LGB "STAINZ" - The Engine That Made LGB - Prototypes

The LGB 2010, LGB 2020 and LGB 2040 were the very first LGB engines EVER. The Richter brothers presented them in their very first ever 'catalog' (7 pages) in 1968. These engines were based on a number of prototype locomotives that all had one thing in common:

They were made by Krauss Locomotive Works, an Imperial German company. Since  1867 Krauss manufactured locos especially for narrow gauge. The growing industrial needs in mining, metal production and lumber industry among others demanded transport in impassible, rough terrain. And Krauss' little tender field loco Bn2t (or 0-4-0) delivered. She became the Beetle car in locos across Europe from 1870's on. Did they all look alike? Yes, but bespoke locos could be ordered and were made.

We do not know what made the  Richter brothers decide to choose the little Krauss engine as prototype for their new venture. For sure they needed to improve their earnings from toy manufacturing. And boy - what did they achieve with that decision!

Here are the three prototypes of the "First-Ever" LGB locomotives:

The LGB 2010 was based on the KL 1994/1889 Bn2T No. 1 which was used on the Salzkammergut Lokalbahn, the SKG local RR in Austria (Quote from Wikipedia:"The name Salzkammergut translates to 'salt demesne', Kammergut being a German word for territories held by princes of the Holy Roman Empire, in early modern Austria specifically territories of the Habsburg Monarchy...Parts of the region were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997."). The SKG RR does not exist anymore but thanks to wikipedia/wikiwand we found this photo material:

prototype of the LGB 2010 - Courtesy of https://www.wikiwand.com/de/Fahrzeuge_der_Salzkammergut-Lokalbahn#/google_vignette

The LGB 2020 was the No. 2 engine to be "First-Ever" offered by LGB and was based on the 2774/1892 Bn2t of the Steirmaerkische Landesbahnen, another Austrian RR. The Steirmaerkische RR had built a RR in Stainz, a small village in their county.  In 1892 Steirmark RR had ordered 4 identical locos from Krauss loco works. To seperate the locos delivered  this one was named "STAINZ No 2". Stainz village is located in Mur valley and served as the loco's depot. The Murtal RR (or Mur Valley RR) is a narrow gauge RR with a 760mm gauge. The RR is still in operation today. The 2774 No.2 is currently on display at Murau/Austria:

No 2774 Stainz No 2 Original - Courtesy of Herbert Ortner,Vienna and Wikipedia

This very same type Krauss Bn2t from 1894 exemplifies the basics of the Stainz No. 2 very well:

Krauss prototype for LGB 2020 - Courtesy of .entlang-der-gleise.de/Feldbahnen/feldbahn-krauss.html

The LGB 2040 - which was later renamed into the 2021-series since the number 2040 would become the Crocodile in LGB's numbering system - was based on another Krauss locomotive. The Krauss XXXII 2700 was built in 1923, No. 4 for the Siegerland Huettenwerke (Siegerland Mine Works)/ German Republic.

Prototype of the LGB 2040 No 4 - The Krauss No 2700/ 1923 - Courtesy of bahn-express.de

Another shot shows this engine in her historic environment:

The original LGB 2040 No 4 built for the Siegerland Mineworks in 1923
 Courtesy of Bahnfreunde MK

All three LGB engines based on these prototypes would  become so famous that the name STAINZ would become the synonym for all LGB fans for this loco type. By 1980 LGB introduced a new company logo featuring the STAINZ silhouette.

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LGB 2010, 2020 and 2021 - STAINZ - The Engine That Made LGB

There is simply no other engine among the LGB roster that is as characteristic and as memorable as the first LGB engine ever: the LGB 2010. When the Richter brothers opened LGB in 1968 the 2010 built the flagship:

Page 2 of 4 from the very first LGB catalog 

Black-and-white photography was the standard, in printing as well as on television. Color was only just around the corner... but the customer saw this astounding loco upon window-shopping:

LGB 2010 No 1- courtesy of Catawiki

This little pretty old engine is not only dirty it also misses the original engineer. But back then it was never-been-seen-before. The size (scale 1:22.5), the colors, the quality and last but not least the price (DeutschMark 98.00 or about  US$ 25.00 in 1968, or in today's world $ 189.00).

LGB's Wolfgang Richter had a fabulous idea: offer three locos using just one mold and tell them they are based on three different prototypes. Why could he pull that off? Well the 2020 and the 2040 that he offered together with the 2010 did have different prototypes BUT - they were all derived, if not originally built for the Army field railroad of either Imperial Germany or Imperial Austria. The boiler in the original engines was on average much longer and some locos were built as 0-6-0 or 2-4-2 wheel arrangement. So there was some "tweaking". Just as it would happen for the LGB 2015 and the 2017 (see previous blogs). But the tweaking was very becoming and would make the three little engines into one of the most built LGB engines ever.

The LGB 2020 was going to find fame and fortune in LGB sets:

LGB 2020-1, Courtesy of Watts Train Shop (blog)

Above you see the first LGB 2020 in its original coloring. All in all LGB would publish 11 color versions and a HUGE number of sets with the LGB 2020 as front engine. The above image is remarkable for two reasons: to find a 2020 (image) in its very first original coloring with engineer is rare enough. To have this photo taken by Watts Train shop is even rarer. Watts Train Shop went out of business in 2012. Watts  was one of the big-name LGB dealers in the Midwest (Zionsville/IN), very influential and active. It had been in business for 50 years before it closed its doors 6 years after LGB went bankrupt.

The 2020 would later turn into the 2021-series and thus cause a lot of irritation and puzzle customers a bit. More so since the  2021- series eventually actually carried the name "STAINZ" on the engines.

The LGB 2040 had somewhat of a short life span being manufactured from 1968 to 1975.

LGB2040 - Courtesy of worthpoint.com

LGB had already figured out that the "Stainz" was a golden goose and could retire the number 2040 easily - to be used for the Crocodile engine No. 2040 starting in 1978. 

These three engines became the cornerstone of LGB's success. Their prototypes set the stage for a variety of color schemes and (train)set possibilities. In model trains nobody had offered that before - not in that size, not in that quality and certainly and foremost not in that huge variety! Exactly what the Richter brothers used in their very first slogan: "Never Seen Before!"

This series will explore the prototypes for these 3 engines, will cover all LGB numbers chronologically and will - probably for the first time ever -  list and describe all LGB sets ever made by the old LGB featuring a "STAINZ" engine. 

So, join the adventure and come on board exploring the LGB STAINZ...

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