Miniatur Wunderland Weekly Report
19.11.01 at 12:44 hrs
Weekly Report No 55, CW 46
From Monday, 12.11.2001 to Sunday, 18.11.2001
Done! Over the weekend, the Model Building Fair took place in Hamburg and we had our hands full with work. The fair showed us: We are on the right track and certainly will not change our course....
Right, the moment has come to present the plans for section 2.1 and also deliver some explanations...
As might already be known, this section represents a big port town at the Wunderland's shores. Apart from huge projects like the Eurotunnel (which will connect the future section 2.2 - America - anything goes in the Wunderland!), there will be a large soocer arena, a huge Central Station, many freight tracks, and the needed public transport like the underground (partly designed as high line, of course), commuter trains , a tram, a rock concert, a race track, a container port, a TV-tower with roating restaurant, a stub-end terminal à la Altona (no, the turntables won't be connected, since they are on different elevations), canals, the Speicherstadt, and, and, and.....
From Klosterberg staging, the trains on the first mainline will reach the large port town. Interesting detail: Passenger and freight separate in the area of the ICE maintenance facility in order to avoid delays in the passenger station....
The Transrapid connects the airport (in the south east) to the Central Station. It underpasses the Köhlbrand-Bridge which reaches from the fascia of the layout to the rear at the right.
The second mainline also has a connection to section 1.1. Trains can change sections by using an underground connection. This line is occupied by ICEs, passenger- and freight trains. Also interesting: To the left, as well as to the right end of the line are staging yards which, in the visible part, have been extended by the fraight classification yard and the engine maintenance facility.
On the way to America... passing a helix, the trains arrive at 40 cms ( ~1.3 feet ) over floor level. From the end of the staging yard - covered with plexiglas - the line leads up to the Rocky Mountains.
A commuter line built after a typical Hamburg prototype with third rail attached to the track's side (commonly called S-Bahn in Hamburg). It connects the fair grounds (left) with the stub-end terminal, Central Station, and airport. Both ends of this line are equipped with maintenance facilities where, as is common in the Hamburg reality, the trains are parked for their next assignments.
and another S-Bahn - this time with pantographs and overhead catenary, as is typical for the Ruhr area...
Being Hamburg natives, we must of course not forget the tram (long ago disposed of in reality - as a small boy, I rode the last tram into town) and give it adequate room.
Almost forgot about it: The U-Bahn (underground), which starts in a maintenance facility, stops at one or two old stations, disappears underground, and finally is visible again behind glas underneath the Central Station. The attentive observe noticed long ago: The buildings in the south of the middle peninsula resemble some well known landmarks of an even more well known North-German harbour town ;-)
And the last one: A freight line, specifically designed for the needs of the customers that have their company in the port area.
