If you are a model train enthusiast and are in Germany, there is a place that you should visit.

The red pointer marks the spot of the Modellbahn Wiehe. The website is in German, but if you click on the links you can see pictures and use a translator to find out more information.

Wiehe is a small village near the northern border of Thuringia. It is about an hour drive from the cities of Erfurt, Weimar, Jena or Leipzig.

The main attraction is a large model railroad that highlights different sites in Thuringia. This layout is huge and is very detailed. I visited Wiehe about 16 years ago, so I am sure that a few changes have been made and that they have added to the display.

Here you can see an overview of one of the train stations. The train stations are all modeled after actual sites in Thuringia.

At the end of the display there is a large helix that allows the trains to go up and over into another display area.

In other halls of the building there are other train displays. Many of the displays highlight specific manufactures or vendors.

Here you can see some of the layouts. There were also many displays lining the walls about history, model railroad topics and also from different companies who distribute or manufacture items for model railroads.

In all there is over 10,000 square meters of exhibit area. Since I visited they have also added a model exhibit on the terracotta army from China. There are more than 780 scaled down miniatures and six life size warriors in the display.

Perhaps some day I will visit this model railroad again. I really enjoyed my first visit.

I missed seeing the annual model railroad display at our local museum. Unfortunately our museum is still closed.

Have you see a large model railroad display like this one?

Steven