Long before Miniatur Wunderland there was a „must see“ attraction for train lovers in Hamburg and the huge layout in 1-gauge at the Museum for Hamburg History is still a sight the avid train enthusiast must not miss while in the city along the river Elbe.

Rail history meets historic models!

Located on the 3rd floor of the museum, the layout has been in operation on almost daily base for more than 65 years! Built to 1:32 scale visitors find a recreation of Hamburg Harburg passenger station and classification yard. Several times a day show runs are conducted which take about half an hour and present about 100 years of German rail history. There is narration in German while trains navigate the almost 4000 ft. of tracks in a smooth fashion, This is even more impressive as the layout is controlled by an computer but run via an analog system. No DCC what so ever! I really like the centralized tower high above the conic decider in the middle of the layout.

Approximately 100 locomotives and 550 cars populate the tracks. Although the track plan stayed the same since the first run in 1949, the club who owns and maintains the layout reworked track work, roster and scenery several time. Some of the trains showing up during the presentation are more than 50 years old and therefore examples of model building after the war. Another interesting aspect is the detailed overhead wiring. All in all building in big scales gives so much opportunities for details.

If I were you…

…I definitely would visit the big scale layout at the Museum for Hamburg History!

• Check the website for hours and show times!
• Use public transportation! U3 gets you close. The museum is within 5 minutes of walking distance from St. Pauli station.
• Admission is 9 EUR (as of 2016) for all the exhibitions as well as the model railroad.
• Once there, stroll around the other floors of the museum. There is much to see and learn about Hamburg. The staff did a great job to modernize the exhibition in recent years. So plan on spending some time there.
• On a nice day, take a walk through the park the museum is situated in. You’re actually walking along the old perimeters of Hamburg. Once obsolete, the fortification gave way to the park.
• And of course- once your done with model train watching and history, St. Pauli district is pretty close, enjoy!

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