Sugar Cane train in 1920 Haiti

[Doctor G]

nice job,, we had this golden era trains which we call iron dinosaurs which were owned by sugar mills,,, up to now some survives and restored,,,,,

Hi Butzi,
Glad you liked the little sugar hauler. You can read more about this model layout at RLF at this address http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22912

Do you have any pictures of Phillipine sugar trains you can post? I remember they were quite colorful.

Doc Tom

 

[Doctor G]

It

 

[Doctor G]

Winter time in The Caribbean

It is cold, so I stopped work on the outdoor garden railroad. I thought it was time for some Caribbean sunshine and warm blue waters.I have gone back to work on the Haitian Sugar Train.

I have done work on the Leogane Beach scene just below the Leogane engine house. The warm Caribbean ocean continues the oxidation process on the rusting hulk of the worn out Kraus steam locomotive.

A sugar train from Port au Prince arrives at the Leogane tank. There has been a profusion of tropical growth since we last posted here. The aroma of burning dried sugar cane, steam and Bougainvillea fills the air.

Further down the line construction of a Haitian Rum still and a Haitian village continues. More photos to follow during these cold winter months. Thanks for looking.

Doc Tom




Doc Tom and the Little River RR guys in East Tennessee.

 

[Doctor G]

More of the Sugar Train

World Famous BARBANCOURT RHUM is made in Haiti. But not at a distillery that looks like this:






I thought this charming rural “still” had to be modeled for my On30 Sugar Cane hauler set in 1920’s Haiti.

Here is the next structure undergoing construction in the Leogane section of the mini layout. It is a representative of the back jungle distillery pictured above.



I tried to recreate the wooden fermentation tanks. Next to come will be the sugar cane press and the distilling apparatus.





While not quite the same as an Appalachian Moonshine still, you get the understanding that all cultures and people love the taste of fermented juices.

Doc Tom

 

[Doctor G]

Leogane is getting built

I took the trusty iPad out to the train shed to get a few pictures of a little more progress on the On30 mini layout.

Here is some Caribbean blue water I was able to place under the dock at Port au Prince.

Here is a Haitian house and the start of a sugar cane field in a corner of the Leogane section of the small layout.

I have been enjoying some "warm weather" modeling down in the Caribbean during these cold days.

Doc Tom

 

[Bill Nelson]

good to see something is getting done as the weather has run you in from the outside.

 

[Doctor G]

Rural Haitian Housing

The section of the mini layout that I have been working on recently represents the rural area of Leogoane Haiti.

Rural Haitian houses are quite primitive. Many are built from wattle and thatch. Mud is used to cover the wattle that makes up the walls. This type of construction, imported from Africa, was quite prevalent in the 1920s in Haiti.

Here is a model I built from card stock and paper. Like so many prototype structures in Haiti it is perched on the side of a mountain with a steep path leading to its front door.

Down below the colorful Porter locomotives are passing by on their way to the sugar cane fields.

Hope you like the pictures.

Dr. Tom

 

[Doctor G]

Lunch time at the Sugar Mill

t is lunch time at the sugar mill (HASCO) in Port au Prince. The local cook at the cook shack is making up beans and rice and a seller drops by with a load of Coca Colas from up North.

Doc Tom and the Little River RR guys in East Tennessee.

 

[Doctor G]

I have been away for quite some time and wanted to try my hand at getting back with a few On3o shots..

Here are some colorful shots I did this summer on the little Haitian Sugar Hauler.

I am looking forward to getting back in to the discussion part of this forum.

Doc Tom

 

[Bill Nelson]

I like those pedestal journals on the little two axle cars.

 

[Doctor G]

I have had a chance to model a little more of the Leogane Rhum Distillery on the layout. I have in place the pot for boiling the fermented sugar cane juice. The worker is firing it with bagasse, the dried pressed cane after the juice has been extracted. The steam locomotive engines run on the same fuel.

After the pot boils off alcohol in a vapor it is transported to the condenser to begin the collection of Haitian Rhum.

A steam locomotive pulling cane cars drifts in to view and has a load of cane to off load.This cane will be pressed and the juice loaded in to the wooden fermentation tanks in the back of the operation.

It is very hot work firing a locomotive and the sugar cane oven, the distillation worker and the steam engine engineer are thinking about sharing a refreshing Caribbean tropical drink with some of the local liquid produce.

Doc Tom

 

[Doctor G]

Posted - 08/16/2015 : 1:41:26 PM

I have added a few more details to the Haitian distillery on the mini layout.

A prototypical rural Haitian still has open fermentation barrels to ferment the sugar can juice.

Here are mine done up as 1920 rusty steel barrels.

I have also been adding in some of the piping coursing through even the most crude distillation operations. There is frequent waste runoff and I modeled a catch basin.

There is more to come as the little sugar hauler gets this new industry to serve.

Doc Tom

 

[zathros]

That is one of the most beautiful, I'm literally at a loss of words, diorama/train layout, I have ever see. You captured a whole heritage. That should be in a museum, given historical Recognition. It looks like you captured a slice of time!!

Your set up is now on the Front Page of the Forum, as the "New Model of Merit". Hope you don't mind.

 

[Doctor G]

Hi Zathros,

I am glad you liked the mini layout. It has been a lot of fun to build. More to come. Doc Tom

 

[Sky Seeker]

Doctor G,

Fantastic job! I thought at first I was looking at a picture of an ACTUAL place vs a model. GREAT MODEL!

Sky Seeker

 

[Doctor G]

Doctor G,

Fantastic job! I thought at first I was looking at a picture of an ACTUAL place vs a model. GREAT MODEL!

Sky Seeker

Thank you Sky. I appreciate your kind remarks. Tom

 

[Doctor G]

A little more work done on the mini Haitian Sugar Hauling layout. I have added more of the equipment for the back jungle Rhum distllery.Now there is a concentrating tower and more plumbing.

There is now even a "quality control" inspector on the premises to check out the quality of the final product. This is a great job to have.

Doc Tom

 

[Doctor G]

Here are some overhead shots of the mini layout so you can see how small it his. While not taken by a drone, I stood on a chair and tried to get these grab shots.

The entire mini. Port au Prince on one side and Leogane Haiti on the other side of the mountain.

The rural Leogane side of the mini layout.

Intoxicated Bird's eye view with attraction to the vapors of fermentation.

Is that a train I'm about to hit? Hick.Hiccup.

Doc Tom

 

[zathros]

Those last two pictures are incredible. So much life displayed in such a small place.

 

[Doctor G]

I was working on the mini this weekend and thought I would take a couple of updated pictures of the open air engine house at Leogane Haiti.

Here the well used Porter is bringing a string of empties past the tank and the engine house. The crew is working on some cane cars parked inside the engine house.This is very hot work in the tropical jungle.

Thanks for looking. Doc Tom