#1093 LEHMANN/RIGI – Nr. 900 D·G·M (SEILBAHN / CABLE CAR / TELEFÉRICO / TÉLÉPHÉRIQUE) (Around 1965)

The brand Rigi especialized in cable cars and was active in the 60s and the 70s of the last century. This kind of vehicles are very attractive in Germany and the German speaking countries, and it reminds the kids of holidays in the Alps both in Summer and Winter. Rigi produced a series of cable cars, all of them very similar to each other, some even with an electric motor operated by batteries.

But Rigi was a brand of a bigger and more important toy manufacturer: Lehmann. Or Ernst Paul Lehmann, as it was originally called after one of the two people who founded the company. Ernst Paul Lehmann came from Berlin, and his associate, Jean Eichner came from Nürnberg. The original factory was located in Brandenburg an der Havel, a town located around 50 km West from Berlin. Their products were tin toys of all kinds and great quality, often equipped with surprising mechanisms. Until the turn of the century, the company employed between 600 and 800 people and their massive production was, in part, exported. Mr. Lehmann died in 1934, but the company continued in the hands of the Lehmann family. Unfortunately, in the year 1948, after the fall of the III Reich, and being in the communist part of Germany (East-Germany or GDR), the company was expropriated and renamed VEB Mechanische Speilwaren Brandenburg.

But this was not the end of Lehmann toys... the company was refounded in 1950 in Nürnberg, with the name Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk, where they continued producing even more toys. Of course, at some point they introduced plastic parts in their toys, combining them with tin. In the year 1970, the tin was completely replaced by other materials, but the production of toys continued. Another landmark happened in 2013, where the company became part of the great German (and European) toy cluster Simba-Dickie-Group, and, to my knowledge, it is still their property.

The box depicts a nice scenery, with mountains in the background and the cable car at the front. The sides show some viewpoint, in which some people stare at the distant mountains. Note also that the logo of the company appears in the short sides of the box. The space inside the box is tight, as it has the exact size of the car, plus the structure from which it hangs. The stations go below or above this part of the toy.

Here are more detailed pictures of the different components of the toy, including the two stations. In the case of the reference 900, the car is operated by hand.

The car itself has two practicable doors with a lever to open or close them. Both ends seem to be the same piece, which simplifies the construction of the toy. The doors are also the same. It has a good size to be combined with action figures and small dolls. The colours are plain but the combination is nice, with details such the thin red line and the small logos and texts. All in all a very classic design.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: Nr. 900 D·G·M SEILBAHN
• Alternate Names: Cable Car, Teleférico, Téléphérique
• Year: Around 1965
• Company: Lehmann / Rigi (West-Germany)
• Size: Around 15 cm.
• Scale: Unknown