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

At 90, Klee still builds model locomotives, surrounded by a collection that reflects more than seven decades of fascination with trains and a 44-year career at the railways.

Klee began his career at the railways in Volksrust in 1953 and retired in 1997. He started as a cleaner and worked his way up to become a train driver.

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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,” he said. “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 Volksrust, where they lived on farms.

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

However, his interest in building models started much earlier while he was still 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.

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Collection of European and custom models

His first train set was a Märklin set, a German-made model that sparked what would become a 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 broadcast feature

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