Why are some programmers fascinated by model railroading? A mechanical technology from the 19th century has somehow remained a powerful totem in the culture of programmers throughout the decades. Several have noted the resemblance of miniature model train layouts to a programmable system, delighting once more in the fact that no matter how far we’ve come, our modern insights can still mingle with our memories of mighty engines from long ago. Even as the world of model trains, like programming itself, is transformed by ever more sophisticated tools, logical brains keep solving the new challenges that arise. While working as a part-time programmer, I’ve dreamed about building my own high-tech model train set — and it turns out I’m not the only one. Last month the New York Times reported that several model train makers were seeing a jump in sales during the pandemic. “For many people, the chance to create a separate, better world in the living room — with stunning mountains, tiny chugging locomotives and communities of inch-high people where no one needs a mask — is hard to resist,” the newspaper speculated. One Swedish high school teacher gushed that his train set was “a little piece of a perfect world.”