Model railway Hamburg
| Model Railway Hamburg e. V. (MEHEV) |
|
|---|---|
| legal form | registered association |
| founding | 1931 |
| founder | Walter Hävernick |
| Seat | Museum of Hamburg History |
| main emphasis | Operation of a traffic history model facility |
| Chair | 1st chairman: Klaus Matthiesen; 2nd chairman: Horst Hadeler; Finance: HD. Damaging |
| Managing directors | Gerhard Schönfelder |
| Volunteers | 10 (guests) |
| Members | 40 |
| Website | www.mehev.de |
The Modellisenbahn Hamburg e. V. ( MEHEV ) is a model railway association based in Hamburg . The association, founded in 1931, is considered the oldest association of its kind in Germany. In the Hamburg Museum of Hamburg History he operates a model railway system in nominal size 1 , which is the longest system of its kind in Germany.
history
The non-profit association “Modelleisenbahn Hamburg e. V. “traces its existence back to the year 1925. At that time, two young people merged their model railways for the first time and held operating days at Christmas alternately in their parents' homes. In 1929 the "Railway Technology Association of Former Students of the Kirchenpauer Realgymnasium " was formed, which held public demonstrations in their old school twice, in April 1929 and at Christmas 1930.
The first large system, still with rails and vehicles from the toy industry, was set up at Christmas 1931 in the Johanneum's school for scholars . Mainz railway systems served as a model. The exhibition received a lot of public attention and received a positive response from the press. Shortly before, on November 10, 1931, the Modelleisenbahn Hamburg e. V. was founded. Founding member and first chairman was Walter Hävernick , who later became director of the Museum of Hamburg History .
On January 23, 1937, the first permanent facility was opened at Bergstrasse 14 in a 128 m² room based on the model of the Göttingen train station . The system was shown on 51 operating days until July 28, 1948, with interruptions due to the war.
Traffic history system in the Museum of Hamburg History
Beginning and construction
On April 1, 1947, Walter Hävernick was appointed director of the Museum of Hamburg History as the successor to Otto Lauffer . The building was badly damaged by bombs. As early as February 1946, the decision was made to build a model railway system in the 600 m² room on the 2nd floor of the south-west wing. For the room, which had been empty since the museum opened, it was originally planned to install the reconstructed garden hall from Villa Rücker in Hamm (built 1828–1831). This also corresponded to the construction planning of chief construction director Fritz Schumacher from 1906 and its execution. However, some parts had fallen victim to the war, so that the execution of the earlier plan made little sense. Thematically, the railway fit perfectly into the concept of the new director, who did not want to build a museum of antiquity but a “living museum” to present trade, economy and transport in Hamburg.
After an ideas competition on March 29, 1947, the preparation of the room and the construction of the 1:32 scale model railway began in autumn 1947. The passenger station Hamburg-Harburg with marshalling yard and drainage hill as well as Bw Harburg, the Hamburg Hannoversche Bahnhof and the Hafenbahnhof Kai are shown on the right. Decisive for the choice of this railway system was the representation and explanation of the typical railway operation in Hamburg places in the model as well as the proximity of the prototypes in the original.
Extensions
The first half of the model, the so-called Harburg side, was opened on October 7, 1949 in the presence of numerous guests of honor. Due to a power failure at the beginning of the performance, the guests were first entertained in the merchant's hall. After that the demonstration could still be carried out after the damage had been repaired. Since then, the current system has been demonstrated in the Hamburg Museum every day (except Mondays) and has so far been visited by more than 2.5 million viewers. This makes it the oldest model railway in Germany that is presented daily.
On March 1, 1956, the “back” with the “Hamburg Hannoverscher Bahnhof” station, the “ Pfeilerbahn ” and the quay harbor station on the right, ten years after construction began in 1947, could be shown.
electrification
On April 5, 1965, the overhead line operation in the Museum of Hamburg History was started on the model railway layout in the presence of Artur Petzold , President of the Hamburg Federal Railway Directorate, Walter Hävernick, Director of the Museum of Hamburg History and 1st Chairman of the Mehev and other guests of honor.
One day later, on April 6, 1965, the opening train, pulled by an E 10 class electric locomotive , reached Hamburg from Hanover. Then a plaque was unveiled on the E 10 360, donated by the Hamburg model railway and its sister association, Friends of the Railway. The plaque was a reminder of this event throughout Germany.
Track and electrical renewal
In the spring of 1994 a short circuit paralyzed a large part of the system. Demonstrations could only be carried out on a section of the system again from December 1994. Many tracks and vehicles were worn out. Some locomotives had already covered about 6000 kilometers. In February 1995, a fire protection report required practically all of the cabling to be replaced. A complete overhaul was necessary. All old tracks have been replaced by scaled up ones. Associated with this was the changeover from the three-wire alternating current to the two-wire direct current system and the need to convert all vehicles to be used accordingly. The PC-based system from Gahler and Ringstmeier was used to control the system. On December 6, 1996, the demonstrations could begin again with 16 trains on around 40% of the tracks. For the 50th anniversary of the plant on October 7, 1999, further essential parts of the plant could be put back into operation.
For the 65th anniversary on October 7, 2014, the model railway system achieved exemplary detailing and reliability in demonstration operations. Since a hundred years of railway history are represented, the demonstration timetable has also been adjusted. In the beginning, vehicles from the era of the Reichsbahn run with many steam locomotives, followed by diesel and electric vehicles up to the representation of the modern Deutsche Bahn with ICE and container traffic.
Dismantling plans
The operation and existence of the model railroad is not secured. Today's museum management would like to use the space previously used for the model railroad system for the exhibition of salvaged parts of the Villa Rücker . For this purpose, the facility is to be dismantled and a smaller version of the museum's attic will be built.
Hamburger leaves
On May 20, 1954, the first edition of the “Hamburger Blätter für alle Freunde der Eisenbahn” appeared (in the first two months still with the addition “… and local transport”), initially reproduced in an edition of 100 copies, which in the course of one Year was increased to 300 pieces. From March 1955, a well-meaning company provided offset printing (until the end of 1965, A4 format, typewriter). In line with demand, the circulation increased steadily (end of 1956: 1000 copies). From 1966 the Hamburger Blätter appeared in letterpress.
Related organizations
Friends of the railroad
Initially, the Hamburg papers were published by Mehev. The sharply increased circulation led to the creation of a separate sponsoring group. On January 10, 1957, the sister association Friends of the Railroad e. V. (FdE), then with the same board as Mehev. Since then, FdE has been selling the Hamburger Blätter to this day. The number of members had grown to 1050 by the end of 1960, including the then Transport Minister Seebohm . Two thirds of the readers lived outside of Hamburg.
The common roots of Mehev and FdE can still be seen today on the departure track of the special trains in the Harburg station of the Mehev museum complex: Here the " anteater " waits for guests on a special model railway Hamburg e. V. and Friends of the Railway e. V. An original anteater also rides on the museum train of traffic amateurs (VVM) between Schönberg and Schönberger Strand .
Hamburg Museum Association
On October 11, 1957, the Hamburg Museum Association was founded, which took over and managed all the publishing business for the museum. The foundation was a small printing house that had existed in the museum since 1921. Since January 1, 1969, the Hamburger Blätter and the FdE calendar have been published by the Hamburger Museumsverein - Railway Department.
Association of Traffic Amateurs and Museum Railways (VVM)
The traffic amateurs and museum railroad association was created in 1968 from a merger of the "Kleinbahn-Verein Wohldorf" (KVW), founded on November 30, 1958, and numerous traffic amateurs, including those from Mehev's circle of members. The focus of the association's activities is the preservation and operation of original museum vehicles as well as dealing with historical and modern local transport.
Umbrella organizations
Federal Association of German Railway Friends
From the Association of German Model Railway Clubs, abbreviated VDMC, and numerous other associations of railway enthusiasts, the Federal Association of German Railway Friends , abbreviated BDEF, as a representative of the interests of railway enthusiasts and model railroaders. When it was founded on June 29, 1958 in Frankfurt (Main), 31 associations with 1212 individual members took part. In addition to Walter Hävernick, two other Mehev members belonged to the board of the Federal Association of German Railway Friends when it was founded. Today (2015) is the umbrella organization of 280 clubs with around 12,000 members.
Association of model railroaders and railway enthusiasts in Europe
The Association of Model Railroaders and Railway Friends of Europe , MOROP for short, was founded in Genoa on September 11, 1954 and emerged from a working group of model specialists. Mehev was represented at the congress in Bern for the first time after the model railway layout was completed in 1956. In 1962 the congress of the Association of Model Railroaders and Railway Friends of Europe, the annual general meeting , was held in Hamburg. In 1972 Carl Boie Salchow from the Hamburg model railway became president of the association.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bundesverband Deutscher Eisenbahnfreunde eV (Ed.): Yearbook 1986. Verbandstag Hamburg , Lübbecke 1986, pp. 229, 259.
- ^ Carl Boie Salchow: Model of Hamburg railway systems. In: Wilhelmine Jungraithmayr (ed.): The historical museum as a task. Research and reports from the Museum of Hamburg History 1946–1972, Museum of Hamburg History, Hamburg 1972, p. 279.
literature
- Carl Boie Salchow: Model of Hamburg railway systems. In: Wilhelmine Jungraithmayr (ed.): The historical museum as a task. Research and reports from the Museum of Hamburg History 1946–1972. Museum of Hamburg History, Hamburg 1972, p. 279.
- Large station for the model railroad. In: Die Welt, November 9, 2006 ( PDF ).
- Rachel Wahba: Harburg's train station in 1:32. The model railway association in the Hamburg Museum operates the system in the Hamburg Museum with a total of 1200 meters of track : In: Hamburger Abendblatt, December 9, 2013 ( PDF ), p. 2.
- Matthias Gretzschel : Beyond Wonderland. It is mostly older men who run the model railroad in the Hamburg Museum - for 65 years now . In: Hamburger Abendblatt, March 20, 2014, p. 17 ( PDF ).
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 33 ′ 3.9 ″ N , 9 ° 58 ′ 24 ″ E