That is really nice “mountain building.” I take it you can’t get the rocks over the back fence and have to carry each one up the steps?
Yeah, everything has to be carried up onto the hill.
Wasn’t able to get any work done on the layout Thursday, but I did do a little today. The latest pics start here:
Are you going to batten down the hatches today in case the weatherman is right?
Despite a few interruptions, I managed to get a lot done on the cliff rebuild today. I built some new, natural looking formations using my “basic brown rocks” and raised that section of the cliff by about two feet. The new pics start here:
http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#43
Tomorrow afternoon we’re going to our GR club’s meeting, so I probably won’t get anything done on the layout. Monday we’re supposed to be hit by a major storm, or series of storms, lasting all week, with heavy, possibly record-setting rain. We haven’t had such a big storm in years, long before I built the layout, so it’ll be interesting to see how it handles that much rain.
I wish I could have completed the rebuild first… I don’t like having that exposed cut in the top of the hill. This evening I loaded some blocks and stones into the cut – hopefully this will prevent loose soil being washed down onto the layout, or potentially damaging the unfinished section of the cliff.
Time for another update…
On Monday we only had a few brief, light sprinkles in the morning, so I got some work done on the cliffs. I cemented some stones in place along the top of the cliff, that I had positioned the night before, and added a few more. I also started what will eventually be a small mine tunnel which leads out onto a shelf on the cliff. And I started modifying an area at the base of the cliff, next to a RR tunnel portal. I’m trying to reshape that part of the cliff, as well as adding a little more detail.
I finished around noon on Monday, and by 1:30 the major rains hit. We got 1.4" of rain at our house on Monday, plus high winds. The rain had no effect on the RR! Both the exposed cut, and the fresh mortar, were undamaged.
Today (Tuesday) I got a late start. There was no rain at first but it started coming down pretty hard by noon and I had to quit. But I did make some progress. I shaped up the “trench” that will become a mine tunnel, and added some texturing to the interior. I also added more stone to the area I’m modifying near the base of the cliff. I set the last few stones in mortar while getting drenched by the rain! Fortunately the mortar sets quickly, and very little of it is exposed anyway – most is hidden behind the rocks. We got 0.75" of rain by the end of the day.
The new pics start here:
http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#54
So far it looks like tomorrow’s storm will hold off long enough for me to get a little more work done in the morning.
Today, the rain held off until about 2:30 in the afternoon, so I was able to get a little work done on the cliffs. I built up the sides at the rear of the mine tunnel, and covered that end with a concrete block. Later I’ll texture the interior, then work on covering the rest of the tunnel (currently just a trench).
Most of my time was spent remodeling the lower portion of the cliff. I added more rock to the area I had been working on yesterday. I also put in a lot of smaller rocks at the base of the cliff, and used small rocks to add detail to other parts of the cliff face. And I created a new vein of quartz, which zigzags from the base at track level, up more than two feet. Later I will extend it further.
I’ve also posted some pics and info regarding storage and mixing of mortar.
New pics start here:
http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#64
We’re supposed to have heavy rain all day tomorrow and Friday, so I may not get anything more done until Saturday.
Well Ray, you guys got off lucky, we got 3" of measured rain monday/tuesday, 3" on wednesday/thursday, and who knows how much we’ll get today. 
Victor Smith said:So far in the Desert I think they have had about 5" of rain this week.
Well Ray, you guys got off lucky, we got 3" of measured rain monday/tuesday, 3" on wednesday/thursday, and who knows how much we'll get today. :(
We got just under 3" between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon. Since then, we’ve gotten another half inch.
Ray, your setup has always been intriguing to me. I have shown the pics and videos to all my family and they were all in awe of it. Wish I had the time and energy to put into something outstanding like that. Keep up the great work!
We just got back from Quartzsite, Ariz. We got over 7 inches the past week. We currently have waterfront property!
How’d you do with the rain Ray?
We came through the rain just fine, Doug! Only lost a little ballast in a few places, everything else was unharmed. Even the fresh mortar held up, and I was putting some of it in during the rain, when it caught me in mid-project a couple times. The way I put the rocks together, very little of the mortar is exposed… and it sets quickly.
I have some new photos from the past several days of work on the cliffs. I’ve finished the mine tunnel, which was complicated by poor planning on my part. I also built up the mountain over the mine, extended the quartz vein further up the cliff, and did some detail work on the lower portions of the cliff.
New pics start here:
I’ve added a lot of new photos showing major progress on the cliff rebuild. New pics start here: http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#81 I finished the quartz vein, which now extends all the way up to the top of the mountain. The mountaintop in that section has also been completed. Next I tore out a lot of existing rock in order to create a shallow “canyon” effect in the cliff, and also to create a much more natural looking formation. This photo shows the area to be altered, outlined in red:
(http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010_files/Media/IMG_4830b/IMG_4830b.jpg)
And these two photos shows it after completion:
(http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010_files/Media/IMG_4923/IMG_4923.jpg)
(http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010_files/Media/IMG_4922/IMG_4922.jpg)
I’m now beginning work on the area west of the “canyon”.
I don’t know whether to consider you an artist, landscaper or sculpter. Hell of a model railroader, though.
Great work.
But Ray I’ve got to ask. How did the kids respond when you looked down at them and said just think “One day this will all be yours.” ? 
Great cliff building. If you get bored when your done you should come up to the under construction Lancaster North Western layout and build a mountain!
Ric Golding said:Boy do you have that right. Very nice work Ray :D
I don't know whether to consider you an artist, landscaper or sculpter. Hell of a model railroader, though.
Thanks guys!