EMD F 7 at LGB -- Part 4

The year 2000 brought the famous Y2K bug hysteria but as soon as 2 days had passed into the new year it became clear -- all was well. LGB had survived the "calamity" as well. They had issued another big catalog and had also produced some LGBoA Specials.

After the release of the # 25570 , the F7 A unit of the PENNSYLVANIA Railroad the previous year, now they released the B unit, the # 25582 with digital sound, no motor. The price was still DM 899.00 or US$ 530.00.

#25582 - Courtesy of Trainz.com

Also released was the F7 B unit Southern Pacific # 24582, no motor, no sound.

Courtesy of BigTrainWorld, Netherlands

As LGBoA Special the American customer could purchase the LGB # 27570 and # 27582 F7 Canadian Pacific. The B unit had digital sound, no motor.

LGB 27570- Courtesy of Only Trains

LGB 27582 - Courtesy of Only Trains

LGB# 70657 Courtesy of Trainz.com

A special delight was the LGBoA Exclusive LGB# 70657. Delivered in a silver colored trunk with foam protection inside, featuring cutouts for the A and B unit and in a second layer below for the three passenger cars. With an edition volume of 1,000 the train set came with a price of about US$ 1,500.00

# 70657 F 7 A and B unit in foam-Courtesy of Trainz.com

And since we're talking treats here is another one for you,  esteemed reader: The ESU sound decoder (with the driving decoder integrated) in operation in a F7 SP. This is the ESU 4.0 which is already outstanding in performance. The slow driving operation is so perfectly smooth and slow -- and boring(!) that  for about 5 years this video clip was the least watched on Youtube! Not anymore... By now, ESU 5.0 is here and even better and Klaus currently works on a project to enhance the very same F 7 SP to a complete different level of sound and driving operation. He will keep you posted.  Klaus loves ESU decoders and their fantastic driving and sound characteristics. Watch for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxQg1gTbk8U


In 2001 LGB published a new full catalog and a flurry of brochures among them the 120 Years Anniversary brochure and the introduction booklet into the MTS system, the digital control operation that allowed the individual operation of 8 locos at the same time. Such a usual standard these days that it sounds weird explaining it.
The 120 Years Anniversary related to the original Lehmann Toy Works, established in 1881.
The new catalog announced " more than 90 new products", all of which were shown in the 4-page LGBoA flyer. Among them the

LGB F 7 # 22578 and 22588 -- See Through units A and B
LGB F 7 # 26570 and 26582 -- Great Northern
LGB F 7 # 28570 and 28582 -- New Haven RR

The See Through F 7 had its followers and dis-likers from the start. Klaus Baumann is known to have advised his dealers on the See Through with: " That's a model which you can paint yourself..." The American market was quite fond of her since she delivered something truly American, colored tiny LED lights inside both units lighting up upon operation. The A unit was also available in a digital version (#22578.08). Edition volume for the A unit was 700 and 500 for the B unit (no motor, but sound). A very small number compared to other so-called collector's editions that would easily go up to 2,500 or at least 1,000.

LGB 22578- Courtesy of Trainz.com

LGB 22588 - Courtesy of Trainz.com

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ to be continued.