Many of the world’s largest storage spaces are devoted to the machines we use to get from one place to another, from cars to planes, trains, ships and even rockets.
Many of the world’s largest storage spaces are devoted to the machines we use to get from one place to another, from cars to planes, trains, ships and even rockets.
Boeing Everett Factory
Located in Everett, Washington, the Boeing Everett Factory is the world’s largest building by volume. Used to assemble Boeing 747, 767, 777, and 787 planes, it has a total volume of over 13 million cubic metres (472 million cubic feet) and spans 98.3 acres of land. Public tours of the factory are conducted by the Future of Flight Aviation Center.
NASA Vehicle Assembly Building
Apollo 11 rocket at Vehicle Assembly Building © NASA
The Boeing Everett Factory may be the biggest building by volume, but it can’t compete with the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building when it comes to height. Originally dubbed the “Vertical Assembly Building”, it’s the biggest single-storey building in the world. It’s also the tallest building outside an urban area in America.
The NASA Vehicle Assembly Building is part of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was originally built to allow for assembly of the Saturn V rocket. From the late 1960s to 2011, it was used to construct a range of different space shuttles.
Meyer Werft GMbH, Germany
Anthem of the Seas in Dock 2 © Meyer Werft
Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany is one of the largest shipyards in the world. It was founded by Willm Roth Meyr, whose family still owns the yard, in 1795. Originally used to build small wooden boats, it now constructs enormous luxury passenger ships.
The shipyard is home to the world’s largest roofed dry docks. It also houses Dockhalle 2, which is the biggest shipping hall in the world. Dockhalle 2 has a floor area of 63,000 square metres, making it large enough to house cruise ships.
Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant
Volkswagen’s plant in Wolfsburg, Germany is the world’s biggest car plant, spanning a phenomenal 6.5 million square metres. The plant manufactures the popular Volkswagen Golf, Golf Sportsvan, Tiguan and Touran models, as well as cockpit parts and propeller shafts.
The Wolfsburg plant’s press shop processes 1,500 metric tonnes of sheet metal per day, and its paint shop is the largest in the world. In total, the plant has manufactured over 40 million cars.
Bailey Yard
The Bailey Yard
Bailey Yard is the world’s largest rail yard, spanning a phenomenal 2,850 acres. It includes over 500 kilometres of railway track, along with 985 switches and 766 turnouts for guiding trains from one track to another.
Bailey Yard, which is located in Nebraska, sorts Union Pacific rail cars heading for the East, West and Gulf coasts of the United States, as well as for the Mexican and Canadian borders. It handles roughly 14,000 rail cars every day.
XtraSpace Self Storage
Our facility in Johannesburg’s CBD
At XtraSpace, we don’t provide storage spaces big enough to house cruise ships or rockets, but we do offer secure, affordable storage space for all your personal and business belongings. Many of our branches also offer convenient facilities for storing vehicles, from cars to caravans.