About GATRA Modellbau Union

Hello,
I am Holger Schramm, owner of GATRA Modellbau Union, head of production, logistics manager and chief accountant all in one person. Put more simply: I have realised my dream and turned my long-standing passion for model making into my profession.

It all started in my childhood, in fact even before I was seven years old. My grandfather, himself a long-time Reichsbahn railwayman, often took me on excursions to stations, depots and line sections. With his fascinating explanations and anecdotes he made my enthusiasm for railways grow from one visit to the next.

When I was seven, the time had finally come: I became a “railwayman in the children's room” and received my first model railway as a Christmas present. The elves had done a great job – it was built practically under my nose and I still did not notice a thing. A few years later I knew: I could do it myself – larger, more detailed and above all more individual. So I dismantled the elves' layout and started to build my first own model railway, completely on my own.

Given this background it is hardly surprising that my career choice also turned out in favour of the railway. I became a surveying engineer with Deutsche Reichsbahn. During that time I surveyed countless tracks, points and ancillary installations and not only internalised railway construction standards, which can also be applied in model building, but above all trained my eye for details: proportions, materials, colour nuances and the characteristic surroundings of railway facilities in the landscape.

With each project it became clearer to me that mass-produced model accessories can reproduce the diversity and vitality of nature only to a limited extent. You probably know the forests made of plastic trees that look like a “clone army” of bottle brushes in different sizes. When my surveying company then repeatedly confronted me with new restructuring measures, the time had come for me to draw a line. That was the birth of GATRA Modellbau Union.

Since 2006 we have been producing model trees that look as if they had grown outdoors in nature: each tree is a one-off with its own shape and convincing structure. Over time we have added an extensive range of materials and accessories from various manufacturers to help you design your model landscape or model railway layout in a realistic way. We also undertake commissioned work in diorama construction – from small scenes through to complete layout sections.

Another milestone: since 21 November 2018 we have been the general representative for Germany of Polák model s.r.o., a Czech manufacturer of landscaping products for model railways. As a result, we now supply not only end customers, but also bricks-and-mortar shops and other online retailers.

Have I aroused your curiosity? Then feel free to browse through our full range – or contact me if you have special requests. Many ideas arise precisely when a customer asks: “Can it also be done differently?”

Yours sincerely,
Holger Schramm