The controler for this model train
Creating miniature version of its giants, we changed the purpose of trains. It does not fulfil the function of transporting people or things from one place to the other. We are creators of a product that is manageable (Rieken, 2016, p.40). The railroad system is only a few square meters big, which enhances the feeling of creating your own world, making it controllable (Rieken, 2016, p.40). Rooting within the desire to escape the hardship of everyday life, Märklin’s 1:87 scale trains, the “H0”, allows to create worlds with their own rules (Rieken, 2016, p.41). But the small scale is not the only thing that enhances the feeling of having control.
An interview with a model train enthusiast reveals another side of escaping into a manageable miniature world (Erdmann, 2016, p.159). The interviewee explains, he does not see himself as a modern person. Being born in the 1960s he did not grow up with computers. His technical knowledge contains of mechanics, not electricity. And he has no interest in modern things - the older technology of his childhood is “burned into his heart” (Erdmann, 2016, p.159). This statement indicates that with model trains we not only talk about small scale, but also controllable, familiar technology (Erdmann, 2016, p.160). The technologies of model trains are seen as the ‘good’ technology that stand out from the threatening, ‘uncontrollable’ technologies of later modern times (Erdmann, 2016, p.160).