LGB (trains)
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| Product type | model railroad products |
|---|---|
| Owner | Märklin |
| Country | Germany |
| Introduced | 1968 |
| Previous owners | Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk |
| Website | lgb.com |
LGB stands for Lehmann Gross Bahn - the "Lehmann Big Railway" in German. Made by Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk in Nuremberg, Germany, since 1968 and by Märklin since 2007, it is the most popular garden railway model in Europe, although there are also many models of U.S. and Canadian prototypes. LGB caused a revival of garden model railroading in the United States when it was introduced. LGB is sold in North America through Walthers, who took over from Ernst Paul Lehmann's subsidiary, LGB of America, when Märklin bought the LGB assets. Most of the European prototypes were manufactured in Germany, while much of the North American was made in China. Production is now located in Hungary.
LGB trains are responsible for introducing "G" scale to model railroading. The scale ratio used by LGB is nominally 1:22.5, yet many dimensions are often changed to allow operation on very tight R1 curves. American prototypes especially suffer from this. Other G-scale (and Gauge 1) manufacturers produce products that range from 1:20 to 1:32, and for the most part, all use the same track and are compatible with one another. Though they can all run on the same track (45 mm gauge), models representing narrow-gauge versions of trains or locomotives would not normally be run together with models of larger full-scale vehicles. To fit the same standard track the latter must be built using different scales. To illustrate the point, 1:22.5 scale passengers and/or train crew are somewhat oversized when displayed in proximity with 1:32 models. Though the models may be physically compatible, many people choose a style or era to fit their desires and pick one ratio (in the range of 1:20.3 to 1:32) to model all of their trains.
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