Thinking Small, On a Really Big Scale –

When I was a kid my Dad and I built model railway tracks that wove through rooms, dipped under furniture and generally annoyed my mother to no end. If you’ve ever done anything like that, you’ve got to see Hamburg’s Miniatur Wunderland, the largest model railway in the world.

Built by twin brothers Frederick and Gerrit Braun, the Miniatur Wunderland runs along six miles of track.  It covers geographies that resemble Scandinavia, Germany and the US. “Each day 900 trains with 12,000 carriages travel a distance of several hundred kilometers”, along the world longest railway course. But that’s only the beginning of the goings-on in this miniature world.

A full scale airport with airplane hangars and passenger lounges sees the departure of numerous flights every day. Ocean travel also has its place in the Miniatur Wunderland. There is a 30,000 liter sea where large and small ships cruise on commercial and pleasure routes.

While the modeling detail is astounding on its own, the organization of computers and operators that control this rich world is a feat unto itself. “The technology behind it all is monitored by
human eyes from a control console with the help of more than 40 computers.  These are controlled by complex self-developed software.”

By 2020, the exhibit will be expanded to cover geographies that include France, England Italy and parts of Africa.

Watch the video below to see the Miniatur Wunderland in more detail.

Images & Video Courtesy of Miniatur Wunderland