Since the first considerations in 2008, the Darmstadt architect, Helmut Schmidt, has been overseeing the project on a voluntary basis and with great commitment. He used his 84th birthday last year as an opportunity to think about a gradual retirement from active professional life 😉. Now that the above-mentioned changes to the plans and approvals for the construction of the new partition wall have been obtained, the overall planning for the reconstruction of the locomotive shed is largely complete. Now it is up to the association to implement them in a timely manner. In addition, Helmut Schmidt’s revised financial planning and cost estimates last year also set up the project in such a way that the city of Darmstadt and our sponsors have promised us further financial support. During a ceremony on 08.01.2021, Helmut Schmidt was honoured for his achievements. As a token of appreciation, he received a 1:87 scale model of a class 95 steam locomotive for his large model railway, which, by the way, is located in his offices: late in the evening after work was done, it was not uncommon for the regulator on the transformer to be turned up once again and the late train to be driven: To “come down”, as he says. We hope to be able to welcome him to the museum many more times as an honorary member. And we are sure that he will still have one or two building tips from his rich professional experience.

The supervision of our project will be continued from 2021 onwards by the Darmstadt architect Jens Daube (Planinghaus Architekten), who has taken over all the documentation and has been trained by Helmut Schmidt.