World's Biggest Train Set

It looks like night has fallen at a busy train station.

Row upon row of carriages wait for the passengers who mill about on platforms or buying last-minute snacks at kiosks.

But this is actually just part of the world's biggest train set which twin brothers have worked on for nine years and spent £8million on. Stretching for a staggering six miles the track winds its way around some of the world's most famous landmarks, from the mountains of Switzerland to the hotels and casinos of Las Vegas

The 'Miniatur Wunderland' has six regions including America, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Germany and the Austrian Alps.

In the U.S. section you'll find intricate models of the Rocky Mountains, the Everglades, Cape Canaveral and the Grand Canyon.

While in Switzerland the mighty Matterhorn mountain rises 6m from the set.Twin brothers Gerrit and Frederik Braun, 41, from Hamburg decided to make the model so lifelike that they even added 4,000 moving cars, 160,000 figures as well as other forms of transport

The Gerrit brothers say their project is yet unfinished and are aiming to complete their masterpiece by 2014.

'It isn't just a model, but a world that invites visitors to dream,' Frederick said.

His brother Gerrit added: 'Our idea was to build a world that men, woman, and children can be equally astonished and amazed in. 'One of our fundamentals has always been to meet every challenge, no matter how hopeless it seems to be in the beginning. 'With this attitude we managed to create technology which amaze our visitors.

The model has a number of mind-boggling figures. It comprises of 700 trains with more than 10,000 carriages and wagons. The longest train stands at a staggering 46ft. It even has a control centre from which the train movements are monitored.

The scenery includes 900 signals, 2,800 buildings, 4,000 cars and an impressive 160,000 individually designed figures.

Nearly four tonnes of steel was used to construct the scenery along with 110st of artificial grass.

And the 250,000 lights are rigged up to a system which mimics night and day by automatically turning them on and off.

In total the impressive set, as it stands, has taken 500,000 hours and more than £8m to put together.

Frederik added:

''Whether gambling in Las Vegas, hiking in the Alps or paddling in Norwegian fjords - in Wunderland everything is possible.

The twin brothers Gerrit, left, and Frederik Braun who have spent nine years building the model