Wunderland

German brothers Frederick and Gerrit Braun, 41, have spent nine years and nearly $16 million constructing the world’s largest and most elaborate model train environment called Wunderland.

The miniature world is housed in a formerly vacant building in Hamburg, Germany. The six miles of track traverse through some of the world’s most famous landmarks, from the snowy mountains of Switzerland to the bright casino lights of Las Vegas.

The exhibit is now open to the public, but has another five years and seven miles of track to go before it is completed.  It currently uses 700 trains with 10,000 cars, 900 signals, 2,800 buildings and 4,000 cars. There’s no official estimate for the final numbers when the project is completed in 2014.

Wunderland currently features six regions including America, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Germany and the Austrian Alps.  As co-creator Frederick stated, “”Whether gambling in Las Vegas, hiking in the Alps or paddling in Norwegian fjords - in Wunderland everything is possible.”

The little world automatically shifts between day and night thanks to 250,000 tiny lights and managed in a high-tech control room.

See photos and more at http://www.offbeatearth.com/a-trip-through-wunderland