Aster and LGB - # 22832 Mallet

LGB had built their first Mallet (0-6-6-0) in 1982

LGB 2085D - Courtesy LGB Kompendium

and Aster had built their first Mallett brass live-steam loco (0-8-0+0-8-0T) in 1989.

Aster Mallet - Courtesy of  southernsteamtrains.com

LGB announced the new Aster/LGB engine in 2003 with delivery in 2004. Aster delivered on time and the new LGB # 22832 was another very fine example of brass craftsmanship:

LGB 22832 - Courtesy of marketplace.trainzauctions.com

The edition volume for the loco was 500, one hundred less than the previous Aster/LGB engines. The price was about US$ 5,000.00. The loco came in the well known Aster wooden box with individually numbered boxes.

Fun fact:Klaus Baumann, LGB VP Marketing/Sales had utilized his excellent network relations to convince the Oechsle Bahn Museum to grant LGB the rights to model the DB 99 633 as a brass loco in cooperation with Aster. What a genius move. Klaus Baumann retired in April 2003 with a legacy unrivaled...
Advertising:
By mid 2003 LGB had implemented their eXtra Premium program in Germany; the ill-fated measure that frustrated and angered dealers and customers on different levels. What better idea than to promote the new Aster LGB Mallet right in this marketing project... The eXtra Premium program was this: the (German) dealer had to invest a big chunk of his own money into a computer to be installed in his retail store so the customer could order from this computer an eXtra-Premium LGB item that - so the promise to the dealer - no non-member-customer could order. Well, you wished. Any customer just needed to call LGB directly and could order whatever he wanted, eXtra or not. LGB top management had simply shot themselves into their own foot. Twice. They had forced these dealers to buy the computer and installations for big money or be thrown out as an LGB dealer and at the same time allowed any customer and smaller dealer to order what their hearts desire from LGB directly no matter what product. Mind you, there were no discounts involved in this program. Every product would cost the same no matter through which channel it was bought. The eXtra- Premium translated to extra money for premium-be taken... As you can imagine....LGB management lost a lot of trust with their (German) dealers.

The American customer was spared such a nonsense and for good reason. For the US market this program simply didn't make any sense. The US customer called in his orders. Had done so for years. The dealers would then order by computer anyway. Computer use and -technology was already used on another level than in Germany. And US dealers knew which of their customers wanted an Aster/LGB model and called them early to secure orders and delivery.
And with a price of US$ 5,000.00 (or Euro 3,000.00) this was for a chosen clientele anyway.

Railroad Romance episode opener - Courtesy of SWF 3 on youtube

The archetype: The Aster/LGB # 22832 is a 0-4-4-0 and a (model) replica of the DB 99 633 Oechsle RR, one of the best known locomotives on German television due to the opener of the  beloved long running TV series "Eisenbahn Romantik" (Railroad Romance)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25RRj569bxA). It is  accompanied by an instrumental version of "Sentimental Journey"
The actual DB 99 633 is a true narrow gauge loco, built by the German "Maschinenfabrik Esslingen" (engineering works Esslingen) between 1899 and 1901. The MF Esslingen had designed the tssd Mallet herself focusing on narrow gauge requirements to haul passengers and freight, ore and wood on steep hilly terrain with narrow curves. The loco was built to fit on 750mm gauge (29.5 inch). The  99 633 was in operation at Ochsenhausen RR / southern Germany from 1900 until 1985 when she was retired to the Oechsle Museum RR. There she was in operation until 1990 when she was involved in a car accident. After that she lay dormant in a loco shed at the museum ... -- Restoration project for the 99 633 started in 2002. It took copious amounts of money, overcoming of changing traffic and engineering European laws and an extreme stubborn will of the people involved to rebuilt the engine more or less from scratch.

assembling had begun again - Courtesy of oechsle-bahn.de

Eventually in November 2014, 12 years of never ending, relentless work and will the DB 99 633 was  under steam, again. Official commissioning was April 2015 at the Oechsle Museums RR

Commissioning of the completely restored DB 99 633 - Courtesy of oechsle-bahn.de 

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