The Deutschlandexpress

Partial view of the plant

The Deutschlandexpress was a digitally controlled Märklin model railway system . Until 2001 it was the largest model railway in the world with more than 700 m² of exhibition space. After that, the Deutschlandexpress was the world's third largest digital model railway system after the Miniatur Wunderland and the Loxx MiniaturWelten Berlin . The location of the Deutschlandexpress was the Nordsternpark in Gelsenkirchen .

Construction and operation

Construction of the facility began in 1997 and was largely completed on April 30, 1999. The landscapes from the North Sea over the Ruhr area, the Rhine slopes, Lake Constance to Switzerland were shown. More than 250 trains with over 4000 wagons drove through the individual subject areas on the facility. Many bridges, buildings and landscapes were modeled on the original. In addition, over 15,000 figures, 5,000 lights, 1,100 buildings, 1,750 road vehicles and much more could be found on the site. Other attractions of the facility were the tetrahedron (Bottrop) , a movable hot air balloon, a fair and a cemetery with grave lamps and ghosts. Streets, houses and trains were set up for night operation and lit accordingly. There were also two 1-gauge model railways for children and a cinema on the upper floor.