Depression? PTSD?

GeekDad, who has both, has published a fascinating short personal essay on what he calls “the therapeutic value of model railroading.” You don’t have to be a model railroader to appreciate the essay. You don’t have to be depressed or suffer from PTSD to appreciate the essay.

GeekDad retired from his tenured position as a meteorologist and professor at the Air Force Academy to devote his time to the therapeutic pursuit of model railroading. I can’t judge its validity as therapy, but I can say that I was struck by his description of his earlier (2006) model railroad: “everything on the layout from the people to the rocks, trees, signals, signs, structures, cars, etc. all told a unifying story of an exact time and place.” That’s what a model should do, whether it’s therapeutic or not.

Categories: Model Railroading