Masterpieces

The Gotthard Railway Model – a model railway icon

Since its opening in 1959, the model of the Gotthard Northern Ramp has been one of the highlights of every visit to the Swiss Museum of Transport. It offers fascinating insights into the railway infrastructure along one of Switzerland’s most important transportation corridors and impresses with its highly detailed replica.

The landscape from Erstfeld Station to the Naxberg Tunnel was recreated as faithfully as possible using maps and numerous photographs. Visitors can disocver the church in Wassen, bridges, viaducts, avalanche galleries, tunnels, switches, catenary poles, and signalling systems. In recent years, the original model was divided into individual modules and expanded into a 32-meter-long miniature landscape. This involved constructing new wooden frameworks, laying new tracks, mixing plaster, painting trees, and adding further landscape elements. Particular highlights include the Intschi-Arnisee cable car, the Zwing-Uri castle ruins, and the SAC Leutschach Hut. Around 20,000 hours of volunteer work went into the restoration, giving the Gotthard Railway Model a new lease on life. The transformation followed the principle of “combining the old with the new”: both the historic spiral tunnels of the mountain route and the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which opened in 2016, are featured. Whether viewed from the elevated gallery, from the front , or through the glass behind the model with a view into the hidden staging yards, the various perspectives at the Swiss Museum of Transport offer fascinating insights into this outstanding exhibit of mobility history.