A lifetime pursuit
“Technical but interesting”. That is how K.R.S. Ganesan describes the model that he will be showcasing while takes this reporter on a virtual tour of his Ashok Nagar house to show what he is currently working on. The hall has been converted into a work station. The control system is in another room. Many other enabling items required to complete the exhibit are parked in other rooms.
The fully automated layout on a HO scale is being designed using TrainController software. “It is a totally hands free operation with automatic control. All scheduling and stops are set,” says Ganesan, a civil engineer. He explains visitors will be shown how a slow train is stopped at a loop line and then a fast train overtakes it.
Due to limited space, the train enthusiast will be arranging his exhibit in a 24×8 space at the venue.
Although fascinated with trains from a young age, it was just before retirement that he got started with the hobby. “I had eight engines and 200 feet track in 2013,” says Ganeshan, who retired as senior deputy general manager from L&T. Rolling stock like goods wagons and passenger coaches together added to more than 30 over the years.
“I am keen on designing operational layouts to show signals and time of start/stop functions and schedules using Train Controller software,” he says.
In 2018, he completed a large layout in a hall of 40 x 15 incorporating several operational features using this software. Model railroading is an activity of constant improvement and learning. “A hobby that can last a lifetime,” he adds.
An expensive hobby
For the first time, 72-year-old Sundaram Parthasarathi will be showcasing a running model of the Vande Bharat Express done to scale. An enthusiastic collector of train models, Sundaram is into this hobby for 35 years. Last year, he showcased the Chennai Metro Rail. A few years ago, Sterling Resorts commissioned a project, which he was on board; he partnered with another expert to design the Nilgiri Mountain Railway for one of their properties.
His railway exhibits are handmade. “I do not buy accessories such as signals and station buildings. I make them myself,” he says, adding that a few of the tracks are computerised.
His 20×10 feet, U-shaped room at his house in Abhiramapuram is his lab where he experiments with train scale models for hours.
During Navarathri, his train models are a showstopper. At other times of the year, he welcomes schools to take a look at the railway exhibits.
A mechanical engineer by profession, Sundaram warmed up to the hobby during a visit to The United Kingdom.
“The company sent me to the U.K. in 1986 and that is when I seriously started collecting train models. During weekends, I used to buy second hand items,” says Sundaram, who retired as special director from Ashok Leyland in 2013.
He agrees this is an “expensive hobby” but it is a special joy when you are in the company of 60 others (referring to the WhatsApp group with members spread across India and from a few other countries) exchanging notes on the finer aspects of this pursuit.
On the right track
Seventy-year-old C.B. Malhotra, known as Shyam in this hobby circle, is undecided what he will be showcasing in the upcoming exhibition.
Last year was the first time Shyam took part in the Heritage Train Model Exhibition organised by ICF, though he is into this hobby for two decades.
“That sparkle in the eyes of children when they see our trains running is more satisfying then collecting models or running them,” says the resident of George Town.
Shyam’s love for train models started during his childhood. His father had the habit of getting him a gift after the final examination. “I would ask for a train,” says Shyam.
Later, he saw a working model and the bug bit him. Shyam started the hobby in 1999 when he was in his 40s.
“When I got started on the hobby, I would go to second hand markets and that is where I came across a few people and that bond grew,” he says the hobby is addictive, often leading to spend continuous hours on it.
For parents trying to wean their children from gadgets, he offers wise counsel: “Make sure you provide your children with exposure to as many hobbies as possible,” says the businessman, adding that a childhood hobby could be good company and a small source of income as well.
Full steam ahead
The shrill whistle, the fuming boilers and the billowing plumes of steam. Never mind if you and your generation have not seen steam locomotive engines, Mahendra Kumar (who is from a generation that has) can recreate them for you.
“My dad used to take me to railway stations just for me to watch the engines and during one such outing, I got to see a steam engine,” recalls Mahendra, a HR manager.
His fascination for trains was further fuelled during annual visits to the Island Grounds where the trade fair was organised and Integral Coach Factory had a stall where they would showcase running train models.
Many years later in 2018, a trip to Darjeeling reignited this fascination. Since then, Mahendra has been collecting scale models. Today “HO” “Double O” and “G” scale models top his collection followed by a small number of “N” scale models.
At the exhibition, the Anna Nagar resident will be showcasing his collection of steam-based locomotives and train buses.
A member of HO Scale Collectors Group, the HR professional, who also has a collection of automobile models, says invitation to the group is only through reference.
Published – April 20, 2025 12:55 am IST
