LGB Mikado - # 20872, 21872 and 23872

The first Mikado to hit the markets was the LGB # 20872

LGB 20872 - Courtesy of Only Trains

It was the  A.T. & S.F Santa Fee 3110 in all black with sound. MSRP was Euro 1,499.00 or US$ 1,995.00. Delivery was sometime in 2002.

The archetype was the Mikado class O-1 locomotive. This prototype built between 1916 and 1918 by Baldwin for the Great Northern/ South Dakota RR for freight. It was scrapped in 1953. The Santa Fe RR never used a Mikado on their RR.

For LGB the troubles started right away. Being designed and under pressure and without the decades long experience of Gunter Ruhland (retired 2000) and your Famous Klaus (emigrated to USA in 2001) the design flaws of the first LGB Mikado (generation) were manifold. The cardanic joints consisted of  one star-like brass gear wheel and one plastic pick-up/coupler. This joint was used throughout all of the drive train. And as mentioned in the last blog this plastic pick-up or coupler  was pressed onto the (round) axle. Fine in a light loco. But with the weight of this LGB Mikado the plastic coupler started moving on the axle and any motor power would no longer result in moving the loco. Fans were 'thrilled' looking at a Mikado with a running motor but standing still.

Fun Fact: since Rolf Richter had already advertised that 3 different Mikados would be available for the LGB customer, namely the # 20872, the LGB # 21872 and 23872, all three Mikados were manufactured during the same first time period in late 2001. Thus all three did feature the same malfunction.

LGB 21872 - Courtesy of Only Trains

The archetype for the # 21872 was the L1 Light freight class type Mikado built under the auspices of the USRA, possibly by Baldwin, somewhere between 1917 and 1920. The number '2809' used by LGB might be taken from another Mikado class. PRR itself was supposed to receive 33 L1 Mikados but refused receival.

LGB 23872 - Courtesy of Only Trains

The archetype for the # 23872 was a heavy Mikado class MK9 built by Brooks in 1920 for Union Pacific and was in service from 1920 to 1959. Number 2310 was scrapped.

 LGB customers started sending the Mikado back, either to LGBoA or to LGB Nuernberg/Germany. No repairs would help. The design flaw wouldn't be tackled until the next year. So the market had to sit and endure this flaw. Of the # 20872 about 500 were made in the first run. The PRR Mikado had a run of 649 and the Union Pacific # 23872 roughly 600. That would have qualified  for a 'perfect' small-series-production, limited-edition seal at a decent price. And all three had sound. Perfect for collectors.......if only.

Changes had to be made and the design team had one of their best back on the team, Gerd Zykora. They went to work in early January of 2002 and started on the mismatched plastic coupler/ axle first.

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

LGB Mikado - revisited

In 2013/14 this blog wrote about the Mikado first. After a lot of interest for this LGB engine emerged we promised to revisit the LGB Mikado.

By 2000 LGB needed the American market more than ever. The American LGB fan shelled out big money for engines without hesitation where(as) the German and European customer was holding back when prices got 'too high'. And the Mikado was the perfect engine for that. A big steam engine, easy on the eyes with a history of success and some even built for narrow gauge it made for a wonderful engine to offer the US LGB customer.

A German built Mikado - Courtesy of wikipedia.com...by Olaf

She needed to be designed. Molds needed to be made. LGB had never made a  2-8-2 Mikado before. In addition, Guenter Ruhland, head mold master LGB since 1968 had just retired. And your Famous Klaus who in the past had consulted Gunter Ruhland technically had just emigrated to the USA and had no longer any connections to LGB. Now what? A completely unfazed Rolf Richter just commanded to have a Mikado built and that was that, right? It would come to haunt him.

In short succession LGB announced these Mikado types as new engines to come:
LGB #     Year (of manufacturing/delivery)
20872 2001
22872 2002
21872 2003
23872 2003
24872 2003
25872 2003
22871 2004

A hand model was built and looked great. Well this one didn't need to operate. Tools were made. Manufacturing and partial assembling had been transferred to China. Rolf Richter was hoping for a deluge of small volumes so he could offer an onslaught of new models a few times a year. He had them advertised accordingly.....(see previous blog remarks on this topic).
Then the first Mikados were ready to be shipped and delivered to customers, mainly in the USA.

LGB 20872 hand model - LGBoA 2000 INFO
note the upcoming LGB Mikado numbers already listed

The complaints started coming as soon as the first LGB Mikados hit the track. Was LGB trying to catch lightning in a bottle or were they just in too deep? Facts were: The Mikado was the most challenging design of the LGB (built) locos with the largest wheels and it was also the heaviest LGB loco. That engine design required an articulate drive train.She called for a fully suspended drive with three kardanic shafts.
Rolf Richter ordered manufacturing of the most complicated engine design ever built by LGB at a time where he had shifted manufacturing to China (tool and mold testing?) and had lost the majority of his most experienced,creative and craftsmanship manpower (technical problem solving).
The man in charge tried his best: to keep it simple LGB utilized an old kardanic design which is to be found in the LGB 2066-1 Railbus. A plastic coupler was pressed on an axle and that was it. What is good and sufficient for the Railbus must not necessarily be fitting for the Mikado. Pretty soon these couplers started slipping on the axle with the disastrous effect that the Mikado axles got out of sync. More ramifications followed...

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

Aster and LGB - Tssd Mallet # 25832 (conclusion)

In 2005 the cooperation with Aster was coming to an end. The last order was for the Tssd Mallet. Aster had already built the Tssd Mallet for LGB , 2 years earlier in 2003 (scroll down to blog 5/2/20). Now they built another 200 in green:

Aster/LGB # 25832 - Courtesy of worthpoint.com

Fun fact: Since LGB numbered the loco "43" and if you're doing the math within the production linage of the original loco production, both Mallets represent the very same 'Oechsle' loco.

Nonetheless, this loco came with the wooden box, individually numbered as always within the Aster/LGB line. The brass work was beautiful. The price was at Euro 2,999.00 or about US$ 4,000.00 . The engine had sound. Even though it was advertised in Germany and Europe as well as in the USA the main focus was on the American LGB customer and his bigger pockets when it came to specialty loco models.

The Aster/LGB green Mallet was advertised in the main catalog 2006, page 165, for all LGB customers worldwide. 2006 was the last year of LGB's existence under Wolfgang and Rolf Richter. Bankruptcy and closing of the company were to follow starting in September of 2006.

It is very hard to find this green brass Mallet on the market right now. She certainly found her owners fast and most for good. Prices haven't budged and if one becomes available don't be surprised to find asking prices even beyond US$ 4,000.00

As for the archetype: it is just the very same loco as the DB 99 633. The manufacturer built 9 engines all in all with 3 engines in each series and with three series altogether. The first series started in 1899 with the number 41, 42, 43, the next series in 1901 with Nos 44, 45 and 46 and the last series in 1904 with Nos 47,48 and 49. For more detailed historic information about the original Oechsle loco please revisit https://traincraftbyklaus.blogspot.com/2020/05/aster-and-lgb-22832-mallet.html

Aster and LGB GG 1 # 23835, 24835, 24837

By 2005 LGB knew that chances of survival were getting slim. Short-time-work (state regulated system of compensation for work-sharing if not enough work is generated by regular market activity) was requested by and granted to LGB. Increasing sales volume, no matter how short run, murky or even imaginary, was prime target. The Aster-LGB cooperation was put on stress test. Four (4!) engines were ordered by LGB and made by Aster in 2005. Three of them, the GG 1's below, were never cataloged.

Deducing from the minimal edition volume they were exclusively made either for one US-dealer or for LGBoA top brass feeding only their most exclusive customer base. However, over the last decade some of these rare engines resurfaced in England and in Germany.

Aster/LGB # 23835 - Courtesy of ebay.com

Aster/LGB # 24835 - Courtesy of Only Trains

Aster/LGB # 24837 - Courtesy of champex-linden.de

The fourth engine made that year was the Tssd Mallet and will be reported on in our conclusion to this Aster/LGB blog.

As already mentioned, there was absolutely no adverting nor any mentioning to any regular customer about these locos. They were made for and sold to a selected few. Price wise only guesses are possible.
The Aster/LGB # 23835  GG 1 PRR 4872 had an edition volume of 79 engines, came in the wooden box with individual numbered plates (as before) and the 'official' price was published as EU 3,999.00. Chances are that the price received by whoever sold it on the American market was somewhere in the neighborhood of $ 5,900.00 and above.
The Aster/LGB # 24835 GG 1 Amtrak 927 had an edition volume of 79 as well, came again in the known wooden box and was given the same official price as the PRR above, EU 3,999.00. And here as well the fair assumption goes to roughly a requested price of about US$ 6,000.00 - maybe more.

The Aster LGB # 24837 GG 1 Conrail 4800 had the unfathomable small edition of 30 (thirty). At least Aster just had to do another paint job...The Conrail GG1 also came in the known wooden box and the 'official' price was again EU 3,999.00. It is anybody's guess what the US-dealer then actually did ask his customers to pay.

All three locos came with sound and the PRR 4872 featured that of "The Congressional".

The archetypes are: The GG 1 PRR No 4872 was originally built in 1939 for the PRR in the original coloring Brunswick green. In 1955 three GG 1 locomotives, the 4872 among them were painted silver with an 8" wide red band thus abandoning the stripes from earlier. Also a large keystone with white PRR monogram on both sides and one small keystone on noses with locomotive number. The No 4872 was used on "The Congressional" and Senator trains through the mid seventy's
Fun fact: the  4872 together with 4866, and 4880 were later re-repainted  to Brunswick green with standard livery.
The 4872 was scraped, maybe before 1981.

The GG 1 Amtrak No 927 started life as PRR 4934 but was transferred to Amtrak in 1971 when it became No 927. The Amtrak painting was put on in the mid 1970's.
Fun Fact: the Amtrak 927 was later renumbered to  4927 and survived at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union. She has been stored indoors and received another paint job back to Brunswick green (which an almost all photos has a black hue to it).

Conrail GG 1 -
courtesy of https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=90285

The Conrail GG 1 4800 (quote from https://www.steamlocomotive.com/GG1/):" is the only GG1 with a riveted body. It was the prototype for the GG 1 and became the Bi-Centennial GG1 Engine in 1976. Old "Rivets" wore Conrail "dress blue" (Railroading in the North East Collection). 4800 was owned by the Lancaster Chapter of the NRHS and at one time was on loan to the RR Museum of PA. The chapter donated it to the RR Museum of PA in 2000. For a couple years, 4800 was out in the weather and was showing signs of deterioration. In 2002 it was moved into the expanded car barn. In 2004 it received a new paint job and underwent some cosmetic restoration. All lettering has been painted over sometime in the mid-2000's. In 2009 it was moved outside again."

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

Aster and LGB #24832 + #23832 GG 1

In 2004 the Aster and LGB cooperation continued with the absolutely wonderful GG 1. Although a standard gauge loco for the otherwise narrow gauge oriented LGB Aster built a beautiful brass model charming the American LGB customer with this historic engine:

Aster LGB 24832 - Courtesy Only Trains (historic)

She came in the wooden box, with Styrofoam box and brochures. The wooden box carried the metal plate with the loco type(GG 1) and the individual loco number:

# 24832 in box - courtesy of worthpoint.com

Edition volume was low with 250 engines in the PRR red-brown colors. And the main market was the American customer. Price wise the loco was probably advertised/announced at/around US$ 5,000.00. It was one BIG engine. And the first non-steam engine for Aster to build. But Aster was used to small edition volumes and got a little break by reusing tools and 'molds' for the sister engines # 23832, 23835 and 24835 (see future blogs).

Advertising was actually existing for this loco namely in the LGBoA brochure "LGB INFO 2004" and in the "2004 eXtra" brochure. As can be seen in the above photo image, LGB advertised both GG 1 types in the same manual even though the greenish GG 1 PRR LGB # 23832 was scheduled to be presented to the market about a year later. Hindsight, it is not clear when both engines actually hit the American market/ customer. They might very well have been out for delivery at about the same time, in the end.

LGB 23832 - Courtesy of ebay.com/https://www.ebay.com/c/899817954

Edition volume here was also 250. The # 23832 above is at the time of writing (May 07 2020) available on ebay from England for US$ 3,656.00 plus ship. It is hard to tell if that is a good price since there is no way of telling what the condition of the loco is and how it will be shipped. Aster/LGB all brass locos, all hand made (more or less) are by design tough to ship and to arrive in top shape. But there are also some very good shippers out there.

The archetype is the PRR GG 1, a class of electric locomotives built by General Electric and Altoona Works for the PRR in the mid 1930's. All in all 139 GG 1 were built between 1934 and 1943. By the end of the 1980's all were scrapped but 16 are in museums.

GG 1 4868 pulls The Congressional - Courtesy of  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad_class_GG1

Their then new design and electrical power drive made them fast with speeds of up to 100 mph.
Fun fact 1: "In operation the leading pantograph was usually kept lowered and the trailing raised to collect current, since if the rear pantograph failed it would not strike the forward pantograph" (quote fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad_class_GG1) That was smart engineering. And often, in advertising the model loco, you will see one pantograph erected while the other is lowered.
The archetype for the # 24832, the "4877" was restored to its 1930's paint scheme with stripes and is now on display at the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey

GG 1 4877  - Courtesy of 'Collection of Thomas C Avers"

The Aster/LGB # 23832 archetype No.  4935 is on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg/PA

GG 1 No 4935 - Courtesy of https://rrmuseumpa.org/collections/roster/

Fun Fact 2: The crews of the No 4935 nicknamed her "Blackjack" since the sum of 4935 result in "21".

Much beloved until today the GG 1 not only made a number of appearances in modern pop culture, movies and lately video games - it also made history in her own era: (quoted from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad_class_GG1--edited for easy reading)

On January 15, 1953, train 173, the overnight Federal from Boston, was approaching Washington behind GG1 4876. The train passed a signal 2.1 miles (3.4 km) north of Union Station between 60 and 70 miles per hour ..., and the engineer decreased the throttle and started applying the brakes.When the engineer realized that the train was not slowing down, and applying the emergency brake had no effect, he sounded the engine's horn. A signalman, hearing the horn and noting the speed of the 4876, phoned ahead to the station master's office. 4876 negotiated several switches without derailing, at speeds well over the safe speed limits and entered the station at around 35 to 40 miles per hour. The train demolished the bumping post, continued through the station master's office and into the concourse where it fell through the floor into the station's basement. Thanks to the evacuation of the concourse, there were no fatalities in the station, or aboard the train. A temporary floor was erected over the engine, and the hole it created, for the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 4876 was eventually dismantled, removed from the basement and reassembled in Altoona. It survives in the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore.

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

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........................

Aster and LGB - # 21832

In 2000 LGB had started the Mikado project in Nuremberg. It took Gunter Ruhland, head mold master, quite some time to finalize the molds for the Mikado. It was a complicated design fraught with operational failure. For more information on this matter please revisit our Mikado blogs from January of 2014 and November of  2012.

Sometime during the design and creation phase Aster was contacted. They had already built 3 Mikado models all live steam and in brass; the first, the SNCF 141R already in 1979. And while LGB Nuremberg and Gunter Ruhland were still working hard on their first Mikado edition Aster had built the Aster/LGB Mikado in brass with the regular electrical motor within a year to be ready for sale in 2002. The same year LGB would present their Mikado # 20872.

The Aster/LGB Mikado made its debut as the White Pass Mikado No 73 in all black with red cab door and red cab window frames and a silver smoke chamber.

Aster/LGB # 21832 - courtesy of Only Trains

The Aster Mikado was equipped with sound and smoke (generator) and some engines came with a factory installed MTS decoder for digital operation but could operate analog as well. The overall edition volume was again 600 and as usual it came in a wooden box with the loco being secured in Styrofoam within the box.

As you can see in this close up:

Aster # 21832 loco - courtesy of brasstrains.com 

by design the model-loco 4 axles make the loco somewhat unresponsive to tighter curves. LGB curves R1 and R2 were tough to handle for the Aster Mikado since Aster was used to operate their live steam models on much wider curves than LGB track offered. This was no Aster fault. There was simply little communication from LGB (top management) to Aster regarding operational differences and track requirements.....

Fun Fact: if you would precision scale original track curves that Mikado locos operated through to the LGB scale this curve would run halfway around the outside of your house.

Ad-wise - you guessed right - almost nothing. LGB published 18 catalogs and brochures in 2002 including two major catalogs for LGBoA: a main catalog 2002(156 pages) and a 68 page catalog "LGB of America Info 2002". Plenty of space to advertise the Aster Mikado.... you'd think. Looky here............now.....

LGB 21832 ad in LGBoA Info 2002, page 23

Shown was a photo of the prototype. All the while, 5 pages earlier, all(!!) (future) LGB Mikados were presented. Mind you, nothing was in production yet but the # 20872 and no hand models were available either. (More on that subject on a future blog about the LGB Mikado). So photo shop images were used.

Not even that little love was shown on the Aster Mikado

The archetype is the White Pass Mikado No 73 custom built by Baldwin for the White Pass & Yukon Route in 1947 and was operated by the Yukon RR until 1964. To quote Wikipedia :" After retirement

The Mikado No 73 restored on the WP&Y RR - Courtesy of the WP & Y RR website

on June 30, 1964, the locomotive was moved to Bennett, British Columbia, in 1968 for display. In 1979 the locomotive was moved again to Whitehorse, Yukon, this time to be restored. Restoration was completed in 1982 and the locomotive has been back in service since then ".

 And proof was about to be in the pudding. Your very own Famous Klaus was in Skagway in 1989 visiting the WP&Y RR  for sound recordings for the  WP&Y RR  LGB 2055 (see our earlier blog) and making friends for a lifetime. Among his cherished moments were coming across the winterized  No. 73 and taking a slew of photos to capture history.

Mikado No 73 winterized in Skagway in 1989 - copyright Klaus Stork

Today, tourists, rail fans, train enthusiasts and Yukon lovers can enjoy a train ride throughout the (summer) season:

Mikado No 73 in operation on the White Pass & Yukon Route o Courtesy of the WP & Y RR website

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