LGB Firebox Light - A Klaus Creation

 One warm summer night in the mid 1980's Klaus was sitting on his back porch. 

He had just finalized the improvements for the first Mogul #2018D, namely the driving characteristics.

Now he was relaxing,  enjoying his LGB layout with an American freight train passing by. Led by a Mogul and trailed by a lighted caboose. After a while he noticed that watching the loco go by all he could actually see was the dominant headlight followed by dark ghost cars and the lighted caboose marking the end of the train.

Courtesy of Hollyhobo

Klaus had a clear sense that something was missing here.

There was a stoker standing in the front of the (Mogul) tender apparently doing something but he could neither see the engineer nor the stoker. Klaus assumed that the stoker was about to open the firebox door fixing to shoveling coal into the firebox. This must have some influence on the lighting situation in the cabin and front of the tender. The stoker must be standing right in the midst of this light. And that was it.

Now, how did he put this into reality? His first idea was to install 3 or 4 lights hidden somewhere in the rear part of the boiler shining through narrow tubes single light beams onto the stoker. The drawback of this idea was that when the engine passed by there could have been a chance that a bystander could look right into one of those lights. Basically, a good idea but not close enough to reality.

This made Klaus realize that there is actually more to reality than initially hits the eye. In a real steam loco there is a light source (fire box) which illuminates the control cabin and the stoker and the front of the tender. This light source should not be kept a secret. The bitter truth is that the stoker opens the fire

courtesy of telegraph.co.uk

box and is then showered in a flood of (fiery) light. This consequently led to the idea to have lights being reflected in the lower door half of the fire box door. The lights had to be one red and one orange to give a warm, realistic light. the lights had to flash in two frequencies that are not compatible to each other. The red one would do a slow pace while  the yellow one worked a faster pace. The firebox light was supposed to jump into action every 90 seconds.

To install the firebox light Klaus would have to remove the lower half of the firebox door in the rear boiler part of the Mogul. Behind the still closed upper half firebox door the lights could hide. The light would be reflected by a reflector behind the lower open firebox door. This would even give the impression of embers glowing.

A smart electronic board would control the light bulbs.

He had it all worked out - in theory. Now he had to translate all into reality: finding the fitting light, creating the needed electronic board, cutting the Mogul open (again...)

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

Motor Trouble - Symptoms and Remedy

Worn-out Buehler LGB engine motors 

LGB uses Buehler motors in their locomotives and engine. Buehler motors are designed to work flawlessly in LGB engines and have an average lifespan of 800 - 1200 hours of loco runtime.

Depending on the type of the LGB loco the transmission of power works in two ways:

Either as direct transmission from the worm gear to a plastic gear wheel which is located on the axle of an engine e.g. Stainz.
Or: from the worm gear via an idler gear onto the gear wheel on the axle e.g. Mogul

Wear and Tear - Damage
Years of operation affect mainly the gear wheel- connected directly to the worm drive- wearing it out. Damage may also occur due to mechanical stress or load e.g. the train is running unmonitored, derails partly and gets stuck somewhere along the track and keeps running in that stuck condition. 
Or, your 2-year old son or grandson grabs the locomotive in full motion. This delivers too much power to the gear wheel as the gear wheel is forcibly stopped and the motor tries to keep running due to the electrical power supplied to the motor and the inertia of the motor. So the teeth on the gear wheel partly break off. This leads to an uneven and un-synchronized movement of the two powered axles of the locomotive. In  engines with connecting rods this will lead eventually to a blockage of the drive train.

Sometimes people notice that the loco runs significantly slower than usual with a decreased pulling power. Or the engine stops frequently. In this case the motor itself is giving up and pulling excessive amperage. In case the user is operating with a starter kit transformer this transformer will reach the end of its performance and shut down for cooling. When a motor is giving up it regularly transforms the energy supplied into heat which will be transported via the motor axle to the worm drive. The heated worm drive will eventually destroy/melt the  gear wheel connected to it. That ends the transmission of power. And the motor stops running.

The very early design of the Buehler motor provided exchangeable carbon brushes. One could visually check on the wear of those brushes by how far they were worn out. The later design is fully enclosed and therefor it is impossible to check on the wear. Buehler found out that when the brushes are worn out so are the bearings. So basically it did not make any sense to exchange the brushes. Nowadays the whole motor is being exchanged.

Motor Exchanges

Brand new LGB Buehler motors. Top: long shaft motor. Bottom: short shaft motor

TrainCraft by Klaus carries all required LGB types of Buehler motors. Klaus exchanges/ installs them in ALL types of LGB engines.

Make sure to use proper tools and fitting screwdrivers. The tiny LGB screws are easily damaged when operated with general household tools. Be sure to use the correct gear wheels depending on your loco type. LGB uses more than 9 different gear wheels. Some may look similar but beware of the thread and spacing.

Caution
The first generation motorblock was made of two shells (left hand, right hand) which are very difficult to service. You will find them in the early Stainz locomotives , the 2080's  Tank Steam loco (Brockenbahn) and the Crocodile (LGB 2040).

DIY on first generation LGB locos ... 
First you have to remove all connecting rods to free the wheels. Then you have to carefully remove the wheels and watch the spring loaded carbon brushes (the old type) which consist of a separate spring and carbon brush. If you're not careful the spring with the carbon brush would jump off and away. 

After all the wheels on that side of the motorblock which shows the screw heads have been removed  you can unscrew these screws and pull the two shells apart. TIP: put all screws in a bin or saucer to avoid loosing any.

When removing the motor one has to watch two tiny steel balls at the end of the motor axles. The early Buehler motors did not have thrust-bearings so these steel balls were necessary to keep the motor axles from moving sideways.

Installing the new motor
Make sure to have those steel balls reinstalled with a new motor unless you install a later generation Buehler motor which has load bearings.
Now comes the tricky part:
When re-inserting the motor you need to make sure that both loco axles are synchronized in their position. If you don't do it now you will not be able to correct this mistake once the motor block is re-assembled. The end of the loco axles provide two beveled portions which position the wheels. The synchronization can be easily achieved visually by assuring the parallel position of the bevels of both axles.
Be careful when reinstalling the wheels because the spring loaded carbon brushes have to come in first.

Best Bet: call Klaus and have him install your new motor along with all added/ required parts

Fun Fact: Buehler started in 1855 as a clock manufacturer in the Black Forest region of Germany. In 1892 the great grandfather of the current owners bought the company and added drive engineering to the production line. He kept the name Buehler for the factory and product lines. By 1955 the factory was moved to Nuremberg and the first electric motor was manufactured. Buehler grew from a small business manufacturer to a worldwide company with 1600 employees worldwide, manufacturing in 5 countries (USA, China, Germany, Check Republic, Mexico) and for the automotive, space, industrial and aviation industry.

LGBchen and Chloe - Conclusion

The LGB  Chloe and Olomana type loco 0-4-2(T) saw their last appearance with the 1998 catalogs. After that LGB would revert back to the O & K industrial field loco 0-4-0. In 2000 they published a (hand model?) 22140 in the 2000 catalog which made it to market about a year later

LGB 22140 - Courtesy of catawiki.com

She made her market debut before the euro-conversion and was priced at DM 419.00 which later translated into Euro 195.00. The US market would see a price of around US$ 199.00. 

In the original package the US version came with an engineer in black, and 2 little oil cans and an original German "UHU" glue tube. This "UHU" glue was an 'over-the-counter- glue with almost

accessory to LGB 22140
Courtesy of worthpoint.com

commercial qualities that once it dried had excellent adhesive qualities. There was no american substitute. The two little oilcans got lost over time on many 22140. In the pic above the owner painted them silver, original LGB 'color' was black.

In 2003 as, dear reader you know by now, LGB was going down the hill the same loco was re-utilized by giving her a new label and number, "Henschel & Sohn, Kassel" # 3 and re-marketed as LGB 23140

LGB 23140 No 3 - Courtesy of worthpoint.com

After the original LGB closed shop and Maerklin/Simba-Dickie took over it wasn't until 2011 that another LGBchen type was marketed. As the OLD LGB had done before it was re-utilized in a starter set, this time the LGB 70410. In 2016 and 2017 the Olamana and the Grizzly Flat would see a 'come-back'. It was the old mold but the plastic and the workmanship was not the same as under the old LGB.

In the past YT translated quite a few articles by HJ Neumann who once ran the biggest LGB Club in Germany. He still writes his blog and in his opinion the new LGB product range especially in combination with the new pricing policy is another nail in the coffin of Wolfgang Richter. Be that as it may - fact is the quality - especially the plastic and color- of the OLD LGB models was outstanding.  Fact is also that today's market still sees veritable numbers of Old LGB models being offered in often first-class quality. 

Here are  20130 pics from 2 sources: Only Trains and liveauctions.com from approx 2017. See for yourself and compare:

The original Old LGB 20130 sported highly polished chromed push/connecting rods whereas the new Maerklin/LGB engine features matte rods, maybe silver painted; compare

LGB 23131 - Courtesy of lgb.com, price US$ 350.00 approx

HJ Neumann was right and you dear reader are in luck: Klaus is here and ready to help with all your OLD LGB needs (and some new, too....)

LGB Chloe and LGBchen - Part 2

 By 1995 the Chloe was manufactured and ready to be distributed:

LGB 20130 w/ LGB 30430 Grizzly Flats cars
Courtesy of ebay.com/hrastovi42012

The 1995 LGBoA flyer/brochure

Courtesy of Champex-Linden

advertised the Chloe prominently at first exclusively for the American market. A year later it was also offered to the German and European LGB customers. The ad already mentions the LGB 30430 Grizzly Flats cars that were offered at the same time but separately. The LGB 20130 listed for US$ 299.00 and the cars for US$ 59.00 each.

The complete package if purchased together would have looked like this:

LGB 20130 w/ LGB 30430 Grizzly Flats cars
Courtesy of ebay.com/hrastovi42012

Also advertised in the LGB NEWS 1995 was the LGBchen 20140 which portrayed the industrial field loco of the late 1800's and early 1900's:

They were listed at US$ 269.00 and currently go for about US$ 390.00

By 1999 LGBoA listed both engines as "about to be sold out".

When sales volume in 1996 signaled a good market acceptance for both little engines LGB set out to do them again in a slightly varied manner. Thus the molds were reused into the LGB 22130

LGB 22130 - Courtesy of proxibid.com

and the LGB 21140

LGB 21140 - Courtesy of ebay.com/sfelectric

 

The Olomana was priced at US$ 280.00 and the LGB O & K (21140) at US$ 270.00. The Olomana is hard to find these days and should NOT be mistaken with the new Maerklin/Simba-Dickie 23130. They seem a look-alike but that's were it stops. Small but important quality differences (wheels, color, workmanship) prove the Old LGB the superior and more valuable loco. They came onto the market in 1998 both in USA and in Germany/Europe.

Another debut was the LGB 72560 where the 21130 featured prominently as the (Chloe) Christmas loco with "Santa Clause" on the loco label and two Chistmas decorated open passenger cars

LGB 72560 - Courtesy of Only Trains

LGB 72560 original packaging - Courtesy of liveauctions.com

This set was originally advertised in the 1997 LGBoA Info 97 and the set was available that Christmas.

LGBoA Info 97 pg 2/2- Courtesy of Champex-Linden
Focus on the middle of the photo to find the "Chloe" Christmas set

It is extremely rare to find a complete set with box, tracks & documentation these days. Values are up. Klaus has had but one single loco from a complete set on his workbench since he began shop here in the USA. The motor in this Santa loco is probably about to give up since it has been in the loco since 1997 and the life span of an Chloe/LGBchen motor is about 7-10 years depending on the run time (at Christmas). Klaus does have the motors and does motor exchanges and maintenance service on all the Chloe/ LGBchen engines. Spare parts are rare. If you are in need of any parts, contact Klaus by email/phone and he will do what it takes to keep your (LGB) engines running!

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

Chloe and LGBchen - LGB 20130 and 20140 series

The Old LGB's main income was always generated in Germany but it was the USA who often came in a close second before the Europeans (Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria) who  loved LGB products just as much. It was therefor an important part of the product arrangement to offer interesting locos and rolling stock to the American customers with each new year and catalog.

The Mogul made the start (1983/85) followed by other great American locomotives like the Forney, the Uintah and Sumpter Valley, The F 7, Alco Diesel and others. On the lookout for yet another new loco for the American market the little Chloe came into focus. She had two things going for her:

#1  Disney Connection

Ward Kimball, Disney's foremost animator was a huge train lover and had built his own 'Grizzly Flats Railroad" on his land in California with a Chloe in his collection. He had bought the engine in 1948 from the Hawaiian RR upon its demise and had lovingly restored the little loco while putting his own famous (painter's) touch on her.

Grizzly Flats RR Chloe - Courtesy of Grizzly Flats RR

 

#2  A True Narrow Gauge Loco

(Quote): "Although the type was not used by any major railroads in North America, H.K. Porter, Inc. and the Baldwin Locomotive Works produced many small tank locomotives of this type for industrial and plantation work. The 0-4-2T Olomana, built by Baldwin in 1883, arrived in the Kingdom of Hawaii in August 1883 after a two-month journey around Cape Horn. It was owned by Waimanalo Sugar Company on the island of Oahu and hauled cane from the fields to its refinery (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0-4-2) 
                                                   
                                                           Courtesy of wikipedia.org
LGB named the Chloe the LGB 20130 and the Olomana type 0-4-2 field loco became LGB 20140.

These LGB 0-4-2 's were published over the years:

Class 20130

Year      LGB #

1995      20130

1998      22130

2002      21130  actually loco for # 72560 starter set/ Christmas set

2016      23130  by Simba/Dickie - Maerklin/LGB

Class 20140

Year      LGB #

1995       20140

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Below find the LGB locos that are sort of in the same category but are actually 0-4-0 locos of the field loco type. The original was built by Orenstein & Koppel, a German engineering and rail car manufacturer who sold these types almost worldwide from 1880 to about 1920.

1998       21140

2002       22140

2003       23140                                      

A typical 0-4-0 Orenstein & Koppel loco ca 1910
Courtesy of Kolin at 1.loco.eu

LGB used the chassis of the 21140  also for the Toy Train series and for the Porter series.

The 0-4-2 and 0-4-0 loco type proved to be so beloved that the New LGB under Marklin/Simba Dickie published several of these and as an exception to the rule this blog will either refer to them or include them in this series.

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

LGB Wilson Bros. Circus Train - Conclusion

By 1994 Jim Marski of Depot G  Hobbies had successfully implemented his Circus Train within the American LGB customer base. The money was rolling in on as regular a basis as he was to announce the next shipment of the Circus cars. That had changed his life. Jim was to leave his humble abode in Winfield/IL and with the help of his proceeds from the LGB business bought himself a fine home in Pine/Colorado. He took the business with him, same name and all.

The next car to arrive at customers doors was the LGB 3084 DG Advertising Car

LGB 3084 Advertising Car - Courtesy of liveauction.com

The car was US$ 119.99 and shipped somewhere in spring of 1994. A few months later came the LGB 4068 Elephant Car

LGB 4068 Elephant Car - Courtesy of liveauctions.com

with a price of $ 89.00. As with the complete collection, all cars were individually numbered through 2000 and the one shown above displayed the individual number 1254 see below

Next car was the LGB 4269 DG flat car orange with handcrafted circus tableau wagon

LGB 4260 DG with handcrafted flat car, tableau wagon by Columbine Hobby Co
Courtesy of Reynaulds.com

That concluded the deliveries for 1994.

In 1995 Jim had two more items to deliver: the wonderful LGB 4075 DG Caboose for US$ 139.00

LGB 4075 DG Caboose - Courtesy of liveauctions.com

 and the "cherry on the cake "  Circus loco LGB Mogul 22191, US$ 599.00

LGB 22191 Mogul - Courtesy of BigTrainWorld.com

With that by the summer's end of 1995 the avid LGB collector was now the owner of this train set:

22191 Wilson Bros. 2-6-0 Steam Engine

3084 DG Advertising Car-Red

3180 DG Passenger Car-Green

3181 DG Colossal Combine Car

4060 DG Flat Car, blue

4067 DG Tent & supply car, orange

4068 DG Elephant stock car, white w/red trim

4075 DG Caboose, red & yellow

4080 DG Water car, silver & green

4160 DG Flat Car, yellow

4260 DG Flat Car, orange

4360 DG Flat car,silver 4360-DG Flat Car-Silver

1-Die Cast 1931 Model Sixty Diesel Caterpillar with Metal Tracks,(RARE)

3 hand crafted circus wagon by Columbine Hobby Co.

Unfortunately very few complete collections did survive. Most often the collection was torn apart either into separate items to be sold or the cute handmade circus cars and the wonderful die cast tractor ended up in some kids playground never to be found again... However one such COMPLETE Wilson Bros Circus set was just currently for sale at Only Trains/Minnesota for a decent US$ 1,000.00

And Jim Marski? He lived happily ever after in Colorado. He's still there dabbling in consulting and enjoying his life - thanks to a great LGB business idea at the right time in history.

LGB Wilson Bros Circus Train -- Part 2

By mid summer of 1992 the " Advance Advertising Car" LGB #  3181 DG had rolled out and Depot G of Winfield/IL was well on its way for a great business story. Jim had sold enough 'subscriptions' for his 2000 limited series Circus set that he started delivery on the 2nd car. As promised the LGB 4067 DG "Tent and Supply Car" was  ready to be shipped. 

LGB 4067 DG Tent and Supply car - Courtesy of eBay/fredtrain1

Based on the LGB 4167 it cost US$ 79.00. And by fall 1992 the third car was shipped, the LGB 4060 DG with a handcrafted Circus Wagon as load. The Circus Wagon was not manufactured by LGB but by Columbine Hobby Co. And a Die Cast caterpillar with less than 2000 made was also part of the series and was shipped the same fall.

Circus wagon for LGB 4060 DG flatbed car by Columbine Hobby Co.
Courtesy of worthpoint.com

LGB 4060 Wilson Bros flatbed car - Courtesy of worthpoint.com

Carterpillar tractor was part of the Wilson Bros Circus train set
Courtesy of worthpoint.com

The flat car with Circus wagon was US$ 90.00 as was the caterpillar tractor. The tractor is hard to find these days as is the Circus Cage wagon. 

For Jim Marski times were coming up roses. His concept had worked out and he became quite busy. 

Fun fact: Depot G was an operation out of a residential home in Winfield/IL that was a modest 3/2 home in a quiet suburb on the west side of outer Chicago. No store front, no advertising, just a normal home. Goes to show you can make a fortune out of your garage anytime in this country!!

In 1993 four more cars were delivered to the Wilson Bros Circus Train set subscribers, the LGB 3180 DG "Performers Car" in Spring of 1993, US $  129.00 

LGB 3180 DG Performer's Car"
 Courtesy of worthpoint.com

the LGB 4080 DG Water Car in Summer of 1993, US $ 119.00

LGB 4080 DG Water Car
Courtesy of americasbesttrain.com

 the LGB 4360 DG Flat Car with ramps (see white strips inside box) for Caterpillar tractor, US $ 69.00

LGB 4360 DG Flat Car for Caterpillar Tractor (see above)
Courtesy of liveauctioneers.com

and in winter of 1993 the LGB 4160 DG (with Band Wagon which was made by Columbine Hobby Co.) US $ 99.99

LGB 4160 DG  shown with Band Wagon

The Band Wagon was delivered in a separate box and was not made by LGB.

Band Wagon for Wilson Bros Circus train set
to go with LGB Flat Car 4160 DG
Courtesy of ebay.com/ttibbets2780

 The complete shipped set looked like this

LGB 4160 DG with Band Wagon 
Courtesy of picclick/trainz.com

Four more cars and one locomotive were yet to come.................

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