Layouts
A Visit to Swiss Miniatur
May 20, 2009
By Ralph Walker |
Author
Bio
If the map of Switzerland were placed over that of the US, the little town of Melide would be at Corpus Christi, Texas. There you will find a jaw-dropping recreation of the most famous structures and landmarks in Switzerland, built on a scale of 25:1. Although it was started in 1959, before the development of garden railroads, it is now thoroughly populated with correct brass, LGB and Marklin rolling stock.
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A Visit to Swiss MiniaturIf the map of Switzerland were placed over that of the US, the little town of Melide would be at Corpus Christi, Texas. There you will find a jaw-dropping recreation of the most famous structures and landmarks in Switzerland, built on a scale of 25:1. Although it was started in 1959, before the development of garden railroads, it is now thoroughly populated with correct brass, LGB and Märklin rolling stock. 
Swiss railways have been electrified for a hundred years, the country's only real natural resource being hydroelectric power, so these models are of electrified railways. 
 
I have visited Switzerland 24 times. On my first trip I had a car. Ever since I have relied on the superb public transportation system. In fact, the utility of this system is a primary reason I have returned so often.
 
More than any other country in the world, Switzerland means trains. There are few places you cannot visit using the integrated train, bus, tram, boat and mountain transport system. And because of the relatively compact size of the country, you can reach virtually any destination and return to a centrally-located base in one day. Thus, I was able to travel from the popular tourist town of Luzern for 3 hours by train to Melide, visit the park for 4 hours, and return in time for dinner.
 
I could write this entire article on why you should visit Switzerland, why you should travel independently, and how Germany is a distant second as a rail destination, but I will resist and tell you a bit about Swiss Miniatur.
 
Like most such attractions, the park is seasonal. For 2009 it is open through October 25, but in 2008, before the economy crashed, it remained open until mid-November. My visit was on November 10. I prefer to travel during the shoulder seasons to avoid the crowds, though the weather can be a bit gloomy. During the time my wife and I visited the park there were no more than a dozen other visitors. This was ideal for photographing the park without the distraction of other visitors in the shots. It also made video possible, as there was no background noise.
 
The official website, www.SwissMiniatur.ch, contains little history and only a few photos of the 121 models. For this reason I decided to thoroughly photograph the attraction. I've submitted 99 photos with this article. If you want to see even more you can visit my personal website, www.Gruetzi.com At that location you will also find a key to the models.
 
The statistics: The park has a whopping 3560 meters (11,680 feet or 2.2 miles) of rails. There are 1500 plants and 15,000 flowers. According to the website there are 18 trains, funiculars, rack railways, cable cars and boats in motion.
 
The water features are extensive, with lake steamers and ferries travelling among some truly ugly fish. There is also an autobahn with vehicles in motion. A modest amount of animation such as dancing figures is also used, and appropriate sound tracks are used to bring to life church bells, cattle and performances of alpine horn players.
 
I have visited many of the sights modelled here. Not only is their construction correct; the weathering is superb. Only the scale of the shrubbery gives away the fact that these are models.
 
I am knowledgeable about LGB's Swiss narrow-gauge offerings and recognized some of these in the park. The very limited Märklin (pronounced "Mehr-klin") Gauge 1 Swiss locomotives were also present. Other trains were obviously of the limited-production brass ("Messing") variety. Even though the major G scale manufacturers have pretty much ignored the Swiss railways, except for the Rhätische Bahn, there are some small workshops offering whatever you need, if you have the money.
 
If I had more time I would have interviewed the model-makers who were at work in the shop inside the Matterhorn. I regret that I did not ask them how they managed to protect such detailed models during winters which can be severe. If you visit, you can ask them about their techniques.
 
If you are intrigued by this layout, I suggest that you visit the website of the International Association of Miniature Parks at www.MiniatureParks.org. There are numerous other member parks, and most in Europe are built to the scale of 25:1, so there is plenty of inspiration for G-scalers.
 
As terrific as Swiss Miniatur is, I'd like to plug one other park, the Swiss Vapeur (steam) Parc (www.SwissVapeur.ch), on Lake Geneva, near Montreux in the west of Switzerland. The trains and buildings here are built to the scale of 5:1, and the large collection of ride-on trains are mostly 7 1/4" gauge. I have visited this park numerous times and could write an article similar to this one if there is enough interest.I have taken perhaps 2,000 train rides in Switzerland so I feel comfortable promoting certain attractions of interest to railfans. For my money the top rail attraction I have ever visited is the Blonay-Chamby Museum Railway, also near Montreux. They have an extensive collection of historic narrow-gauge stock (including the prototype for one LGB locomotive) and they actually run it all. Besides, admission is free with your Swiss Pass. This is also a place I've visited on numerous occasions and could present in an article. The second-best rail attraction in all of Switzerland is the Montreux Oberland Bahn or MOB railway. You may be familiar with the 2-axle MOB advertizing boxcars offered by LGB, or the single blue and cream locomotive and passenger car once offered. The best train ride you will ever have is the low-speed 2 hours from Zweisimmen to Montreux, through beautiful alpine scenery and traditional villages of chalets. On this line you can ride in a rebuilt Belle Epoque salon car (similar to the LGB RhB Alpine Express) every day of the year at no extra charge. I am available to help you plan your visit to Swiss Miniatur, Swiss Vapeur, Blonay-Chamby or any other Swiss attraction of interest to a railfan. Besides those that I have mentioned there are plenty more both in Switzerland and in nearby southern Germany.
| Ariel View / Track Plan |
| These pictures are wonderful and show a lot of detail but it would have been nice to see an overhead / aerial view so we could see what the overall track plan looks like and what the layout dimentions are... |
| James R. Sikorski - 05/20/2009 - 06:07 |
| Overhead shot |
| James, Why don't you just go online and look at satellite imagery of the location. It is quite impressive. |
| Peter De Keles - 05/20/2009 - 06:54 |
| BAIL OUT MONEY |
| WHEN I RECEIVE MY BAIL OUT CHECK I'LL HAVE THIS LAY OUT BROUGHT OVER TO MY NEW BACK YARD FOR ALL TO SEE. I'M IMPRESSED |
| Norb Reynders - 05/20/2009 - 07:06 |
| Swiss Miniatur |
| Ralph, Thanks for taking the time to put together this article. The pictures are excellent. Also appreciate the links you've provided. Addtional articles, as you mentioned, would be of great interest. |
| JD Miller - 05/20/2009 - 07:07 |
| FANTASTIC |
| I finished reading and went to British Airways website. Round trip from Seattle only $610. Honey............. |
| Peter De Keles - 05/20/2009 - 08:43 |
| Thanks |
| Wow, what a fantastic article and photographs. Yes, I would love to see a photo article of the Swiss Vapeur (steam) Parc. THANK YOU! |
| Marcus Kollmann - 05/21/2009 - 22:45 |
| Inspiration |
| I am currently working on a project in a small town which will focus on gardens and garden railways. The pictures and story are in inspiration for what I would like to accomplish but with a North American theme. |
| Stanley Riegel - 05/23/2009 - 12:50 |
| Thanks for your comments |
| From the author: Thanks for your thoughts on the article. I can't include HTML here but Peter de Keles' suggestion to view the park from the aerial view is good. I went to www.google.com, selected maps, entered 'swissminiatur' in the search box and the results were excellent. It might be difficult to relate the photos to the aerial view, but not impossible. You can also see the route you walk from the train station to the park, and get an idea of the size of the park in relation to the soccer field just west of it. It seems to be about 2 acres. I will indeed submit an article about the Swiss Vapeur Parc. I can't incorporate the idea of including an aerial view because only low-quality satellite images are available of that attraction. |
| Ralph Walker - 05/25/2009 - 06:21 |
| Spectacular! |
| Wow...Simply Spectacular! |
| John Hibbard - 05/25/2009 - 11:27 |
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