At the great model railway exhibition named On TraXS 2022 in the Netherlands, Samuel de Zutter and Valentijn van der Haegen presented their detailed On30 model train diorama that takes the viewer to Cuba. The small miniature world in O scale, also called On21⁄2, O16.5 or Oe, depicts the typical Cuban landscape with its Caribbean atmosphere.
Those who think of railways and Cuba usually remember documentaries involving the sugar cane harvest, which for decades was brought in by narrow-gauge light railways and steam locomotives. In contrast, Samuel and Valentijn wanted to be inspired by the tobacco industry rather than the sugar cane industry when building their model railway layout. In this way, they wanted to depict the various stages of the tobacco industry, from the tobacco plantation to processing and sales. The result is a double-sided model railroad diorama showing tobacco plantations, straw huts and beaches on the left-hand side and the colourful everyday life in Cuba on the right-hand side. Both sides are linked by a track oval on which a rickety light railway followed by an adventurous-looking tramway run.
However, it is not so much the model trains that are in the foreground, but rather the lovingly detailed and sometimes funny depiction of everyday Cuban life. Here people dance in a bar, there you see workers in a tobacco factory, somewhere the famous writer Ernest Hemingway sits at the window and looks at street musicians standing at the nearby railway crossing. You have to look twice or three times closely to discover the many small details on the model railway layout.
Of course, it should not go unmentioned that Samuel and Valentijn are true experts in scratch building, i.e. they do not use prefabricated parts or kits. They are experts of building scale models from scratch, i.e. from raw materials, rather than building it from a commercial kit, kitbashing or buying it pre-assembled. Therefore, the small their O scale diorama, which has been given the name “Cubana”, is a testimony to a lot of tinkering and creativity.
By the way, the whole process of planning the construction and finalizing the layout has been documented on several pages with many pictures in the internet forums of Beneluxspoor and Modelspoormagazine in Dutch. It is impressive to see what Samuel und Valentijn have created in just under two years of construction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjnk8Xldqqk
model railroad
diorama
Cuba
scratch building
railway modelling
model railroading
at its best
model railway
On30 layouts
micro layout
model trains
OnTraXS
Samuel de Zutter
Valentijn van der Haegen
O scale
o16.5 narrow gauge
railways
railroads
narrow gauge
light railway
steam locomotive
model railway layout
tobacco industry
model railroad layout
Pilentum
tramway
Ernest Hemingway
scale model
kitbashing
tinkering
creativity
If you would like to support the artistic work of Pilentum Television, please use this link www.amazon.com (United States) or www.amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom) for every purchase at Amazon. This is an affiliate link. This means that if you click on this link and purchase items, Pilentum Television receives an affiliate commission. The price of the items is the same. By using the Amazon affiliate link, you are helping to support Pilentum Television’s film and video production.
Do you already know the offers for model railroads and model trains on eBay’s website for the United States? There are many offers for freight cars, locomotives, passenger cars, track, starter sets, parts and accessories, rare railroads and trains, power and control, storage and display, books and guides, and even mixed lots.
If you are looking exclusively for new products, then you should look at the website’s section called “Best Selling Products”. In this section, you can find out which scale models and model rail accessories are extremely popular with model railroaders.
1) Best Seller: Model Railroads and Trains
2) Best Seller: Model Railroad Freight Cars
3) Best Seller: Model Railroad Locomotives
4) Best Seller: Model Railroad Passenger Cars
5) Best Seller: Model Railroad Train Tracks
6) Best Seller: Model Railroad Starter Sets and Packs
7) Best Seller: Model Railroad Parts and Accessories
8) Best Seller: Other Model Railroads and Trains
If you are a so called bargain hunter, then you should look at the following links regularly. Pilentum Television has filtered all the offers that have received the most number of bids with these links. This is an important quality feature of the offers on eBay. You may be able to expand your collection of locomotives and railroad cars inexpensively.
1) Most Wanted: Model Railroads and Trains
2) Most Wanted: Model Railroad Freight Cars
3) Most Wanted: Model Railroad Locomotives
4) Most Wanted: Model Railroad Passenger Cars
5) Most Wanted: Model Railroad Train Tracks
6) Most Wanted: Model Railroad Starter Sets and Packs
7) Most Wanted: Model Railroad Parts and Accessories
8) Most Wanted: Other Model Railroads and Trains
Have you already seen the deals on model trains and model railways on eBay’s website for Great Britain? There are many listings for coaches, locomotives, track, starter sets, wagons, parts and accessories, other railways and trains, power and control, storage and display, books and guides as well as mixed lots.
If you are looking for new products exclusively, you should take a look at the section named “Best Selling Products” on the website. Here you can find out which scale models and which model railway accessories are particularly popular with model railway enthusiasts.
Best Seller: Model Railways and Trains
Best Seller: Model Railway Locomotives
Best Seller: Model Railway Train Track
Best Seller: Model Railway Coaches
Best Seller: Model Railway Wagons
Best Seller: Model Railway Starter Sets and Packs
Best Seller: Model Railway Parts and Accessories
Best Seller: Other Model Railways and Trains
Are you looking for bargains? Then you should check out the following links regularly. With these links, Pilentum Television has filtered all the listings that have received the most bids. This is an important quality feature of the listings on eBay. Perhaps you can expand your collection of locomotives and wagons at a reasonable price.
Most Wanted: Model Railways and Trains
Most Wanted: Model Railway Locomotives
Most Wanted: Model Railway Train Track
Most Wanted: Model Railway Coaches
Most Wanted: Model Railway Wagons
Most Wanted: Model Railway Starter Sets and Packs
Most Wanted: Model Railway Parts and Accessories
Most Wanted: Other Model Railways and Trains