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| Wolfgang(left),Klaus Baumann (center) and Eberhard Richter |
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The Old LGB Parts Department
At the Old LGB factory at Saganer Street in Nuremberg LGB entertained a parts department that until today still has to find its match. It was most important to Eberhard and Wolfgang Richter to offer every part that was needed to built their LGB locomotives as a spare part for purchase to their customers.
It was in 1968 that they had started their Lehmann Grossbahn manufacturing model trains and at roughly DM 300.00 for a train, A German hobbyist had to spill out the modern equivalent of US$ 950.00 for a Stainz Starter set. It was therefore of utmost importance to provide spare parts on such a luxurious object and preferably at low costs so customers would not loose interest in a hobby that was sort of expensive in the first place.A look at the LGB 2018D blowup sketch of the loco shows the enormous number of parts that goes into e.g. the Mogul (shown is page 1 of 4 pages). And remember, there were no computers, no internet. Nothing to help you remember or look up the number of a spare part the customer would ask for. And these blow up sketches were NOT part of the train/loco when you bought it. So, lets say you were missing the bell from the loco. You went and called LGB parts department and said" I need a bell for my LGB loco". Yeah, right. Which loco? Did you know you had a Mogul, a Stainz, a Field Railway loco? This is were Mrs. Grimm comes in.
Mrs. Nelly Grimm was the angel of the repair and parts department. She is the wife of LGB head Meister of Production/Manufacturing Rolf Grimm. Mrs. Grimm had an extensive knowledge of each,every and any LGB spare part ever made. Not kidding. You lost a tiny screw on the bottom of a Salzburger steam loco 2010- she knew and did mail you the right one. You needed a bumper for the blue electric loco 2030? She knew and mailed you the right one. You called and said:"Mrs. Grimm, My Steyrtal loco (U-Series) has its dome cracked, do you have a new one for me. And she would know to ask,:"Is it the one with the ring around the dome or without?"' and you would get the right part. Mrs.Grimm breathed LGB parts. They were here blood and soul. She didn't have to check any blow up sketch, no manual, no list. She knew them by heart. 50.000 parts. By heart. And that is only for locomotives. Add to this the passenger cars, freight cars and box cars. AMAZING!
You can imagine how well liked Nelly Grimm was. She and her husband Rolf were invited to almost every important LGB occasion. Be it a toy fair, a company anniversary, LGB Club affair, big LGB dealer parties. Wherever the who's who of LGB was invited, Nelly Grimm and her husband where right there at Wolfgang Richter's side. Always humble, always very nice and more than often bringing a self-made cake to the occasion so nobody would go hungry and the event would - for sure - have a "gemütlichen"( homey) feel to it. It might happen that people who collected LGB trains did not know (of) Wolfgang Richter or later his son Rolf Richter as the CEO. But everybody knew Mrs. Nelly Grimm.
Today, Nelly Grimm and her husband Rolf just celebrated his 80th birthday anniversary. They still live in the same house with their beautiful garden and their LGB train layout. I don't know of anybody within the (German speaking ) LGB community that would or could ever forget her. I think we all wish she would still be reachable to give us that fantastic help when we need a spare part on a LGB loco that we can just describe as :" That thingy on top of the round body with the wheels on"...
Mrs. Nelly Grimm -- a big Thank You from a far away place, the USA, to you and your husband. And a wistful thought back to good old times....
Klaus' Plea: I want to keep you informed and entertained with our blogs without ads or the need for subscription.It takes great effort and time to entertain the blog sites. Please support us in our endeavor of keeping the blogs ads-free, the LGB history alive and promoting this delightful avocation by donating any amount you feel comfortable with. Send me a check or go to our Go-Fund-Me page https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-lgb-traincraft-blogs-alive
THANK YOU for keeping the LGB hobby alive!! And God Bless!
Your donation will help in our efforts to have a new blog at least every week!
