My name is Harald Fried, I was born in 1959 in Wetzlar (Hesse) and now live in Hermsdorf in Saxony-Anhalt - near Magdeburg. My passion for model railways began when I was ten years old, starting with an H0 gauge oval of track with a class 89 and two Trix Express "thunderbox" wagons.

However, this layout was only set up at Christmas time. After the usual breaks, I then came to the Mini-Club in 1989 via the N gauge and with it to my scale goal: the Z gauge. A starter pack as a promotional gift laid the foundation for the change of gauge and also for my current "Hermsdorf" layout, the construction phase of which is still far from complete.

I was particularly pleased that this layout was presented in the "Großer Mini-Club Ratgeber - Alles über die Spur Z" ("Big Mini-Club Guide - All about Z gauge") as part of the 50th anniversary of Z gauge.

I have been building modules for a few years now so that I can show them at exhibitions in the future. The environment is important to me when playing and building a railway. That's why I always include lots of little stories in the design.

Now retired and therefore with more time for model railways, I am delighted to be able to support the Trainini editorial team.

If you want to see more of my layout "Hermsdorf" or my modules, you can find photos on my pages - linked from here via "Z World" (there under "Clubs and persons") or films on my Youtube channel "@haraldfried112".