Museumsstellwerk Lpf Lehrte

About the museum

The signal box on the western edge of Lehrte's passenger station was built in 1896 and was initially called Befehlsstellwerk Westturm. Around 1950 it received the name Lpf, an abbreviation for the dispatcher of the Lehrte passenger station. From here the entire station was controlled with mechanical technology: long steel cables connected the levers on the upper floor directly to switches and signals. The interlocking system of the Jüdel design dates from 1912.

In October 1986, the Deutsche Bundesbahn decommissioned the signal box. The Modelleisenbahnverein Lehrte (model railway club) rented the building and, with the support of the city, was able to prevent its planned demolition; since 1987 it has been called Museumsstellwerk Lpf. The listed building stands in the middle of a track triangle between the still-active lines to Hanover and Celle, around which the railway later built.

Club members maintain the lever frame, which is over 20 meters long, and keep it operational. On the ground floor, the former tensioning room, they have built a 21-meter-long digital H0 layout that reproduces the Lehrte passenger station around 1960 to scale, with its station building, water tower, and roundhouse. Visitors can see the museum on monthly visitor and operating days.

Highlights

• Mechanical signal box from 1896, according to the club the oldest and largest in northern Germany
• Lever frame over 20 meters long with switch and signal levers of the Jüdel design (1912)
• 21-meter-long H0 model railway of the Lehrte passenger station around 1960
• View from the signal box of today's rail operations in Lehrte

Permanent exhibitions

• Mechanisches Stellwerk Lpf – On the upper floor stands the original lever frame that was once used to control the entire Lehrte passenger station; open from March to October.
• H0-Modellbahn Bahnhof Lehrte um 1960 – Digitally controlled layout at a scale of 1:87 that recreates Lehrte station and its surroundings around 1960 in detail.

Founded

1987

Operated by

Modelleisenbahnverein Lehrte e.V.

Admission & discounts

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Getting there & parking

Access via the street Richtersdorf: cross the Grünstraße level crossing and turn left in the curve behind the barrier. Lehrte is about 20 km east of Hanover near the A 2 and A 7.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Events & venue rental

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Plan your visit