# Taller cliffs for the In-ko-pah RR



## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I'm currently in the process of rebuilding the upper part of the cliffs on the eastern half of the layout. I’ve never been satisfied with this portion of the cliffs. It was very steep and had pressure-treated 2x8 planks visibly supporting the slope at the very top of the hill. In late December 2009, I finally decided to rebuild the top of the cliff, making it taller and more stable, while also hiding the planks. Here’s a look at the project under construction... http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

It seems to be the nature of large-scale model railroading that constant modifications are to be anticipated. One can never be completely satisfied with one's layout. There is always something to be upgraded or otherwise re-done, something else to be added to the layout, be it another building, piece of rolling stock, a new bridge, a whole new town perhaps, and then there is all that new line that just has to be added to what is already in place.


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

And to think I thought I was done back in 2001 . . .


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

The whole pleasure of this hobby is in the constant "improving," making everything run a little better or look a little better

Always great to see what you're up to Ray. Your layout is so clever and beautifully executed


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks! 

I haven't been able to make any new progress the past couple days due to illness. Cris and I have both had bad colds since Christmas Eve. I was hoping to make another trip to get rocks this evening but that will have to wait too.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

After being idled by a bad cold, and then having a busy schedule early in the week, I've finally made a little more progress on the cliff rebuilding project. Part of this project includes finishing the upper end of the stairs on this side of the layout, and I've made some progress there too. The most recent pics begin here: 

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#3


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I got some more work done on it today. Added some more texturing at the top of the stairs, put in a lot of concrete blocks and mortar behind the clifftop, and reworked part of the clifftop until I ran out of black rocks to match the rocks on the cliff. Here's the pics from today's work session: 

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#7 

Tomorrow after church I'm planning to head out to pick up some more black rocks, and a few other things.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Well, I made it out to the desert yesterday and picked up a pretty good load of rocks. Got some black rocks, some purplish gray rocks, and some pinkish granite rocks. 

Today I only had a couple hours to work on the RR, but I managed to get a lot done. I did a little more texturing at the top of the stairs, but mostly I concentrated on mountain-building. And I have step by step photos showing how I put together rocks to form a natural-looking mountain top, while also hiding a conduit and creating a hidden channel so I can run low-voltage wire from the conduit to a newly-repositioned junction box.

The pics begin here, starting with some shots of the rocks I picked up yesterday and showing how I separate them according to color prior to use:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#12


Enjoy!


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## Biblegrove RR (Jan 4, 2008)

Ray, you know I am interested in your steps and look forward to doing mine the same way, do you have a pic of the finished and less vivid colored top steps? These pics are more reveiling than your previous step pictures on your procedures - THANKS!


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I haven't had a lot of time to work on the RR these past couple days but I did get a few things done, including a bit more progress on the cliff. I extended a short vein of quartz, so that it now goes all the way up the mountain. Did some more texturing at the top of the stairs, and started working on a "foundation" for the next area of expansion on the cliffs. The new pics begin here: 

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#26


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Wasn't able to get any work done on the layout Thursday, but I did do a little today. The latest pics start here: 

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#35


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

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.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

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.


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Ray, you're working too hard. Lifting all those rocks and making the layout look absolutely fabulous. 

The rock work look just like the In-Ko-Pah summit.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks Stan!


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

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 

Enjoy!


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

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: 

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#73


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

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: . . . . .







. . . . . And these two photos shows it after completion: . . . . . .







. . . . .







. . . . . . 
I'm now beginning work on the area west of the "canyon". . . .


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Another update on the cliffs project... I've made a lot of progress in the past few days. In the newest area, I've extended a wide band of pink and red rocks, plus another quartz vein and a thin, short vein of dark rocks. Also built up a new mountain peak. 

New pics start here: 

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Cliffs_2010.html#115 

I'll soon be coming to the end of major work for this project. Once the major work is done, then I'll just have to do some detail work -- filling in some gaps between large rocks along the lower portion of the cliffs, adding some more talus, etc.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

The cliff rebuild is finished! (Well, mostly...) . . Here are some "before" and "after" photos: . . . BEFORE:







. . . . . AFTER:







. . . . . . . BEFORE:







. . . . . . AFTER:







. . .







. . . . . I still have to do a few minor things, but that will have to wait until after we host our GR club meeting on Saturday. . . . . 
. . 
This project turned out so nicely, I've decided to touch up the west end of the cliffs as well. "Phase Two" won't be such a big project, there are just a couple small areas that need work. . .


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I finally got around to extending the top of the cliffs on the west end of the layout. . . 
. . 
Here are the "before" and "after" photos: . . . 
. . 
BEFORE: . 







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AFTER: . . 







. . . 
. . . 
. . . 
At this point I only had enough rocks left to fill in the low spots along the top of the cliff, and hide the boards. Later when I get more rocks, I'd like to raise the entire section another 6-12 inches. . . . 
(Edited & corrected links, just a FYI the UBB/Forum Code tags (i.e. [*img], [*/img], [*url], & [*/url] etc.) no longer work, SteveC)[/i]


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