In a further attempt to answer the question “what will the anarchist society look like”, a group of anarchist model railroad enthusiasts in Berkeley propose to construct a HO scale trainset that would model a potential future society. The Rail Against the Machine Collective is seeking suggestions from the anarchist community at large as to the composition of the model world. They’re also looking for folks in the East Bay area with modeling skills who are interested in working on the trainset in a Berkeley basement space. The set would be run on solar electricity, provided the anarchist modelers decide a future society would even need trains.
“We haven’t decided yet to model a primitivist future or a syndicalist one,” said collective member Casey Jones. “If the trainset is primitivist, there wouldn’t be trains, or even houses. We would just model hills and creeks with lots of trees and wildlife and perhaps a few scantily clad humans. If the trainset is syndicalist, all the railroads would be run by the One Big Union. Would they run on time? Who knows? We do know that the train stations would have to be extra large to accommodate a lot of meetings.
Dinah Wonchablo, another trainset-ista, imagined a trainset with minimal passenger service run by model solar panels. There would be no roads or cars, but tiny bike paths would connect co-housing settlements built in circles around shared backyard spaces. Each settlement would have a tool lending library, cooperative childcare, un-schools, herbal health clinics and farming plots. “And since we want to model the future Northern California region, each settlement would have a shared hottub, clothing optional!” exclaimed Dinah.
Send in your ideas for the anarchist trainset design bys ending a drawing, urban design plan, or short essay. The best entry will win 4 2003 Slingshot Organizers. Please send your ideas to:
Wacky Slingshot Contest – Trainset
3124 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94705