I'm reminded of someone who'd decided to build a HO scale model of the Antwerp, Belgium depot in scale. By the time he was done it took up almost the entire room he'd set aside for his layout. He told me that if he'd truly understood the size of European depots, he'd have never taken on the project.
Having travelled in Europe, I've seen several of them (most of which were remodelled or compeltely built new after the war as they were common aim points for bombing raids) and they're much larger than people imagine until they see them in person.
