I want one for Christmas!!! This 9-million-euro train set built in Hamburg, Germany is incredible, and it's still expanding! Go to their website at:

 

http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/

 

And view their amazing video at:

 

This is just amazing.  I have seen large scale layouts like Northlandz in Flemington, NJ, or Road Side America in Shartlesville, PA, but this one totally blows them out of the water.  I love how EVERYTHING has motion.  That is the coolest layout I have ever seen.  I'm guessing that's HO scale.

That thing is HUGE. I wonder what the electric bill is.  There is another layout in Calif. http://www.pmrrc.org/ It takes an hour for one train to make the trip in the layout.

 

The one above may take 2 hours..lol

I remember when I was a kid there was a huge model train set somewhere near Akron (on the Cleveland side).  It was awesome and overwhelming and great.  Gone now I am sure.  Anybody remember anything about it? Lionel O gauge I believe. 

^There used to be one at Quaker Square upstairs above the restaurant that is detached from the main building....not sure if that would be the one you remember...

 

Thanks for posting this...so incredible!

^There used to be one at Quaker Square upstairs above the restaurant that is detached from the main building....not sure if that would be the one you remember...

 

Thanks for posting this...so incredible!

 

I remember the one at Quaker Square. In the restaurant there was a working crossing signal too, with flashing lights and ringing bell, that would activate when trains passed outside.

I remember when I was a kid there was a huge model train set somewhere near Akron (on the Cleveland side). It was awesome and overwhelming and great. Gone now I am sure. Anybody remember anything about it? Lionel O gauge I believe.

 

That one was built and owned by Mack Lowry, and was called Railways of America located on Old Route 8 north of Cuyahoga Falls. I went there a number of times, including for a birthday party in 1976 ior 77. But it wasn't much in the landscape department. The O-guage layout was mostly flat with more track and less scenery. Lowry kept the trains running constantly so there was always something to look at. But he was a grouch and barked at me a couple of times when I climbed up to high on the glass for a better look. But I used to love that place.

 

I think Lowry either retired or died, and the huge layout was disassembled then reassembled in 1979 at Quaker Square where they ran the trains briefly every hour or so. I thought that sucked, and the layout was much smaller. I never went back to see it.

 

This is what happened to the collection:

http://www.ohio.com/news/66282952.html

The interesting thing about Lowry's collection was that the locomotives were custom built by professional model builders. The cost of doing that in today's dollars would be stupendous.

I realize this is an old post and my first post but thought you would be interested to know Mack Lowry was my grandfather. He did pass many years ago and did sell all his trains before his passing. Not sure to whom though.

He lived/loved trains but KJP was right he was a grumpy ol man and did bark a lot. His trains his museum so take it for that. I remember going there many times as a child.

Very neat to see posts about his place and him.

Just thought I would share.

Thx

John

Welcome, jcoen69. It's great to hear from Lowry's grandson! Thanks for posting and I hope you post more. Do I take from your forum name that you are two years younger than me? If so, I can see you are old enough to remember his massive train layout! He also had some actual train cars outside of the layout building, lining the perimeter of his parking lot. I think those were move to Quaker Square too along with some other rail cars after the Quaker Square development opened in the late 70s.

Yes, you are correct. He had his dining cars outside. We used to love to eat there.

His museum was awesome. I still have one of his O Scale engines and coal car.

The bat above it is full size for a scale of this engine.

 

jcoen69, thanks for the terrific picture! I have one or two postcards from Railways of America and I seem to recall at least one Santa Fe locomotive visible in the picture. I've looked for them but with no luck -- so far. I have found some exterior photos of Quaker Square from 1981 showing the dining cars and other rolling stock that was at the Cuyahoga Falls location. If you're interested I will scan them and share them here.

Please do.  Thx

Please do.  Thx

 

Here ya go! In August 1981 for my 14th birthday, my family and I rode took the Cuyahoga Valley Line (it wasn't called CVSR until the mid-80s) from Granger Road to Akron behind steam locomotive 4070 then rode school buses up the hill into downtown Akron to visit Quaker Square. These are some of the photos I shot from that trip. I also took pictures of GM50 anniversary locomotive on a Chessie System freight train at the movable-point crossing JO where the former Erie RR mainline crossed. The Erie RR was still there in 1981. Anyway, here's the pics of Quaker Square.....

 

This is what you saw when you entered the Quaker Square site from Mill Street. This view is looking east with the B&O and Erie mainlines just beyond the historic trains. The famous Quaker Square silos are behind me. I seem to recall that a restaurant was on the ground floor of the building shown here, with Mac Lowry's collection of model trains on the second floor on a vastly smaller layout than what he had at Cuyahoga Falls....

 

 

 

On the south side of the brick building shown above (BTW, that brick building still stands)....

 

 

 

And on the southeast side of the brick building were these two cars, including a round-end observation car which may have been used for special events, parties, etc. These cars were parked along a freight car loading platform left over from the old Quaker Oats plant. The platform was along and slightly above the B&O and Erie mainlines. There is a new building here now....

 

 

 

BTW, this is an overview of Quaker Square in 1979 just before the silos were converted into the hotel. This view looks east, with Mill Street on the left and Broadway across the bottom....