1.FC regularly brings out its Car of the Year and sometimes it also issues a 1.FC Märklin Locomotive of the Year as well. I’m sure you remember all the other great locomotives – the Looney Tunes locomotive, the Superman locomotive, as well as the Lex Luther locomotive or the Police locomotive. Now it’s time to introduce a new 1.FC locomotive!
A sack of sugar and a copper boiler
HARIBO is a candy-making company founded in Bonn, Germany in 1920 by Hans Riegel. The company’s name gives you a clue to all this, because it stands for HAnsRIegelBOnn. Hans Riegel was a trained candy maker. In the early days, he had little more than his skill and ideas and a back yard kitchen equipped with the bare minimum he needed to start his business: a sack of sugar, a marble counter, a stool, a brick oven, a copper pot, and a roller. His wife was his first employee.
In 1922, he brought his “Dancing bears” (Tanzbären) candies onto the market – nowadays they are called “Gold Bears” (Goldbären) and in 1925 he made a real hit with his licorice sticks and his world-famous licorice wheels.
The company grew incredibly fast - by 1930 it had 160 employees; by 1950 it had 1,000; and now it has about 6,000 employees world wide. In 2005, HARIBO produced around 100 million “Gold Bears” every day in 16 different factories all over Europe (including France and Austria) and they are sold in over 100 countries.
HARIBO still belongs to the Riegel family and it is still managed by a man called Hans Riegel. He’s the son of the company founder.
Fun facts!
HARIBO has a famous slogan “Kids and grown-ups love it so - the happy world of HARIBO!” The version of this slogan used in Germany is almost identical (although in German) and has been in use since the 1960s.
The famous German entertainer Thomas Gottschalk has done the adverts for “Gold Bears” in Germany since 1991. This long-term partnership even earned an entry in the “Guinness Book of Records”.
The FC locomotive
The FC Locomotive of the Year 2010
This year’s 1. FC Locomotive of the Year is a class 185.2 electric locomotive. The running gear and body are made of tough metal. The model also has triple headlights, exactly the way you like them. They change with the direction of travel and can be controlled digitally. The roof also has two mechanical pantographs. But that’s enough technical details for now.
The locomotive is also a real piece of eye candy with its friendly Gold Bear set off against the blue livery. It just puts you in a good mood. The HARIBO lettering and the individual Gold Bears are the perfect finishing touch.
A nice tin with even nicer contents ...
But that’s not everything! As well as the fantastic electric locomotive, you also get a HARIBO-themed metal tin, filled to the brim with delicious Gold Bears!
Don’t forget! The closing date for orders is October 8, 2010. Hand your order form in to your dealer any time up to that date.
Did you know?
Märklin also has a HARIBO railcar. You’ll find it in the “My Start with Märklin” starter set (Item no. 29163).
