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Offline twmarklinfan  
#1 Posted : 11 August 2022 16:41:45(UTC)
twmarklinfan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 08/05/2015(UTC)
Posts: 359
Location: Tunbridge Wells, Kent, United Kingdom
Hello All,

It been a long time since I have attended a European model railway event. This one has taken my eye as it is right before my birthday. I am hoping she who must be obeyed might loosen the purse strings!

On a more serious note please may I have some feedback from others who may have attended the event?

Many thanks
Adrian
Offline kiwiAlan  
#2 Posted : 11 August 2022 17:10:19(UTC)
kiwiAlan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC)
Posts: 8,082
Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
Originally Posted by: twmarklinfan Go to Quoted Post
Hello All,

It been a long time since I have attended a European model railway event. This one has taken my eye as it is right before my birthday. I am hoping she who must be obeyed might loosen the purse strings!

On a more serious note please may I have some feedback from others who may have attended the event?

Many thanks
Adrian


The event may have been held last year, but otherwise has never been held as far as I know as the first one was to be in 2020 - and guess what got in the way. It is to replace the IMA that was at Cologne, but the organisers could not reach agreement with the management of the halls there, and so planned to move it to Friedrichshafen. The first one was planned to be on the same weekend as Eurospoor, but the later ones are planned for the following weekend, so it is possible to do both events.

The other thing to look at in Friedrichshafen is the Zepplin Museum.
Offline Cadde  
#3 Posted : 14 August 2022 13:52:03(UTC)
Cadde

United Kingdom   
Joined: 13/08/2022(UTC)
Posts: 2
Location: England, Oxford
Hi. The Friedrichshafen model exhibition exists for years and covers not only railways, but everything modelling. Planes, ships, trucks, construction machines, Lego, name it, you find it there. Until before the first Covid lockdown, the world's largest model railway exhibition took place in Cologne every two years. The Cologne exhibition management company didn't want to continue with it and so it moved to Friedrichshafen instead, and is added to the regular model exhibition there. So Friedrichshafen is supposed to be the largest exhibition now. Having said that, I was there last year and it was sparsely adopted by exhibitors as a lot of Covid restrictions were still in place. When I visited the event the years before Covid it was actually really good and extensive. Let's hope it gets back to its older glory this year or next year.

If you think of going there, then I recommend to take a plane to Zurich and get on a train to Romanshorn at Lake Constance. From there you have a ferry crossing the lake straight into Friedrichshafen city centre. The train goes direct from Zurich airport to Romanshorn. And the ferry is right next to the train station. In Friedrichshafen, a 2 minute walk from the ferry, you have free bus shuttles to the exhibition. Sounds complicated, but is easier and faster than traveling via Munich, Basel or Frankfurt.

There are also two other exhibitions, which I personally think are even better. The first one is in Dortmund. It is just massive and the number of exhibitors and model clubs showing their layouts is impressive.
https://www.intermodellbau.de/en/home/

The second one is usually around the same time and equally good. It is in Mannheim. Easy to reach from Frankfurt airport by train.
https://www.faszination-modellbahn.com/en/

You rarely see the same exhibitors on more than one of these exhibitions. I visited all three of them every year for the past 6 years or so.

Hope it helps.
Cadde
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Offline twmarklinfan  
#4 Posted : 15 August 2022 09:29:42(UTC)
twmarklinfan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 08/05/2015(UTC)
Posts: 359
Location: Tunbridge Wells, Kent, United Kingdom
Hi Cadde,

Thank you very much for the info. Part of the reasons for going to Friedrichshafen is that we haven’t visited before so I thought it might be something interesting for both of us, so I will investigate.

Dortmund was an annual pilgrimage pre covid. We were a group of 4 but sadly two of the group can no longer travel due to covid requirements, so that’s gone cold.

I’ve never been to Mannheim so I will have a look at that.

Many thanks again
Adrian
Offline MKOpSeattle  
#5 Posted : 16 August 2022 08:48:27(UTC)
MKOpSeattle

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2013(UTC)
Posts: 147
Location: Seattle, WA
Thank you Cadde for your insights. I was seriously thinking of going to Friedrichshafen until I saw your post. I didn't know about the other two events. Coming from the USA, I can only go to one. If you have to pick one to go, which one will you pick? Thanks.

T
Offline kiwiAlan  
#6 Posted : 16 August 2022 16:32:00(UTC)
kiwiAlan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC)
Posts: 8,082
Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
Originally Posted by: MKOpSeattle Go to Quoted Post
Thank you Cadde for your insights. I was seriously thinking of going to Friedrichshafen until I saw your post. I didn't know about the other two events. Coming from the USA, I can only go to one. If you have to pick one to go, which one will you pick? Thanks.

T


I have never been to the Friedrichshafen one, but have been to the Dortmund one several times.

The Dortmund Exhibition is a Model Exhibition, not just a Railway Exhibition. In the past there have been two adjacent large halls of MRR, one primarily manufacturers, and the other primarily second hand traders and shops selling new stock. There is a bit of cross over between the two halls, along with the occasional layout.

Other halls have model boating (one hall, large 'paddling pool' lake with large fans when yachts have their turn, but also power boats at other times), one hall has 1/12 scale radio control vehicles - a feature of this is about 5 tons of sand dumped in the middle of the hall and then a swarm of R/C diggers, bulldozers and dump trucks move it around, another hall for model aircraft, and a hall for people wearing video head sets while they fly their copters around a course.

Not too far from Dortmund is the Bochum-Dalhausen Railroad Museum. The one time I went there I met Hagen von Ortloff of Eisenbahn-Romantik fame doing some filming, and didn't mind me interrupting him for a couple of minutes chat.

From Carstens description it sounds like Friedrichshafen could be a similar arrangement. Another thing about going there is the Zepplin Museum on the waterfront, well worth spending some time there. When I was there in '97 it was the middle of the summer holidays and the museum was full of school kids on summer holiday excursions tearing around. I had some fun switching the video consoles that tell you about an item to English (so I could about the display), the kids would run up to them - 'don't understand that' - and run off without realising they could switch them back to German.

Well, I suspect I haven't made the choice any easier ... BigGrin BigGrin BigGrin
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Offline Cadde  
#7 Posted : 17 August 2022 21:21:30(UTC)
Cadde

United Kingdom   
Joined: 13/08/2022(UTC)
Posts: 2
Location: England, Oxford
Dortmund is my favourite out of those three.
Offline MKOpSeattle  
#8 Posted : 10 January 2023 07:51:18(UTC)
MKOpSeattle

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2013(UTC)
Posts: 147
Location: Seattle, WA
I plan to go to the model show in Dortmund in late April. Besides the Bochum-Dalhausen Railroad Museum suggested by Alan, can my fellow marklinist recommend any tourist places for short visits? I'll fly into Frankfurt, pick up my friend and head North from there. I'm thinking of the general areas between Frankfurt and Dortmund, and venture out East and West. So far I have Nuremberg and Rothenburg on my list, and I plan to spend about twelve days on this trip. Thanks.

T
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Offline kiwiAlan  
#9 Posted : 10 January 2023 15:11:04(UTC)
kiwiAlan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC)
Posts: 8,082
Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
Originally Posted by: MKOpSeattle Go to Quoted Post
I plan to go to the model show in Dortmund in late April. Besides the Bochum-Dalhausen Railroad Museum suggested by Alan, can my fellow marklinist recommend any tourist places for short visits? I'll fly into Frankfurt, pick up my friend and head North from there. I'm thinking of the general areas between Frankfurt and Dortmund, and venture out East and West. So far I have Nuremberg and Rothenburg on my list, and I plan to spend about twelve days on this trip. Thanks.

T


From Frankfurt to Dortmund you'll pass near Wuppertal, so you may like to have a ride on the overhead railway there.


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Offline Centaur747  
#10 Posted : 11 April 2023 07:21:13(UTC)
Centaur747

United States   
Joined: 10/04/2023(UTC)
Posts: 2
Location: Washington, Seattle
There is also a great model train shop in Dortmund called Lokschuppen. Düsseldorf also has a good shop in downtown and is a good destination for shopping and tourism. The Old city in Düsseldorf is a great place for a beer. Cologne is also a must stop for tourism as the old cathedral in cologne (Kölner Dom) is right next to a busy railway station and the famous railway bridges across the Rhine river. The old city is near the Rhine and also a great place for lunch and a beer. Dortmund railway station also works for Trainspotting , great access to all platforms and everything from the lates ICE trains to local regional electric and diesel trains ru. through there. I wish I had joined this forum earlier as I am originally from Dortmund and was considering going as well…. Is there a märklin club in the greater Seattle area? Looking to connect with other Märklin Fans out there.
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Offline MKOpSeattle  
#11 Posted : 11 April 2023 07:42:50(UTC)
MKOpSeattle

United States   
Joined: 29/12/2013(UTC)
Posts: 147
Location: Seattle, WA
Thanks for the tips, Centaur. Is the shop you mentioned Menzels Lokschuppen in Düsseldorf? I plan to stop by on my way to Dortmund. There are a few of us Marklinists in Seattle but I lost touch with others.

Tze
Offline Centaur747  
#12 Posted : 12 April 2023 02:02:49(UTC)
Centaur747

United States   
Joined: 10/04/2023(UTC)
Posts: 2
Location: Washington, Seattle
Yes Menzels is the one. Pretty good selection of new and vintage Märklin. Maybe we could organize an informal Märklin meet in the area?
Offline Alberto Pedrini  
#13 Posted : 14 May 2023 17:49:18(UTC)
Alberto Pedrini

Italy   
Joined: 02/07/2004(UTC)
Posts: 1,448
Location: Italy
Hello friends, after some months MEB have published the report about our layout exposed at the fair

MEB

here the pdf:

https://www.marklinfan.it/documenti/meb2023.pdf

Translation:

The Märklinfan Club Italia was officially born in 2005 when a small group of passionate Italian "Märklinists" who met each other through internet forums decided to build the first modular layout with the Italian Märklin system.
After an initial organizational meeting, it was decided to adopt the head profile in accordance with the standards of the American association ETE, from which we differ in the adoption of the C track instead of the K track and in the design of the junction flanges.
The layout was born with regulations that provide for a European-style fantasy landscape to be able to use our German, Swiss, Austrian and other nationality models produced by Märklin.
The members participating in the project live in different cities and each of us builds his own module independently, then we periodically meet at modeling expos or in private Stammtisch meetings.
First meeting https://www.marklinfan.net/mf18_giugno.htm
The first exhibition with finished modules took place in 2007 at the Verona fair without a particular theme, but only to see our models finally circulate and demonstrate to the Italian public that even with the Märklin system it was possible to create a realistic model, this because the stereotype of passionate Italian Märkin was only seen with a double oval layout in M track very far from the representation of reality.
https://www.marklinfan.net/model_expo_2007.htm
Subsequently, the exhibitions had themes defined as "The Great International Trains" "175 years of the German railways" "Emigrant trains" and others.
Then, to give space to the tradition, in addition to the digital layout in C, the "Plastico modulare Vintage" project was joined, which was immediately successful and was also exhibited in Göppingen in 2013 https://www.marklinfan.net/goeppingen2013.htm
In 2015 the Club finally found a physical location near the city of Piacenza and the layout modules was assembled and used periodically for six years without the need of travels and transfers until 2021, when unfortunately the owner of the structure that hosted us passed away.
In many of us, however, the desire to see even our most beautiful Italian trains circulating on our layout remained, and three of us therefore created the first modules in the Italian style. Regarding the Italian models, as you know, the Märklin production is almost non-existent and we had to work a lot to adapt models of other brands to our system which we consider the best.
The trains you saw at IMA are Märklin, Roco, Rivarossi, Lima, Acme, OsKar, Liliput, Piko, all converted to our system by installing the socket shoe and a digital decoder.
The debut of this layout parts with Italian-style catenary and signaling took place in Genoa in 2013, then it remained in storage and only in 2022 in Friedrichshafen, after an expansion of the scenography in the front part, was it finally made known to the public international.
The model does not reproduce an existing stretch of railway, but fantasy scenographies inspired by the typical Italian landscape, furthermore the modular construction made independently by the various partners obviously has differences in finishes which make it very varied. To give a uniformity to the landscape on the occasion of IMA 2022, the modules were assembled together and equipped with a front scenography part of about 29cm made entirely by a single model maker in order to give continuity and uniformity to the landscape.
Today, April 2023, some of these modules are no longer there and other parts of the H0 sets are under construction. There are also four 1 scale enthusiasts in the club and a modular scale model in 1:32 is under construction which we hope to be able to exhibit at one of the next IMA.
In addition, last but not least, some Vintage modules are permanently mounted and can be visited every Saturday at the Arma di Taggia Railway Museum on the Ligurian coast, so we invite tourists present this summer to visit us, you can find the address and information on this page:
https://www.marklinfan.net/mnt_taggia.htm
Well, all Club members thank all IMA 2022 visitors again for the compliments received and we look forward to meeting you for the next edition.
Alberto Pedrini
Alberto

Marklinfan Club Italia
www.marklinfan.net
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