Friday Eye Candy: Google Streetview Tours the World's Largest Model Railway

After documenting places like the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and the vertical walls of El Capitan in Yosemite, the Google Streetview team thought small for its latest project.

1 minute read

January 15, 2016, 9:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Aarian Marshall has good news for anyone who loves trains but hasn't been able to make the trek out to Hamburg, Germany to see Miniatur Wunderland: "[a] Google Maps project takes viewers inside the 215,000-resident city, which boasts a picturesque, Austrian-style village, a skiing lodge, a high-density downtown area, a working airport, and approximately 42,650 feet of track."

If you're not yet convinced of the awesomeness of Miniatur Wunderland, Marshall also writes that the model totals 14,000 square feet, including 1,270 signals, 3,050 switches, 8,850 cars, and 228,000 trees—all rund by run by 46 computers and. Moreover, 230 people spent 580,000 hours building the thing.

Google gets it, so working with a German company called Ubilabs, the tech giant built a "lil’Google car, which rode the mini rails, the mini streets, and the mini runways to reproduce the incredibly detailed model in 365-degree views."

So after watching the preview video created by the Google Streeview team below, access Google's work to document Miniatur Wunderland an image gallery and a blog post in addition to the full Streetview experience.

Thursday, January 14, 2016 in CityLab

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 11, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Yellow single-seat Japanese electric vehicle drivign down road.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs

The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

June 6, 2025 - PC Magazine

People riding bicycles on separated bike trail.

With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike

For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.

1 hour ago - UNM News

Bird's eye view of half-circle suburban street with large homes.

In More Metros Than You’d Think, Suburbs are Now More Expensive Than the City

If you're moving to the burbs to save on square footage, data shows you should think again.

3 hours ago - Investopedia

Color-coded map of labor & delivery departments and losses in United States.

The States Losing Rural Delivery Rooms at an Alarming Pace

In some states, as few as 9% of rural hospitals still deliver babies. As a result, rising pre-term births, no adequate pre-term care and "harrowing" close calls are a growing reality.

June 15 - Maine Morning Star