G Scale LGB Model Trains
LGB stands for Lehmann Gross Bahn. In German, this roughly translates to "Lehmann Big Train" and it also of course suggests the German heritage behind this particular G Scale Train manufacturer. G Scale LGB products have been in the marketplace since the inception of the company in 1968.
In fact, expert sources on the industry say that LGB introduced the term G Scale into the modelling market with the 1/22.5 scale being used in their construction of the trains. The 1/22.5 scale that LGB uses in manufacturing their trains remains the industry standard for G Scale, although you will see other trains that are manufactured as high scale as 1/20 and as low scale as 1/32 in the G Scale market. However, one thing to keep in mind is that the train tracks used by all G Scale Trains are common and a lot of the credit for this goes to the G Scale LGB products and their introduction of standards into the model train industry.
LGB went bankrupt in 2006 and was purchased by another German company. That company however does not have rights to distribute trains in the United States, as another company known as LGB of America has those exclusive rights. The legalese behind the company is somewhat confusing, but all you need to know for modelling purposes is that trains made by both companies can be considered G Scale LGB products.