Boys and their (very big) toys!

The BBC reports on the world's largest model railway.

Rail enthusiasts can now enjoy views of Scandinavian fjords, the Swiss Alps, and even Mount Rushmore - in Germany.

Twin brothers Frederick and Gerrit Braun have built the world's longest model railway in the city of Hamburg.

It has six miles of track, cost £8m to build and its 1,150 square metres (12,380 square feet) take in the US, Scandinavia and the Swiss Alps.

By the time the layout is completed in 2014 it will be twice as long and will take in France, Italy and the UK.

The Braun brothers, 41, began work on the Miniatur Wunderland project in 2000.

Their model railway now comprises 700 trains with 10,000 carriages, 900 signals, 2,800 buildings and 160,000 individually designed figures.

It even includes scale models of the Rocky Mountains, Mount Rushmore, the Swiss Matterhorn, and a Scandinavian fjord complete with 4ft cruise ship.

The scenery took 500,000 hours, 700kg of fake grass and 4,000kg of steel to build.

So large is the layout that 160 staff are employed to show visitors around the railway.

Intrigued, I investigated further. The Miniatur Wunderland has its own Web site, and claims to have attracted over five million visitors so far! They've even made this video demonstrating the place.

Fascinating! Certainly one of the ultimate expressions of 'toys for boys', to put it mildly!

Peter