Loxx

Loxx on Alex \| Miniature Worlds Berlin
legal form	Limited partnership
founding	2003
resolution	2017
Seat	Berlin , Germany
Branch	Model railway

Replica of the Berlin TV tower in the Loxx

The Loxx Miniatur Welten Berlin was a permanent model railroad exhibition in Berlin that opened in 2003. With more than 800 m² it was, according to the operator, the third largest model railway in the world. It was in the Alexa on Alexanderplatz in Berlin. The exhibition closed on August 31, 2017.

history

At the turn of the year 2002/2003, Stefan Göddeke had the idea to build a miniature model railway in Berlin after visiting an exhibition in Gelsenkirchen . After preliminary work with his brother Henrik Göddeke, they found suitable rooms in Berlin-Charlottenburg on Meinekestrasse. Around 70 employees made it possible to build a plant, initially around 600 m², which was opened on September 18, 2004 under the name Loxx .

From June to September 2007 the system moved to the Alexa Center on Alexanderplatz. In addition to the facility itself, the workshops and around 1,000 houses over 4,000 meters of track, the move included 10,000 cars, 45,000 trees and 50,000 figures.

The exhibition was closed on August 31, 2017. The operator gave personal and commercial reasons for the closure. For example, the lease in the Alexa Center expired in autumn 2017. After it was not possible to sell the system on the eBay auction platform for immediate purchase for 750,000 euros, the system was sold to the miniature country in Leer for a "medium six-figure sum" and rebuilt there. Parts of the exhibition also went to other museums and private collectors.

Subjects of the model railway

Play media file

Video of the plant (2016)

The main theme of the large-scale system was models of Berlin buildings. In addition to Berlin train stations and a section of the Berlin light rail route , these were sights such as the Reichstag , the Brandenburg Gate , the government district and the television tower on a scale of 1:87 ( nominal size H0 ). The system was an incomplete model of the inner city of Berlin. As one of the last parts of the system, the Göddeke brothers had the flight operations at Schönefeld Airport built into the fantasy landscape with simulated take-offs and landings at regular intervals.

technology

Night mode

Adapted direct current locomotives were used. The trains were controlled by a two-wire digital system (make Lenz). Separate digital systems switched the turnouts and signals as well as the deployment feedback (which train is where on the layout).

The vehicle models used came from regular production by companies such as Fleischmann , Roco , Brawa , Gützold , Piko ; there were also some self-made things. In addition to "normal" railways , trams, cars , trucks and buses ran on the streets of the facility , all of which were also digitally controlled. One of the car system from Faller similar principle allowed safe driving of the models.

The system switched to "night mode" every 20 minutes, in which the light-emitting diodes in the houses became visible and the light in the exhibition room was dimmed. A total of 30,000 light-emitting diodes were installed in trains, road vehicles, buildings and lanterns. Power was supplied via 170,000 meters of cable. 30 computers and 80 cameras monitored and controlled the traffic.