading the 300 - yes, THREE HUNDRED - LGB 2085D Green Mallet locomotives that we, the waiting throng, had ordered for the Christmas delivery. We each had our receipt clamped firmly in our frozen hands, and waited patiently until our number was called and ticked off - one of the sons then handing us that big red box.

I had number 147.

Yesterday I ran that loco again - indeed, I often run it as a reminder that some things hardly ever change. It has had one new motor, about fifteen years ago, and a set of contact brushes.

That’s it.

Oh, wait, I still have my original Stainz from 1968, as well.

Funny enough, THAT still performs like new, and has had literally nothing ever done to it at all.

tac

#5

Oh, you can kill them… you just have to really work at it

#6

My kit built Mantua Mikado, HO, vintage 1968, still runs like a sewing machine. She always was a real workhorse. ‘Course, I dressed and refined the mech a tad here and there, replaced a couple siderod screws as well. Still the original open-frame motor and gearing tho’. Replaced the motor brushes once. I’m sure I could take her out and run her today, except I don’t have time for HO anymore… Can hardly SEE it anymore!