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Ore Mountains Model Railway Park

Modellbahnland Erzgebirge

ABOVE: Trains and a few of the more than 400 buildings in Europe's largest Gauge 1 model railroad installation.

By Durant Imboden

Saxony is loaded with railroads and rail museums, and some of the latter--such as the Saxon Railroad Museum and the Saxon Narrow-Gauge Museum--have model railroads to complement their real-life locomotives and rolling stock. But for real fans of miniature railroading, nothing in Saxony can can top the Modellbahnland Erzgebirge or Ore Mountains Model Railway Park in Thermalbad Wiesenbad near Schönfeld bei Annaberg-Buchholz.

The installation, which opened in 2001, depicts the upper Ore Mountains around 1980. Its air-conditioned building houses 660 meters (2,165 feet) of Gauge 1 track, with 290 switches, more than two dozen big 1:32 scale trains, some 450 buildings, and more than 40,000 trees.

The entire system is under computer control, with digital sound and day-night simulation for a more realistic experience.

The Ore Mountains Model Railway Park is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.modellbahnland-erzgebirge.de.

More photos:

The model railway's layout has several dozen stations in two major sections: the Fichtelbergbahn and the Pressnitztalbahn.

Photo: Tourism Company of Saxony.

Tracks, tunnels, and bridges are modeled after real-life counterparts.

Nostalgia buffs will appreciate details like this vintage VW Microbus.

In addition to trains and railroad stations, the Modellbahnland Erzgebirge has dozens of scenes that recreate everyday life in the Ore Mountains (such as this bicycle race, or another scene--not shown--of a boy relieving himself behind a tree).

About the author:

Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation.

After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (now including Germany for Visitors) in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post.

For more information, see About Europe for Visitors, press clippings, and reader testimonials.

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