CHEMINS DE FER DU KAESERBERG

Book excerpt: In the beautiful village Fribourg in Switzerland, the Kaeserberg Railway Foundation built one of the world’s largest HO gauge model railway layouts. Time taken to build this amazing model railroad display was 17 years. There is an exhibition area of more than 600 square meters on three levels. There are normal track gauge 16.5 mm and narrow track gauge 12.0 mm. And, the length of the whole track system is about 2,045 meters. It is a fantastic model railway layout with its own philosophy and history. Although the entire model railroad display is imaginary, meticulous attention to detail has been paid to the landscape, to the buildings and to the model trains to ensure that they are as faithful as possible to the Swiss reality. Any train and any locomotive that is used in reality on Swiss railway lines, then and today, is available as 1/87 scale model. For example, there are the German high speed train ICE or the French high speed train TGV. Of course, there are also the famous narrow gauge trains of Switzerland. The miniature world at the Kaeserberg Railway Foundation is a work of art in the field of rail transport modelling and model railroading. It is a technical jewel for great journeys on miniature tracks, which will fascinate young and old people, kids and families. Anyone, who is keenly interested in railways and Swiss railway history, will be amazed at the variety of model trains. You can discover scratched and weathered model trains - true to scale - from the Swiss Federal Railway (CFF) and from the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). And, the Kaeserberg Railway Foundation was setting up a day and night simulation with thousands of miniature lights in the buildings, in the trains, on the streets, etc. Visiting this model railway exhibit will be a trip between dream and reality.