For most people, retirement marks the end of a career, but for 90-year-old Neusol ‘Soon’ Klee from Roodekrans in Roodepoort, it simply meant the railway moved from the tracks into his living room.

Surrounded by a collection that reflects more than seven decades of fascination with trains and a 44-year railway career, Klee still builds model locomotives, the Roodepoort Record reports.

He began his career at Volksrust in 1953, retiring in 1997 after starting as a cleaner and working his way up to become a train driver.

Childhood love for trains born in Heidelberg

“My older brother and I loved trains as we grew up in Heidelberg, two blocks from the railway line. Whenever my mother was looking for us, we would be sitting there watching the trains. I never imagined that, 17 or 18 years later, I would be standing there myself.”

Klee and his family later moved to farms in Volksrust.

His passion for collecting model trains began in 1965, five years after his marriage, although he started building models in 1958.

However, his interest in building models started much earlier while living on a farm.

“Back on the farm, there were only dams and streams, so I built a lot of little boats. When I got married, I collected boats, James Bond memorabilia, and so on,” he recalled.

German sets and handcrafted steam models

A German-made Märklin set sparked his lifelong hobby.

“There are 10 or 11 large models that I built myself, and somewhere between 10 and 15 Märklin sets. I just bought and collected them myself over the years,” he said.

Among the many trains in his collection, one steam locomotive holds a particularly special, albeit sad, memory for him.

“There is one I built that holds a very sad memory for me. You could load it with coal. A steam locomotive,” he said.

He explained that model trains come in different forms, including electric, diesel and steam locomotives, and his collection includes a large number of trains from overseas, particularly Germany.

When asked where his interest in trains came from, he said it was something that had always been part of him.

“We just always liked trains. I suppose it was the Creator’s doing. He simply places that within you. It’s enjoyable work, but it’s hard work!” he said.

National TV feature

His passion will soon reach a wider audience when he appears on the kykNET programme Kwêla next month as part of its collaboration with the Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch’s Love Your Neighbourhood series, celebrating inspiring community members.

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