Project Waldberg

Project Waldberg is a Märklin model railroad. I choose Germany in the sixties as theme for the layout. The fictitious town of Waldberg plays a central role in the layout plan. The town is situated next to an important main line. Fast express trains and goods trains travel down the line. Every now and then a commuter train passes by and stops alongside one of the three curved platforms. Remarkable features of Project Waldberg are the old town, the big depot and the small harbour. Each of them has the typical atmosphere of the sixties.

I started working on Project Waldberg in February 2000. The layout was finished in the summer of 2002. I took a lot of photographs while building the layout, so you can see for yourself what I did. Project Waldberg is a fully digital model railroad. The trains are mainly controlled by the computer. The same goes for the several hundreds of tiny light bulbs that light the layout and a number of special effects that are part of the scenery.

Waldberg is fictitious town in the lower part of the Black Forest in the western part of Germany. Forests and hills surround it. Waldberg is not a big city; about 35.000 people could live there.

The history of Waldberg goes back hundreds of years. In the small town centre there are still some old half-timbered houses. The old church is very characteristic and forms the real heart of the town. The bigger part of Waldberg was built at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. Most buildings are from that era.

The town is situated near an important railway-line and has a modest railway-station. International trains pass Waldberg, but do not halt there. Regional trains and commuter trains do stop there of course.

The town grew because of its favourable location within the region and the presence of the railway. Factories were founded on the edge of the town during the first decade of the 20th century. For example, near the station one can see the 'Zahnrad Fabrik Bähr' and 'H Huber - Sand, Schotter, Stein'. Both companies are important employers in Waldberg. Sand, Schotter, Stein has its own siding for the loading and unloading of products and raw materials.