As of: April 4, 2024, 9:00 p.m
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Wide range: This year there was once again a lot for fans to see at the model railway exhibition. © Model Railway Association Germering
Germering - The exhibition, which the association has invited to the Germering town hall for the ninth time, has now become a permanent institution in the calendar of many Germering. “As in previous years, over 1,000 visitors came to the weekend,” estimates Dr. Bodo Pietsch, chairman of the gross association.
The circle of external exhibitors included Erwin Kohout, who not only shrunk the largest model railway in the world and also showed a model of the miniature Wunderlang in Hamburg. The hobbyist has also recreated well-known buildings such as the Munich Hacker Bridge or the Marienbrücke at Neuschwanstein Castle down to the last detail.
Many visitors were particularly fascinated by the so-called “shorty” models. In Germany, these are relatively unknown even among experienced model railway enthusiasts - in Japan, however, the small model railway in a scale of 1:220 is a bestseller. “Not only is the scale small – the models have also shrunk in length and the structure is simple and standardized,” explains club member Elmar Schulte, fascinated. “This enables Japanese people to still pursue the hobby in the small apartments there,” he adds. To ensure that it's not just trains that make their way around, more and more model railway enthusiasts are now adding self-driving cars to their layout. The DC cars caused a lot of attention and amazement. Here you don't just see fire engines deployed. If you look closely, you can see that the cars not only drive, but are also equipped with lights, indicators and noises.
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Of course, the members of the community had also rebuilt their 15 meter long modular system. In addition to a Lego and wooden railway, a Märklin system was also set up for children, on which they were even allowed to control the trains themselves. For the first time, a cooperation with the Germering Art Circle took place. Artists didn't just show images related to the railway. The work steps required to create a tunnel portal for the model railway from a piece of Styrofoam were also illustrated. Particularly interesting – and highly topical given the climate debate – was a functional system that showed how freight transport could be simplified. “I think we were able to present the wide range that the model railway hobby can offer again this year,” said a satisfied Pietsch.
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