LGB Lok book

Lok
by Aldo Farneti and Paolo Zanin
Edizioni Antilia, Treviso, Italy
Available in the US from:
Wm. K. Walthers, Inc.
5601 W. Florist Avenue
Milwaukee WI 53218
544 pages, hardbound, 12″ x 9¾”, color photos
Price: $69.95
Website: www.walthers.com

This remarkable book, dedicated by its Italian authors to Wolfgang Richter, covers virtually every locomotive that LGB made, from the company’s beginning through the summer of 2013. The book originated in the authors’ desire to have a compendium of all LGB locomotives in one place, not scattered about years of catalogs. This volume is the result.

The book is organized in three main sections: steam locomotives (by far the largest section), electric locomotives (including streetcars), and diesel locomotives. Within each section, the engines are arranged by type. There is a single, full page (sometimes two pages), professionally produced photograph of each engine, along with each color variation and road name. In addition to each photograph is LGB’s catalog number, the years the model was available, the model’s features (sound, smoke, etc.), the length of the engine in millimeters, the country of origin of the prototype for the model, the railroad on which the prototype ran, the gauge of the prototype railroad in millimeters, and the purchase-price range (in DM or Euros). Included in the steam-loco section are all of the special, hand-made engines that LGB marketed, and the year in which each was offered. Also noted are whether the specific engine was a limited edition or was available only through LGB of America.

Specially produced locomotives (for the Club der LGB Freunde, for instance) are also included. A section at the end of the book contains things that don’t fall into the other categories, like Surfer Snoopy, Fortuna Flyers, rail bikes, and rail trucks.

For ease of finding a specific locomotive, there is a locomotive index at the front of the book, arranged numerically by LGB catalog numbers in conjunction with thumbnail photos of each engine—64 to a page. Also, in the front of each section is another list (no photos) by page number of what engine is on which page.

If you are a serious student of LGB or a avid collector, this book is an invaluable reference. It is beautifully produced and will grace any book shelf or coffee table.