Miniatur Wunderland

Imagine visiting a model train set that is already over 20,000 square feet, and growing. This train set currently has eight sections and in the coming years will have 10. They included recreations of famous sites like the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Miami, Cape Canaveral, Pueblo Villages and oh, did I mention all of these are just in ONE section of this train set? There are also other sections that showcase the highlights of Austria, Germany, Scandinavia, and Switzerland. To top all of this off, the world’s largest miniature airport has also been created. It is a model train lovers dream come true and it is Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany. Once France and Italy (new section) have been added, the entire space of this wonderland will be nearly 33,000 square feet! Oh, and if you are going to go, you might want to make reservations because this place has around a million people visit every year!

Trains

Currently, there is nearly 43,000 feet of track that approximately 930 different trains travel on daily. Yes, I said 930… These trains include 14,450 cars. The longest of these trains stretches over 46 feet long!

Operations

It currently takes 46 computers to run all of these trains. When France and Italy have been answered, that number will spike to 64. Beyond just controlling the trains, they control the 335,000 lights in these recreated worlds. Oh yea, that number will be over 500,000 with the addition of the two new sections. There are 8,850 cars that are also controlled by these computers that do drive on the roads…. without rails. I’m guessing they are operated with electromagnets or something. Up to 40 airplanes can take off and land from the airport. It takes 230 people to keep Miniatur Wunderland running.

The Wonder of the Miniatur Wunderland

The result of all of the hard work, details, trains, and sections is a miniature world that creates the world we inhabit…and makes up a few things as well. If you watch some of these videos, I’m sure you’ll be amazed at the level of detail that is present in the Miniatur Wunderland. Little stories are happening everywhere. From car trouble to a snowy evening to a UFO visiting Earth, the modelers have gone to extreme lengths to create a world that works together and make sense. Heck, there are even SHIPS that move in and out of port! How crazy is that!?  I’m including a few videos because that is the best way to show this off. Which area looks like it’d be your favorite?

So what do you think?

This morning I was sent an email from a good friend of mine showing me just one of these videos. Now, an hour later I’m totally geeking out over the possibilities for a model train set. As some of you may now, I’ve started building a train set in my garage. Some of it is from an old train set my dad built for me as a kid and some of it will be new things. I had ideas for it but they have just been expanded greatly! I’d love to hear what you think of this place. Has anyone been there? Anyone want to go there?