The diorama at Haarlem station
A miniature world of Dutch railways, built inside Haarlem Station
Inside Haarlem Station, Pocket Railway Museum brings Dutch railway history to life through a 1:32 scale diorama inspired by the station itself. What visitors see running in the exhibition are not one-off display pieces, but the very same models that are available in our webshop as 3D printable builds.
Location
Haarlem Station
Stationsplein 11J
2011 LR, Haarlem
In collaboration with
NS Stations & MUTEK
1:32 | Gauge 1
Scale
Special detail
The running trains are the PRM webshop models
The story behind the project
How it began
In early 2025, I was approached about creating a diorama for a long-vacant but remarkable room inside Haarlem Station.
The space was beautiful but awkward: narrow, long, and framed by round windows at both ends. Rather than forcing a generic railway layout into it, the project became a chance to create something rooted in the station itself.
Because Pocket Railway Museum already had a partial focus on Dutch locomotives in Gauge 1, the exhibition could become something unusually specific: a miniature railway world that actually belonged to Haarlem.
A station within a station
At the heart of the exhibition is a scale model of Haarlem Station itself. Printed in sections and carefully assembled, the building became one of the defining features of the diorama. To make the architecture fit the space, only half of the station was built physically and placed in front of a mirror, creating the illusion of the full structure and extending the scene beyond its real depth.
The result is both theatrical and surprisingly convincing: a station inside the station, viewed through the public windows of the real building.
More than a static display
The diorama is not a static model. Every day, the trains run a shuttle service through the exhibition, turning the scene into a living miniature railway.
The locomotives and rolling stock were designed not only to look right in the setting, but also to perform reliably in a public installation.
What makes this especially unique is that the models visitors see in motion are the same designs available through the Pocket Railway Museum webshop. The exhibition is, in a way, a real-world demonstration of what these printable trains can become when fully built, painted and brought to life.
Featured locomotives and rolling stock
Many of these models are based on the same printable designs available from Pocket Railway Museum.
Fun fact
During the year-long exhibition, the locomotives will cover more than 900 kilometres.
With regular axle greasing and track cleaning, the printed locomotives have held up remarkably well so far.
Built by hand, refined in practice
From scenery and concrete textures to canopy arches, paintwork and track planning, the exhibition was shaped as much by hands-on problem-solving as by digital design. Like any real railway, the diorama also evolved through testing: power pickup solutions changed, control systems were refined, and mechanical reliability became part of the design process itself.
That mix of craft, experimentation and adjustment is part of what makes the project come to life.
In pictures
Seen in Haarlem, available to build at home
The exhibition brings Pocket Railway Museum models to life in a public setting, but the story does not end there.
Many of the locomotives and elements featured in the diorama are based on the same printable models available in our webshop, ready for builders, makers and railway enthusiasts to create for themselves.
Visit the exhibition yourself
The diorama can be viewed at Haarlem Station between platform 3 and 6, every day at any time.
The diorama comes to life with movement and lights between 6AM and 11PM. If you are passing through, take a moment to stop and look closer. The longer you look, the more details appear.
