The Wunderland - wolrd's largest model railway in Hamburg, Germany

Several people have been kind enough to send me a link to this video of a HUGE model railway. Though millions have already seen it, I think it's appropriate to post it again here in the name of completeness. So, just in case you somehow missed it, prepare to be amazed by The Wunderland.

From the video description:

The Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg, the largest model railway in the world, and one of the most successful tourist attractions in Germany. On the 1,300 square meter layout, more than a thousand trains, aircraft, cars and ships move about. A wonder of the world in miniature.

The Miniatur Wunderland includes an incredible level of detail. There are entire sections of the model that depict an airport, Switzerland, Scandinavia, America, Germany, Austria, and various regions in the Alps. Plans to add sections depicting Italy and France are underway.

Believe it or not, this is a model and NOT a photograph of an actual airport. Incredible.

You can find a lot more information at http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com. Readers of The Automata Blog might also be interested in the English section of their forum that deals with various aspects of model building and The Wunderland itself.

[ Thanks to Charles, Jarva, and others! ]

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Instrument playing bear automaton from Austria

Here is a vintage automaton bear that knows how to rock. Apparently, the bear is is original, but is missing whatever instrument it originally played. The bells -- taken from another antique toy -- were added later. The bear's maker and original instrument remain a mystery to the current sellers.

From the bear's description on ebay:

We are guessing he was made in the latter part of the 19th or very early part of the 20th century. The bear did not have an instrument when it came to us, only the metal drum sticks in his hands and a hole in the base where an instrument would have been mounted. Considering that he is holding metal drum sticks, whatever he was originally pounding on would have to have been metal or very durable at the least. After doing exhaustive research to find another like him and coming up empty, we chose to give him a set of antique nickel plated bells from an early push toy and mounted them to an appropriately sized tree stump...

Here is where you can see a bunch of photographs of this Instrument playing bear automaton made in Austria.

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Antique Vienna Jaquemart Automaton Clock

The bidding is heating up on this Viennese clock dating to around 1830. The clock features two small Jaquemarts (or "Jacks") who hit the bells when the clock chimes. If you like antique clocks, this looks like a beauty.

Here is the full eBay listing for the Vienna Jaquemart automaton clock

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