Model Train Set (short story)

Model Train Set was the first short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips. It was written by Jonathan Blum. It featured the Eighth Doctor.

Summary
The Doctor is playing with his model train set but has become increasingly depressed about it. A previous incarnation built it over a period of many years, complete with miniature people, and it is a "miracle of craftsmanship", but he wants a little less perfection. He wants a system that won't need his constant attention. He spends days rebuilding the system so that it can function on its own. He is very pleased with this finished product.

When the Doctor later returns to his train set after an adventure outside the TARDIS, he finds a disaster has happened. One little glitch caused the entire system to go out of control. While the Doctor begins to clean up, he notices a miniature work crew beginning to put things right. After watching them for a bit, he begins to help them but thinks better of it. He decides to let them fix things themselves, hopefully learning from the process.

Characters

 * Eighth Doctor

Worldbuilding

 * The Doctor was once sold miracle-gro microseeds by Kapteynians.
 * The Doctor keeps War and Peace in the TARDIS library.
 * The train set includes a Mickey Mouse handcar, an Amtrak metroliner, and a replica of the New York Central's Commodore Vanderbilt.

Continuity

 * It's mentioned that the Doctor had dreamed of driving a train even as a little boy. (TV: Black Orchid)
 * The Doctor recalls the Transit system. (PROSE: Transit)
 * The Doctor remembers someone saying "You can't mend people." (TV: Kinda)
 * The train set is later seen in PROSE: Vampire Science, Genocide and The Janus Conjunction.