Tucked away in its own de-humidified room, away from the wife and kids, is this gentleman’s splendid vice ‒ a large and elaborate miniature railroad, aglow in the pride and joy of a very serious addiction. There is no cure.
When not working with Canadian Chamber of Commerce, he’s there, master of his domain, a miniature kingdom of locomotives and coaches, model stations, railyards, tracks, points, switches, a little town square, and the coup de grace, a replica of the Bridge on The River Kwai, just like in the movie, but this one with tiny trains happily tootling over it and no miniature Alec Guinness to screw it up.
And he’s not alone. It’s a hobby that is spreading fast all over Asia. And no wonder. It’s art. It’s engineering. It’s techy, nerdy and creative. And addictive. Ask Rod Stewart. That boy has spent more money and time on his trains than on his women. Well, almost.
It’s all because people can’t stop. You can add stations, bridges, tunnels, mountains, factories, farms, villages, all populated with people, cars and… don’t get me going. Forget building digital cities online. This stuff is for real. You can reach down into your toy world like a giant, like Gulliver, pick up a locomotive, or a coach with little lights inside and bring them to eye level, marveling at their tiny details, then put them back on their tracks and make ’em run!
It’s all his dad’s fault, this crazy habit. Moving to Canada from Germany, he put together his first layout using mostly German trains and many of the wee buildings that Robert then inherited. As a result, this miniature world has a distinctly Bavarian look about it, which makes it all look even more exotic among the palms and banana trees on the Rawai streets outside his house.
The German brand Marklin, Robert’s choice, the ‘Mercedes’ of this world, are miniaturized gems that nearly hypnotize you with their intricacy. Better not visit the cannabis store first. Or you could be lost for hours.
Robert thinks it’s the world’s greatest hobby, because from childhood to geezer-hood, “You’ll always be the envy of everyone who sees it.”
He may be right. I was knocked out by his fabulous layout. He brought it in pieces from Canada, and he ain’t done yet, not by a long stretch of track.
If you fancy this kind of creative foolishness, there are guys here who will build you a whole environment and teach you how to run it. It’s not cheap. But you could pour a lot more into a yacht and wish you hadn’t. And with this, you just stroll across the hall and you’re in a whole other headspace.
You’ll need a spare room that you can dehumidify. But once inside, you can shut out the world. You’ve built your own.
If you have a hankering to take a trip back to this very creative side-street of your own childhood, you can Google away and find all kinds of help down various rabbit holes. Or for a quick taste, why not start with Robert Kief’s own Facebook page, Model Railroad Thailand?
By Alan Platt