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G scale model trains are the workhorses of garden railways around the world. Running on 1 gauge track, 1:22.5 G scale trains have been around since 1969. That’s when the German company Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk released its new line of brightly colored, highly durable, plastic LGB (for Lehmann Gross Bahn, or "Lehmann Big Train") locomotives and railcars to the world.

Despite its relatively recent association with LGB, garden railways were popularized in En...

Garden railways did not catch on in the U.S. until the 1920s. In 1924, at the Los Angeles Fair, the Fairplex Garden Railroad was erected under a tent. In 1935, the layout moved outdoors where it has remained ever since, the largest and longest running railway of its kind in the world. In 1997, the tracks and trains were swapped out from their original scale, which was ½-inch to 1-foot or 1:24, to proper G scale.

Despite this early success and acceptance, garden railways remained a novelty in the U.S. before World War II—American Flyer promoted "Backyard Railroading" in its advertising, but never sold many trains designed for outdoor use. After the war, with the smaller O scale and HO scale trains firmly entrenched among model railroaders, the notion that big trains would ever again gain acceptance must have seemed fanciful. Which is why the introduction of the LGB G scale in 1969 was such a gutsy move.

LGB did not help its cause in the U.S. by initially offering only European trains—there’s probably only so much fun a boy in Iowa is going to have with a model train labeled "Austrian Federal" or "Rhaetian Railway." The new scale did not fare much better in England, where traditions were even more firmly established.

But in 1972, Model Railroader magazine published an article about LGB. From then on, the G scale began its rise in acceptance among an increasing number of model train enthusiasts. Today, LGB makes G scale trains for all the popular U.S. road names—from B&O to Santa Fe—all of which run on brass tracks that are designed to weather the elements.

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Recent News: G Scale Trains

Source: Google News

Model train showcase to launch this weekend
Hernando Today, February 6th

For comparison, Lionel's O scale models are about 1/48th the size of trains. The tiniest, Z-scale, shrinks model railroads to about 1/220th the size of the real thing. F scale is even slightly larger than the G scale typical of many outdoor,...Read more

Conducting magic
The Register-Guard, January 28th

For the show at the mall, the club teams up with other model-train groups to provide models of small, medium and large size, identified by hobbyists as HO, O and G scale model trains. The HO scale models are the smallest on display...Read more

Strongest solar radiation storm since 2005
R & D Magazine, January 23rd

Geogmagnetic storms (G-scale) and solar radiation storms (S-scale) range from 1 (minor) to 5 (extreme). This event represents the strongest radiation storm in more than six years. Associated with Sunday's flare was a coronal mass ejection (CME),...Read more

Bachmann Trains Create Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Model ...
BSCkids, January 21st

Bachmans Trains are making model versions of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus trains. I think adults as well as children will enjoy the Bachman's G-Scale and HO Scale trains. These train sets bring back the excitement and wonderment...Read more

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus Rides the Rails With Bachmann Trains
MarketWatch (press release), January 18th

A G-Scale train set (Item No. 90083; MSRP $575.00) comes complete with a 4-6-0 steam locomotive (with operating headlight, smoke, and speed-synchronized sound), coal tender, performers' car, elephant stock car, flat car with lion in cage wagon and...Read more

New Hanover News & Notes - Railroad ceremony; antique show; railroad show ...
StarNewsOnline.com, January 17th

WILMINGTON | Cape Fear Community College is seeking all former employees of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Wilmington to participate in a special ceremony for the college's new Union Station classroom building at noon Jan...Read more

Toy story: Local man re-creates a tiny bit of history
Farmington Daily Times, January 13th

His living room is crowded with a mountain scene he's creating for his outdoor model railroad that weaves through a section of the complex. Across the G-scale tracks from his home is his business office. That, too, is filled with thousands of tiny...Read more

theFarmingdaleObserver.com Calendar
Farmingdale Observer, January 12th

Info (weekdays) 346-9071. The model railroads range in size from 2 feet x 3 feet to 20 feet x 30 feet and Z scale to G Scale - a great way to get ideas on how to set up your train set. This is the largest all model train show in the area...Read more

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