This is unreal ... mind boggling! DVICE: Astonishing video: Most gigantic model railroad in the world
This is the first time I have had a connection quick enough to watch it. That is truely increadible. If I heard right, he said that there were 500,000 manhours put into this thing. That is 57 years, 28 days, and 8 hours worth of work put into that thing. I wonder it was built. I'm sure they had different design and groups like any major project. Wouldn't be fun to be in the purchasing department. Eric
Unbelievable! I wish my layout looked like that, i watched that thing 3 times... and i still cant get over the moving ships AND airplanes! that is just truly amazing! Does anyone know what they use to make the vehicles move??
This is neat. My son watched it and told me he has a whole bunch of ideas for me now. Very impressive.
TONS of videos on youtube.... using various keywords. I spent half one Saturday just watching those. The vehicles are amazing too, the policecars are programmed to pull over vehicles going too fast!
Honestly, I do believe there is such a thing as too big, and this has gone well beyond that mark. Our hobby is all about super-detailing, and careful, tedious work. It is also about doing the maximum with what we have available - and bringing out the best in small scenes. When layouts get super-huge, they lose focus and clarity. All I saw in that video was a confusing tangle of tracks running in every direction, with countless, meaningless trains spinning in circles on auto-pilot. Call me a crank, but that's not what I (or most of us) who take this hobby seriously do. This is a nice tourist attraction, and I am sure that it draws in the crowds... but I wouldn't in a heartbeat trade my own small road for that monstrosity. Thanks for sharing, though.
Here's a link to their website. You can find several informations about the layout and also about the car system: http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/exhibit/technology/carsystem/technology/ I've been there and I'd agree. A nice tourist attraction but not the kind of model railroad and operation I would like to have on my own layout.
RAILSEEK Listing Added I've added two listing in RAILSEEK for this Miniatur Wunderland YouTube - MiWuLaTV's Channel
Since it has opend in 2000 the Miniatur Wunderland is one of the main attractions in Hamburg, Germany. Not only for railroad fans but for the whole family. On this site you can see what they have done until 2009 and what they're planning to do until 2014: http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/exhibit/wunderland/wunderland-facts/
It's the biggest now, and in a couple years it will be the only railroad the public will know, thus making this model railroad the most well known Model Railroad IN THE WORLD. There are those that may stick their nose up at this "monstrosity' but when you consider the level of operations incorporated into this layout in terms of vehicle operations, ship movements, Airplanes, and then the trains, this layout is a far better representation of the WORLD then most narrow focused model railraods are. All I know is my next model railroad plan better have routes for CARS and TRUCKS as well as TRAINS because face it, the Modeling world is not Stuck on just trains!!! Just how many of you spend time developing VEHICLE operations as throughly as this layout team has done?
awesome display layout! The moving vehicles are awesome, but due to layout size and personal budget, I cannot see them on my own layout unless a commercial offering comes along. I can see how such a thing would work on a large home or club layout. Wake up the Museum of Science & Industry folks & have them check it out Until then, I'll stay with the roadways & have constructed on my layout - after all, it is model RAILROADING, not model HIGHWAY. I did see some features I wouldn't mind having on my layout (or a future one), so the video has been educational for me.
Those layouts are for show, to get people interested and paying. With a full time staff you must have some good things. For me, they run only trains. They don't operate. And that's what I want. If I go to a FREMO meeting I see a lot of interesting modules and scenes. And we operate the layout. Look at Braunlage 2009, Jahresmeeting Braunlage2009 and the videos YouTube - hon3fan's Channel. Wolfgang
That's the major difference between us model railroaders and the rest of the world. While we may marvel at a well-detailed, weathred, operating locomotive and comment on its smooth running, price, availability, difficulty or ease of installing a DCC decoder, pulling power, etc., the general public just sees a choo-choo running.
No, this will eclipse all previous layouts of infamy. The sheer scope of the project will retain this one in the mind of the public for quite a long time...longer, at least, until something grander is built.
It may be just for running trains. It may be just for show. But think of what kind of exposure this will do for the hobby. It will get people interested, and show the average John Q Public that model railroads are more than just toys for kids. And the drool factor is way off the scale... :tb-wink:
