This just in. . .Märklin news

[udo]

at least on PC we get to use a QURTY keyboard

Do you mean QWERTY? ????????????????????????

[vsmith]

20% off a 40% overpriced item, yep thats a Walthers sale alright.

 

If they're so overpriced, how do they manage to stay in business? Hmmmm, maybe that's why LGB finally had to fold up their tent. Anyway, customers usually vote with their wallets so we'll see if Walthers will be able to market LBG at MSRP levels, I doubt it.

 

Walt 

I think today we all know what led to LGBs demise

Walther dropped LGB about 3 or 4 years ago. As of now we still dont even know if this new Marklin deal will eventually include LGB, or if LGBoA will manage to "pull the rabbit out of the hat" and get a long term US distribution agreement.

For alot of hobby shops Walthers was there only option for ordering train supplies, they had a virtual monopoly on distribution of almost all major brands in all scales, so the shops just passed on the costs to the customer, but in the last few years the internet has taken off like a brush fire, many more people have  begun ordering from outlets who could get there product direct from manufacturers bypassing Walthers, that has hit thier bottom line. Alot of shops have closed because either they couldnt adapt to the internet or they couldnt get around Walthers supply stranglehold, so they have had to fold. 

[udo]

Walther dropped LGB about 3 or 4 years ago.

Walther's discontinued LGB from their line over 7 years ago and even then they did not have an exclusive. There were around half a dozen other distributers at the same time. So Walther's LGB pricing did not control the market ever.

Udo

[LGBtrains1963]

I am a LGB club member (charter member and in good standings) and the information on the new clubs cars order forms will be going through LGB of America, I have already sent my order forms to Watt's Train Shop and they have to send the other part of the order form to LGB of America and then LGBoA will in turn have to contact Marklin on how many cars have been ordered. So I feel Walthers we be dealing in HO, N, and Z scales in the Marklin Family, Also Walthers did not do that well in large scale sales and no new large scale catalogs have been made in a few years.. Thanks, Mark Ryan