The scope of this is pretty mind-blowing. It may not have the sophisticated special effects of Miniatur Wunderland, but it is still pretty damned impressive, especially since it was mostly built by one man and his family.
Whoever says this is just a giant toy should be super ashamed of themselves. They shouldn't even talk about model railroading if they're just going to call these toys. Shame everyone who calls these toys.
Wonderland in Hamburg is much superior. It has towns and cities built to 1/87 scale; trains; cars; trucks that move and jeliners that take off and land. There are several countries featured with boats and waterways. Italy has the Bascillica in Rome. There are 1,000 trains, 300 vehicles and 100,000 people figures. There is a nighttime display as well as daytime. It's amazing! The buildings look REAL because they are finely detailed and have interior lighting. The trains and cars at Wonderland move at 1/87 scale speed. The trains in the above display are moving too fast. The buildings look like wedding cake boxes stacked on each other. The mountains all look phony. Some of the railway bridges look like they were designed as car bridges because the bridge decks are too thin to support train locomotives.
After being there once to see the railroad, I have returned there on a regular basis to play the theatre organ in the main room. I have been known to vibrate a train off the tracks from time to time.. The bass in the organ is great. The railroad was indeed made for visitors, and not for the fine scale enthusiast. The kids love it and want to return.
wow that's what you call a model railway. we don't have nothing like this in the UK. we have model railways but not as good or as big as this one. great vid!!!!
I don't understand people nit picking on thing like detail, locos,rolling, scenery, ect. I mean come on. This thing was started decades ago. Back when low detail was the norm ( yes there are exceptions to that). This layout is designed for kids and family's to enjoy and be in wow. Not for rivet counters to be like "no tie plate and code 100 rail pfff"
Agreed, sometimes you should just appreciate things for what they are. Clearly this isn't very realistic, and I doubt it was it meant. But it's impressive, and anything that gets more people interested in the hobby is a good thing in my book!
Evidently none of you have ever had a hobby, or loved anything in general. If you actually loved something, you would understand that these people are entitled to their love of trains as is everybody else. Do you not understand that it is fun for people to perfect every little detail? My club, spent 30 years hand-laying every single piece of track on the layout. It is all individual ties and rails. I bet if you tried to do that you would die from lack of patience. Good riddance.
It's an impressive layout for sure, and I am not a 'rivet counter'. But it would be nice if the speed was turned down a little. Cargo trains from the 1940s didn't go 500km/h
Rarawer Miniature Wunderland BUILDING SIZE is 68,889 sq ft of floorspace,but the model takes only 12,378 sq ft Northlandz takes up 50,000 square feet of model space. 50,000 is a lot larger than 12,378. Minature Wunderland is more appealing in terms of technology and detail however.
I agree, dave allen , way too many bridges and trestles! I visited Northlandz a couple years ago and have to admit that I was not impressed. But then, I am biased, too since I worked 10 years at the Miniatur Wunderland. Northlandz would be really amazing with a better detailed and more prototypical scenery - it is really crude. And most of the trains whizz along the track at ridiculously high speeds. I guess that is owed to them running still in conventional DC mode and a lot of dust.
Erhard Baltrusch Yes and if the train goes off the track how do you retreive it but like I say the trestles some over 6 ft high very unrealistic and the mountains the texture looked unreal as well !
Maybe larger in scope by not in grandeur. The Model in Hamburg has a huge staff working on it with major financing, promoting it as a tourist attraction. For a one man project......Great Job....KUDOS.
i used to volunteer there and there is trap door built into the mountains and what cant be reach by hand we have long poles with track cleaning blocks on the end to do the entire layout take about 7 to 9 hours with on person but we usually had 5 to 6 people doing it all week
It is amazing as well, but the one in Hamburg Germany is more realistic, has more gadgets, has an HO airfield, has an international character,and offcourse this one is bigger, it is in the USA right, so it has to be bigger,...:- )), like
www.miniatur-wunderland.com/ tdkgarst is right. BUT; there is nothing to ashamed about. This is a great model railroad, was the biggest in the world for a long time - mostly build by one man!!!! That HAS to be a record! Wunderland has a big staff of people doing the building, some paid, some volunteers.
BB1960 by big it refers to the 30 feet canyons inside. I've been there, and the owner was talking with me and brought me down into the bottom of the depest canyon, and let me tell you, it feels so weird and real
Many separate tracks controlled b individual power packs. Forget the number, but there was at least 50 that I could see in the control room when I visited NorthlandZ a few years ago. Same thing at Minitaur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany. Many separate tracks and controllers. Did not see the actual control room in person, but it almost looks like a control center for aircraft from the segment on the video I saw.
Nice video. What an experience to see something like this. With all the attention to detail I am wondering why they choose to run the trains at what looks like an unbelievable fast speed(not very scale like).
Very nice. To take nothing away from this layout here are some stats about Wunderland www.miniatur-wunderland.com/exhibit/wunderland/wunderland-facts/ Depending on the status of their new construction I would say MW is larger and miles above this layout in quality.
There is also another Model Railway in Russia which is built in the buildings of an old asbestos factory, like the Model in Germany it's complete with working vehicles, boats & planes, but if you love trains & trains only then this place is hard to beat
I've looked thru some of your comments but I cannot see the question, so I will ask: What Scale is it N HO or other, thanks buddy and Happy New Year to You & Your Family
Wonderful but not the biggest. There is one in Saint Pertersburg Russia which is colossal and Minature Wunderland in Hamburg the layout is so massive it literally takes up a part of the city docklands. Not to take away from this beauty.
I think the harsh criticism is out of perspective. Is it a model railroad? It is not. It does not have operations, or scale or a even a good track plan. It is a freelance railroad on a different scale. A very grand scale. On model RR, due to space limitations, things like towns and cities are mostly representative. Forced perspective and imagination dominate a small area to depict a much larger area than the space required to represent a true subject. Funding, manhours, participation and deadlines have all taken a hit to enable ticket sales. And that is important. The cost of constructing such a behemoth is beyond comprehension but the cost to maintain the facility as well as the railroad probably has costs beyond the comprehension of most. What it does have, is a lot of fast running trains and grand scenery that fill the eyes euphorically. Especially to the eyes of the tourists and most importantly, little girls and boys. All they can say is wow! Regardless of artistic value. It reminds me of those Lionel O27 toys that mesmerized me to have my mother take me everyday to the Christmas train display at the department store. Capturing that WOW factor for a little girl or little boy gives this railroad exhibit a great value. So, model railroaders, chill. Take your kids and grand kids there and let them be inspired to a future of model railroading.
miniature wunderland may be smaller but it looks 1000000X more realistic and overall nicer. (been there myself :3. it was just wow. nothing more. just wow)
wkblauwster MiWuLa isn't smaller, its bigger. They here just made an typical american and said its the biggest in the world even though it isnt, there are like 3 miniture world in the USA who claim to be the largest in the world.
jiwii2000 i hope he gets some high quality trains like you like the dda40x and the big boy but im sure he had to stay within a budget and i saw this in a documentary called millionaire toys
Both this layout and the one in Germany are HO scale. BTW, the layout in Germany has a scale model of an airport complete with planes landing and taking off and taxiing in and out of the terminal. There is also a scale size cruise ship that actually cruises slowly on a waterway. More trains than I could count that are running at the same time controlled by quite a number of operators. Fire engines run from a fire house to put out a fire that starts in a building at various times. Very impressive. I spent about 4 hours at that layout, and 2-3 hours at the NorthlandZ layout when I visited.
All of these critiques are accurate. Trains run to fast. Detail not that of Wunderland etc. Having said that.....it is spectacular and I would kill to own this layout.
before seeing the video based on title I wondered how they know it's the largest? Watched the video and now I accept without any further check "yes, it is" :)
metraF40PH163 Bachmann is my go to company they run well and are fairly well detailed for the price but go back 10 15 years it was close to Tyco quality
James, I am just getting back into the hobby after being out for years. I have locos with DCC plugs but I am not doing DCC. Do you have an email I can send some questions too? I enjoy your straight forward simple answers and I believe you can help me with the updates that I need to make. Thanks!
Someday my house will NOT look like this. Just in my dreams does it exist, but all updated. Great video. My mother would love to take a stab at the pipe organs for sure.
The scope of this is pretty mind-blowing. It may not have the sophisticated special effects of Miniatur Wunderland, but it is still pretty damned impressive, especially since it was mostly built by one man and his family.
Whoever says this is just a giant toy should be super ashamed of themselves. They shouldn't even talk about model railroading if they're just going to call these toys. Shame everyone who calls these toys.
Then bridges in this layout put Wonderland to shame. Wow, what engineering and construction. Credit where credit is deserved.
choochoo3985 European and American bridges are different in design, shape and engineering, it depends on your taste
Wonderland in Hamburg is much superior. It has towns and cities built to 1/87 scale; trains; cars; trucks that move and jeliners that take off and land. There are several countries featured with boats and waterways. Italy has the Bascillica in Rome. There are 1,000 trains, 300 vehicles and 100,000 people figures. There is a nighttime display as well as daytime. It's amazing! The buildings look REAL because they are finely detailed and have interior lighting. The trains and cars at Wonderland move at 1/87 scale speed.
The trains in the above display are moving too fast. The buildings look like wedding cake boxes stacked on each other. The mountains all look phony. Some of the railway bridges look like they were designed as car bridges because the bridge decks are too thin to support train locomotives.
After being there once to see the railroad, I have returned there on a regular basis to play the theatre organ in the main room. I have been known to vibrate a train off the tracks from time to time.. The bass in the organ is great. The railroad was indeed made for visitors, and not for the fine scale enthusiast. The kids love it and want to return.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!!!!! EXCELLENT VIDEO COVERAGE!!! I would love to go back again. Thank you for sharing and keep up the good work.
The auld fella playing the keyboard reminded me of my father. Great film. 👍🏼
Model railroading is FUN! If these kids get inspired to build something,anything, now or later... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
wow that's what you call a model railway. we don't have nothing like this in the UK. we have model railways but not as good or as big as this one. great vid!!!!
Wow those trains are CRUISING!!!!!!
Amazing bridge work, but the trains are running too fast for prototypical operation and distracts from it.
looks more like a racing track then a layout
seems*
World's largest, most in a hurry railroad anywhere. How unauthentic. Perhaps visitors with short attention spanfor thevart.
James by far one of your best vidioes ever . Randy
Thanks Randy!
Holy cow, this place is huge. Floor to ceiling awesome!!!!!
Wow !!! Talent & Pachence To Build This Layout !!! Again Wow
I don't understand people nit picking on thing like detail, locos,rolling, scenery, ect. I mean come on. This thing was started decades ago. Back when low detail was the norm ( yes there are exceptions to that). This layout is designed for kids and family's to enjoy and be in wow. Not for rivet counters to be like "no tie plate and code 100 rail pfff"
Agreed, sometimes you should just appreciate things for what they are. Clearly this isn't very realistic, and I doubt it was it meant. But it's impressive, and anything that gets more people interested in the hobby is a good thing in my book!
something tells me maybe 1 out of 100 cares anything about speed, high bridges etc some are wining about. who cares the kids love it
Evidently none of you have ever had a hobby, or loved anything in general. If you actually loved something, you would understand that these people are entitled to their love of trains as is everybody else. Do you not understand that it is fun for people to perfect every little detail? My club, spent 30 years hand-laying every single piece of track on the layout. It is all individual ties and rails. I bet if you tried to do that you would die from lack of patience.
Good riddance.
It's an impressive layout for sure, and I am not a 'rivet counter'. But it would be nice if the speed was turned down a little. Cargo trains from the 1940s didn't go 500km/h
Wow..jaw on floor. . Great video.. thanks for sharing James
This is truly awesome. Thanks for sharing.
You have to go visit. the film does not do it justice. I was there some years ago. I loved it. Thanks for sharing. ;-)
Fantastic. I'd like to go there. Thanks so much for sharing.
Excellent camera work. Thanks for your work.
This man is a true artist. In every way.
That is awesome thank you for sharing
Most trans are running way to fast to see actually running in miniature
That would be cool if they ran a track cam around the layout.
Been there amazing work! I have a display myself but it's quite small compared to that mine is only a 6x4.
The organ is fantastic. Now about the layout. Trains are going to fast and it is too much track. But I must say it is very good build.
Great video!
Hi thanks for sharing awesome work cheers Kevin
That man sure could play the heck out of that beautiful organ.
I believe this is actually the largest in the US, the largest in the world is in Germany.
thats right ! Miniatur wonderland im Hamburg is much bigger
Rarawer That's what I thought. I think it would be cool to go there someday.
Rarawer No that is incorrect. Minatur Wunderland is smaller.
Rarawer This one seems a lot taller though.
Rarawer Miniature Wunderland BUILDING SIZE is 68,889 sq ft of floorspace,but the model takes only 12,378 sq ft Northlandz takes up 50,000 square feet of model space. 50,000 is a lot larger than 12,378. Minature Wunderland is more appealing in terms of technology and detail however.
Awesome video James I subscribed to you
Yes it is an amazing layout but a little overkill on those bridges too many and the height of them and size is overwelming !
I agree, dave allen , way too many bridges and trestles! I visited Northlandz a couple years ago and have to admit that I was not impressed. But then, I am biased, too since I worked 10 years at the Miniatur Wunderland. Northlandz would be really amazing with a better detailed and more prototypical scenery - it is really crude. And most of the trains whizz along the track at ridiculously high speeds. I guess that is owed to them running still in conventional DC mode and a lot of dust.
Erhard Baltrusch Yes and if the train goes off the track how do you retreive it but like I say the trestles some over 6 ft high very unrealistic and the mountains the texture looked unreal as well !
Good video shots James.
Beautiful layout,
I've been there a few times. I wish I knew when you were in the area on your trip. It's only about 30mins from my house.
Great video.
That is a very impressive layout there. Wish they had better locomotives and rolling stock, though. Still impressive!
I am sure you were hoping for more modern stuff like i was... oh well, still ton of detail and time into the scenery and bridges!
Maybe larger in scope by not in grandeur. The Model in Hamburg has a huge staff working on it with major financing, promoting it as a tourist attraction.
For a one man project......Great Job....KUDOS.
mined blowing that is just crazy must took 50+ years to make that WOW very nice!!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!
A work of art, wonderful.
Thanks for showing us love your vids
Definitely lots of fine trestles!
Interesting layout. The height of it is crazy. He can play the organ.
Scott
Thanks for sharing.
All I wanna know is.. How do they clean the track? o__0
fire hose? lol
A really long fire hose.... lol
It's actually 4 fire hoses I've seen it cleaned cause I live in Flemington
A rail cleaning car...
i used to volunteer there and there is trap door built into the mountains and what cant be reach by hand we have long poles with track cleaning blocks on the end to do the entire layout take about 7 to 9 hours with on person but we usually had 5 to 6 people doing it all week
Awesome!!
That a cool coaster
It is amazing as well, but the one in Hamburg Germany is more realistic, has more gadgets, has an HO airfield, has an international character,and offcourse this one is bigger, it is in the USA right, so it has to be bigger,...:- )), like
The one in germany is biggest and longer 1.5 miles longer
tdkgarst that’s incorrect
www.miniatur-wunderland.com/
tdkgarst is right.
BUT; there is nothing to ashamed about. This is a great model railroad, was the biggest in the world for a long time - mostly build by one man!!!! That HAS to be a record!
Wunderland has a big staff of people doing the building, some paid, some volunteers.
BB1960 by big it refers to the 30 feet canyons inside. I've been there, and the owner was talking with me and brought me down into the bottom of the depest canyon, and let me tell you, it feels so weird and real
Would be nice to have that much space for a home layout!
want to know which gauge track is ??? HO or N???
did you pick up a boxcar from the gift shop?
What Brand of Engines are they using ?
wow nice...I got an issue of model railroader magazine with this layout in it...
If you ever make it to cinncy ohio check out entertainment junction. Huge indoor G scale layout. Very nice.
seen video's of both sites, kudo's...the american trains seem to be going very fast for scale, terran, but hell, keeps the kids happy
is that all one track or lots of small tracks on different runs
Many separate tracks controlled b individual power packs. Forget the number, but there was at least 50 that I could see in the control room when I visited NorthlandZ a few years ago. Same thing at Minitaur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany. Many separate tracks and controllers. Did not see the actual control room in person, but it almost looks like a control center for aircraft from the segment on the video I saw.
Is this HO scale by chance?
Is this HO scale, because it looks smaller?
Where is it located?
It looks so nice but one of the distracting elements to me is how fast the trains are going. Half that speed would look much more normal.
Amazing!
Nice video. What an experience to see something like this. With all the attention to detail I am wondering why they choose to run the trains at what looks like an unbelievable fast speed(not very scale like).
your all wrong. this is amazing.
Very cool, but it looks like something from Mariokart, especially with the trains going at mach 5.
excelente material de ferromodelismo me dio buenas idea de construcción
Well when my time comes and if I make it to heaven this will be part of it.
A lot of those bridges look like they were a pain to build. Also that's one FANCY organ.
Father at 9:07 being a bad example to his child.
Very nice. To take nothing away from this layout here are some stats about Wunderland
www.miniatur-wunderland.com/exhibit/wunderland/wunderland-facts/
Depending on the status of their new construction I would say MW is larger and miles above this layout in quality.
There is also another Model Railway in Russia which is built in the buildings of an old asbestos factory, like the Model in Germany it's complete with working vehicles, boats & planes, but if you love trains & trains only then this place is hard to beat
Is it Ho Scale or N Scale?
I have heard that they operate all Tyco locomotives on this layout...
Impressive size of the place, but the train consists are really small and run waaaaaay to fast for scale. I guess they have to do it that way.
I've looked thru some of your comments but I cannot see the question, so I will ask: What Scale is it N HO or other, thanks buddy and Happy New Year to You & Your Family
P Mason HO guys...
LOOK AT THAT STAGING YARD *faints*
Wonderful but not the biggest. There is one in Saint Pertersburg Russia which is colossal and Minature Wunderland in Hamburg the layout is so massive it literally takes up a part of the city docklands. Not to take away from this beauty.
I think the harsh criticism is out of perspective. Is it a model railroad? It is not. It does not have operations, or scale or a even a good track plan. It is a freelance railroad on a different scale. A very grand scale. On model RR, due to space limitations, things like towns and cities are mostly representative. Forced perspective and imagination dominate a small area to depict a much larger area than the space required to represent a true subject. Funding, manhours, participation and deadlines have all taken a hit to enable ticket sales. And that is important. The cost of constructing such a behemoth is beyond comprehension but the cost to maintain the facility as well as the railroad probably has costs beyond the comprehension of most. What it does have, is a lot of fast running trains and grand scenery that fill the eyes euphorically. Especially to the eyes of the tourists and most importantly, little girls and boys. All they can say is wow! Regardless of artistic value. It reminds me of those Lionel O27 toys that mesmerized me to have my mother take me everyday to the Christmas train display at the department store. Capturing that WOW factor for a little girl or little boy gives this railroad exhibit a great value. So, model railroaders, chill. Take your kids and grand kids there and let them be inspired to a future of model railroading.
miniature wunderland may be smaller but it looks 1000000X more realistic and overall nicer. (been there myself :3. it was just wow. nothing more. just wow)
wkblauwster MiWuLa isn't smaller, its bigger. They here just made an typical american and said its the biggest in the world even though it isnt, there are like 3 miniture world in the USA who claim to be the largest in the world.
I wanna go back again
jiwii2000 i hope he gets some high quality trains like you like the dda40x and the big boy but im sure he had to stay within a budget and i saw this in a documentary called millionaire toys
@Matthew Bacon thanks for letting know
wonder how much the electric bill is
What scale is this?
HO, for the most part.
It would be amazing if this was all DC powered. Is it?
Seems more logical to have it DC powered since it would take a lot to add DCC.
yeah dc would be best. I bet this was being built before Dcc was invented
Class I Railroader yeah I think it was.
You can have 2 engines on same track with dc?
yes but u cannot control each one seperatly
Impressive..
is this HO or N scale?
Both this layout and the one in Germany are HO scale. BTW, the layout in Germany has a scale model of an airport complete with planes landing and taking off and taxiing in and out of the terminal. There is also a scale size cruise ship that actually cruises slowly on a waterway. More trains than I could count that are running at the same time controlled by quite a number of operators. Fire engines run from a fire house to put out a fire that starts in a building at various times. Very impressive. I spent about 4 hours at that layout, and 2-3 hours at the NorthlandZ layout when I visited.
All of these critiques are accurate. Trains run to fast. Detail not that of Wunderland etc. Having said that.....it is spectacular and I would kill to own this layout.
We’re does he live?
I wonder how many trains they can run at once?
It may be the largest, but it's mainly mountains and bridges...and a castle?
Very impressive, but it must be hard to see any details.
I went before covid and it looked terrible, plaster cracked everywhere and only a few trains running.
Is this N scale?
What I don't get is with these huge model railroads, why do they always run stuff at a scale 100 MPH??
Formidable38 *_shorter cars means faster speed, longer trains means it will drive slower than 3-4 cars_*
???????????????????????????????????? This statement makes absolutely no sense.
before seeing the video based on title I wondered how they know it's the largest? Watched the video and now I accept without any further check "yes, it is" :)
more mountains and a citibuild with skyscraper but never bigger as wonderland
I'm suprised at how fast all were running.
I was there today
Was most the rolling stock and engines Tyco,Bachmann, AHM, and model power
Looks like it. It would take millions to get a collection this large if it was all Athearn, walthers , kato and MTH.
Yes, rolling stock and engines were not of high quality but I'm sure a budget had to be kept in mind.
I am surprised they actually ran as well as they did. Bachman's are pretty good
metraF40PH163 Bachmann is my go to company they run well and are fairly well detailed for the price but go back 10 15 years it was close to Tyco quality
cole freyberger Yea I know
James, I am just getting back into the hobby after being out for years. I have locos with DCC plugs but I am not doing DCC. Do you have an email I can send some questions too? I enjoy your straight forward simple answers and I believe you can help me with the updates that I need to make. Thanks!
Needs King Kong and Godzilla!
Someday my house will NOT look like this. Just in my dreams does it exist, but all updated. Great video. My mother would love to take a stab at the pipe organs for sure.
HAHAHA! Bob, I don't think you would be married anymore if you did that! I don't think any married modeler would.