You might wonder...
why nerd into small model trains? For my part, I can probably nerd into all kinds of things. An effective way to forget everyday life and world problems. A drug without side effects. As a child I got an "electric train" for Christmas. Fleischmann. That's how it all began. Parents and siblings kindly stepped between the rails cross-o across the apartment. On family ski trips with chocolate thermos and sandwiches I was sometimes a locomotive in the ski tracks. I had much fun with my train up to moped age. Then the whole thing was sold for financing -right there- moped purchase. Girls, studies, job and family followed.

Nerds and oddballs
Grey mature men who with uniform cap on, swaying a stationmaster's flag in hand, playing with model trains are undoubtedly in many people´s view, slightly nerdy, not to say suspicious. The thoughts may go to Stig Helmer and similar figures, solitary oddballs who possibly lived at home with mom a little too long.

Since I myself am amused by model trains, I take the risk of being associated with that clientele. (No cap and flag, however..) But this hobby can have many different starting points. This can include electronics, mechanics, model building, history, nostalgia, architecture and nowadays also information technology. In my own case it's probably a lot about doing something with your hands. Practical creativity. It might as well be about play music, or work on my boat.

The parallels between model train and music feels in my case apparent. I've been making a lot of music on the computer. A creative workflow including aesthetics, form, timing and handling of a multitude of other musical parameters that are added as a puzzle. Trying, changing, developing. When the creation finally, often after many hours, feels finished, you press the play button, sit back and all the splendor plays. And you feel satisfied. Most often. A completely automated complex process, in which every little single detail is fixed in advance. With model trains, it may be the same. You plan, build, modify. Just like the music I control trains via computer. Pressing the button, and everything kicks off. Fully automatic, or fully manual. It is up to you.

The Train Project: The Nerdinge Line + The Plexi Line
It is common for a home model railway to be banished to a hidden room, maybe a hobby room or basement. I have a (very) long-term project at home where the basic idea is to -in an aesthetic and tasteful way- integrate a model railway in the normal living environment, e.g. the living room. This for several reasons:

I think it is a little pity that people in a home have their main activities in separate rooms. This may in the long run lead to "alienation in family life", a little incisively expressed. I believe in the idea enabling many different activities in the same room. You get insight into what each one does, you can communicate, simply, it becomes a form of socializing. It's also nice if the home environment reflects and says something about the residents' interests and activities.

The tiny z-scale 1:220 invites to make truly minimalistic installations. It is possible to build a layout in an ordinary briefcase. My idea is to sneak the Nerdinge Line into the room environment in a almost non-noticeable way, except when trains are moving. The idea is to have both a large -long- but very unobtrusive layout in a slender plastic shelf - " the Plexi Line "- where nothing but the rails, and sometimes trains occur, in combination and connection with a small, traditional and detailed elaborate layout - " the Nerdinge Line"- which in principle can fit on a bookshelf. (See also here ) The layout should least of all dominate the room, but may be possible to "discover" for the observant as an exciting feature of the room environment.

Perhaps the oddest thought with this particular model railway is that it also can be considered as a form of "installation", possibly with some artistic overtones (whatever that may be ...) One idea is letting the trains be controlled by a kind of "timetable" in the computer. This may for example mean every hour driving a passenger train a lap "around the room," every half-hour drive a freight train, and perhaps every quarter running a third train around on the small layout. This would allow the trains simply act as an old wall clock that announces time at regular intervals.

Thoughts about realism etc.
I do not belong to the category of model builders who put maximum effort into making everything look "as real as possible", although I have the utmost respect for that approach and know-how. My attitude is probably relatively liberal. I see it as  I want to get over the threshold where the eye is not disturbed by too obvious flaws. The whole should look okay at a distance. Getting closer causes an exponentially growing demand for realism. Actually, hints and imperfections has a rare ability to leave the final interpretation to the viewer. 

Meanwhile, I probably have some basic requirements. Ugly trees - no. I think ballasting and rust painting the rails and convert the turnout mechanisms to under-ground meant a lot for the unity. So far I have also hesitated a little bit to place figures at the layout. They are inhuman unreal motionless! Disturbing .. Almost better without them. But seriously, purchased figures are still and patiently waiting in their boxes.

I have no big scruples in mixing different eras and countries etc. Most of my locomotives and cars of course look very "German", but it was still striking how much the whole layout was affected in a "Swedish" direction when the rail bus SJY6 appeared on the the Nerdinge Line. All in all, with the backdrop with motif from the Stockholm archipelago plus some other details I got the experience that I had overcome the threshold for "Swedish feeling".  Eh ..?

But anyway, when everything tend to look "finished", including all kinds of details - I still can see before me that I- when I have the time, perhaps as a pensioner, takes new turns over the whole and for example, start super-detailing and/or patinate i.e. treat most surfaces and objects to make them look "weathered". I.e. worn, dusty, dirty, rusty, aged, as the reality around us. A bit opposed to what I wrote above; to leave something for the viewer ... different philosophies. In conclusion: I look at the overall picture in the first place.

Of course I can imagine progressive developing and refining, in order to gradually reduce the forgiving viewing distance. :-) Philosophies, principles and rules are to be reconsidered! The nerd has no law...

Todays state (January 2012)
The Plexi Line is currently mothballed after a renovation of the living room. The final union of the Plexi Line and the Nerdinge Line is somewhere in the future. The focus in recent years has been on the Nerdinge Line. It should be noted that the activity has gone up and down periods. There are indeed, believe it or not- other things in life too! :-) However, right now there is a situation where the Nerdinge Line is starting to look "finished", more or less, in an overall sense. The landscape is "due course", the traffic is working properly. Looking ahead, it's more about "detailing projects" of various kinds. These will hopefully never end, the goal is that there is no goal!

About this site
Why this site? What does the audience look like? This page is intended for those interested in model railways, of course. But perhaps even for those who philosophize a bit about job and leisure, play and gravity, nerding in general. For those who already know me, it will be a piece of the picture. In addition - because I've spent so much time and effort on model trains, it is obvious that I have a thought on general documentation, both for myself, but also for contemporary and future generations...

Some subjects included in this hobby:

Glad you had the energy reading this far! Please contact me so we can talk more! :-D