15 Mind Blowing Model Railway Layouts
So realistic that God might get jealous…
These are not your standard, out-of-the-box railway layouts that little boys ask for. No. These are recreations so colorful, so detailed, so true-to-life that you might think they were real if there wasn’t men towering over buildings in some of the photos. Check these out:
1. Wunderland ‘“ Hamburg ‘“ Germany
As the saying goes, if you want something built right then hire a team of Germans. With € 7.3 Million and 500,000 man hours, you’re looking at Germany’s answer to the question, “what is a model railway?” Any further questions?
2. Loxx Model railway
Another German born construction, the Loxx model railway spans for just over 2.5 miles. And it looks realer than, well, reality. I suppose that’s to be expected after 200,000 hours of work… the equivalent of working every day all day for 22.8 years.
3. The Great Train Story
Besides having a great name, the Great Train Story is impressive because it shows the real life history of the expansion of railways from Seattle to Chicago. In person, you immediately notice the Willis Tower, Unions Station and other landmarks that were custom built into the layout. You can find it at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois.
4. Gainsborough Model Railway
London’s East Coast Main Line looks something like this… except, obviously, a wee bit bigger. To run a single train you’d need a team of 10 different operators. And then you’d need the time to wait for the locomotive to circle the entire half mile track.
5. Toggenburg Model Railway
When you think of model railway layouts, you’re likely thinking of type ‘O’ layouts. This is the largest one in Europe. Hailing from Lichtenseig, Switzerland, the Toggenburg railway is very impressive ¾ miles long. It sits on a 1,640 square foot plot… which gives me the feeling this wouldn’t fit in a normal living room.
6. Bekonscot, Historic Model Village
Personally, I find the Gauge One Bekonscot Model Railway (Beaconsfied, Buckinghamshire) amazing. Not only is it the world’s oldest recorded model village – having been made in the 1920’s – it’s also startlingly beautiful, being built directly into the calm Buckinghamshire landscape. The entire track runs for almost 1,500 feet, and has visited by over 14 million revellers to date.
A driver’s eye view of the Gauge 1 model railway at Bekonscot Model Village, Bucks.
7. Northlandz Model Railway
25 years of blood, sweat and tears went into making Northlandz. You can almost see the passion captured in the intricate details…. neatly confined in the 500,000 mock trees, 8 long miles of track and the 4,000+ model buildings.
8. Sierra Pacific lines by Pasadena Model Railroad Club
Every piece of this 30,000 foot railroad track was secured by hand. It is widely considered to be the largest ‘HO’ layout on the face of the planet. I hope your kid has patience; it takes a full hour for the train to circle the track.
9. The Madder Valley Railway
The Madder Valley railway layout (pictured above) was created single-handedly by John Ahern in the 1930’s. These days it is left on permanent display but caretakers only run trains on specific days every year… so call ahead. And for the record, this is one of the first layouts to incorporate a full landscape into the layout, making it a legend in the industry.
10. The Miniature Railroad & Village
Since Western Pennsylvania in the late 18th / early 19th century was so exciting, it’s only right that The Miniature Railroad & Village mimic it…right? It’s an O scale layout, measuring roughly 83’x30’ and is one of the largest (and most realistic) of its type. You can find it out at the Carnegie Science Center (Pittsburgh, PA) if you want to check it out.
11. Virginia and Ohio
The Virginian and Ohio (V&O) is a HO scale model railroad that pioneered a new prototype operation method used by scores of other model builders henceforth. W. Allen McClelland, the layout’s creator, ran track for V&O from a fake Afton, VA to a fake Kingswood Junction, VA by the mid 70’s. Then in 2001 he pulled the whole thing apart, shipped a chunk of it to National Model Railroad Museum (the Clintwood Section) and started building a new “Gauley Division” of the layout from scratch. The V&O has been so influential that it’s had a book written about it, and has its own historical society.
12. The Gorre & Daphetid
John Whitby Allen built Gorre & Daphetid (“gory and defeated”) out of his home in Monterey, California. Most of the model railway was reduced to ashes in a fire that swept through Allen’s basement circa January 1973. This was only 10 days after Allen passed away from a heart attack… a coincidence worth mentioning.
13. The Living Desert LGB Model
You’re looking at the planet’s longest G-gauge garden model railway layout. It’s part of the Living Desert, and spans 2,300 feet… which is to be increased by another 25% in coming years. The track mimics a journey past the Grand Canyon from Old Indio.
14. The Tehachapi Pass
The Tehachapi Pass layout recreated the topography and the trains of the real thing exactly. The creators even went as far as to photograph the actual railway thousands of times to make the imitation accurate. The model sits at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, and the actual railway is at the Walong siding between Bakersfield, California and Mojave, California.
15. Japanese Micro-Layouts by Yoji Tabuchi 
Yoji Tabuchi has built a name for himself by building micro layouts rich in detail and realism. This type of model is known as an N scale, which allows for high levels of complexity crammed into a very small space. Plus, unlike some of the other layouts in this article, all of Tabuchi’s designs can be fit into small living rooms.
BONUS. World’s smallest working model train set
Not to be lewd, but I’m fairly sure I’ve had hang nails bigger than this entire railway layout. It’s only 1/8th “x 1/4” (that’s inches) and the five-carriage train actually runs! If creator David Smith hasn’t shown genius-level craftsmanship with this layout – which he shaped with nothing more than a craft knife – then I don’t know what would.
How about Pendon GB http://www.pendonmuseum.com and Railz Rotterdam The Netherlands
http://www.railzminiworld.com/