This one's for model train, Porsche and toy lovers

Friday, November 9, 2018

Anger/Aufham, Germany

Hans-Peter Porsche Traumwerks

This one’s liable to lose most of you unless you’re a model train nut, a Porsche lover, or you're into an incredible collection of toys.

Pictures: Just to get it over with, here’s a link to the pictures.

Reflections: Massive, massive overload on all three counts...trains, cars and toys.

Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, “The rest of the story.”

As Frank and I drove up from Vienna to Garmish-Partenkirchen it had been foggy most of the day. Just as we reached Anger (ah-nger) the fog broke and off to the right sat an ultramodern building. Exiting the autobahn we looped around and parked. The building, under flags flying Hans-Peter Porsche's logo, is just what you’d expect...simple, modern and elegant.

Going inside, it had been a long drive so we had to fortify ourselves for the experiences to come. So, to mix cultures, we had a wee bit of applestruddle and hot chocolate. Nourished, we headed for the model train section first.

Even before you step through the door there’s a sense of excitement because you see a massive room that seems to just extend forever. Stepping into the room you’ve just enter a train buffs paradise.

Hans-Peter Porsche is the grandson of the founder of Porsche Autowerks. He decided to build a model train layout, but he did it in a way most modelers can only dream about...he hired a firm of German engineers to build it. And build it they did!

Around 400 square meters (+/- 1300 square feet) of the most technologically advanced modeling you can possibly imagine. Dream it and it’s probably here! Track work and scenery from floor to ceiling wind through a serpentine drama built with an unimaginable realism. No, I’m sorry. Correct that...below the floor! You’re walking along and suddenly glass tiles under your feet light up as an express train speeds below you and out of sight.

The computer control is beyond words. A multitude of trains run on precise time tables, some through a two story helix to continue their journey on a different level. The ceiling is filled with clouds, and, as night falls every fifteen minutes, the sky is filled with stars as one section has a fireworks display of (superlative) magnificence, even as a full moon rises over the room. While the fireworks are going off, one section of a bridge and castle are being lit by a blow-your-mind strobe light extravaganza.

Every industry imaginable is represented in an array of cities that are built to detail precise to each local, including a replica (yes, replica...not representation) of the Porsche factory.

I could go on and on about the layout. It took nearly an half and hour just to walk through it, much less stop and examine all the intricate detail. But it gets even better.

Across the hall is another large room. As you peek around the two racing Porsche’s adorning the foyer, you catch a glimpse of...Vintage Porsches!! Of course over 80 vehicles in the factory museum chronicle the 70 year history of Porsche, but Hans-Peter Porsche’s selection will leave your mouth watering for more.

Taking the ramp to the right leads you to the second floor where his collection of toys is displayed. This leads into a section that rivals the factory...on this time it’s 70 years of Porsche’s in miniature.

More reflection: Massive, massive, massive overload on all three counts...trains, cars and toys.