Don't ever think you spend too much time and money on your hobbies!

[KK4AMI]

These two German brothers top the list in my book.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ACkmg3Y64_s?rel=0

[W5BRM]

Dang! and I thought the 8x10 plywood model HO scale RR my grandfather gave me at 8 y/o was fancy!

[n2ize]

Europeans, Germans in particular, seem to really go in for this sort of thing in a big way.

[kb2vxa]

I've seen model railroads, but a State Of Maine boxcar in Germany? (;->) I saw that on the internet some years ago in a presentation about its construction, amazing.

[N7YA]

Everything i just saw would be grounds for divorce!


(i would sure miss her)

[NQ6U]

Funny to see American and European rolling stock mixed like that. BTW, has anyone ever seen a Greyhound bus pulling a trailer, as was shown briefly at one point?

[kb2vxa]

No, Greyhounds being racing dogs can't pull trailers but I've seen Huskies pulling sleds. Mush? Do Eskimos eat it for breakfast? Is a musher one who makes mush? Or is mush what a sled gets stuck in when the permafrost melts? Somebody HELP me!

[KC2KFC]

All I can say is WOW!

[PA5COR]

Hell, we have Madurodam ;)

[wa6mhz]

Now I have a reason to go to EU! That is just completely MIND BLOWING!!!! Makes Legoland seem so LAME!

[kb2vxa]

That makes two on your visit of must sees.

"Hell, we have Madurodam."

For those unfamiliar, I am SO proud of all those involved in it's inception and construction:

History

Madurodam was named after George Maduro, a Jewish law student from Curaçao who fought the Nazi occupation forces as a member of the Dutch resistance and died at Dachau concentration camp in 1945. In 1946 Maduro was posthumously awarded the Medal of Knight 4th-class of the Military Order of William, the highest and oldest military decoration in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for the valor he had demonstrated in the Battle of the Netherlands against German troops.

Beaconsfield

Missis B. Boon-van der Starp was a member of a foundation for the Dutch Students Sanatorium. In this sanatorium students with tuberculosis could get their cures but they could also study. The aftercare cost a lot of money, but there wasn’t that much money. Financial support was necessary. Missis Boon-van der Starp heard about a miniature park in Beaconsfield, England. This park made a lot of money and a lot profit and a big part of that was every year donated to a hospital in London. After a meeting between the parents of George Maduro and Missis Boon-van der Starp the parents of George Maduro donated the funds necessary for the Madurodam project. By donating the money that was necessary for the project the parents of George Maduro had a memorial for their son. The architect of Madurodam became S.J. Bouma. Because Miss Boon-van der Starp had heard about Beaconsfield and wanted something like that, S.J. Bouma visited. After his visit he created a plan for Madurodam and came up with a theme: The city with the smile.

Organization

On 2 July 1952, the then teenaged princess Beatrix was appointed mayor of Madurodam, after which she was given a tour of her town. When Beatrix became queen of the Netherlands, she relinquished this function. After the resignation of Queen Beatrix a new tradition arose. From now on the youth council would select every year a mayor from their midst. In September 2013 Sabine Bot was chosen as this year’s mayor. All the members of the youth council come from schools in The Hague. Every year schools from The Hague can nominate students to take part in the youth council. The youth council members are also a member of the spending committee in Madurodam. The spending committee talks about the charities. Madurodam has his own support fund. With this fund institutions who organize activities for young people can get some financial support.