Big trestle, stonewalls & other new In-ko-pah RR pics!

[Ray Dunakin]

I've just posted some new pics of the In-ko-pah Railroad, as well as some instructional stuff. Use the following URL to go to my In-ko-pah RR page:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/In-ko-pah_Railroad.html

Or use this URL to go directly to the photos:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR-Photos.html#0

The first photo shows the new miniature stone wall and curved, arch bridge at the lower west end of the layout.

The next two photos show my new ten-foot long trestle across Serenity Canyon. The third photo shows the stone abutment and wall at the east end of the trestle.

The fifth photo is looking west from the east end of the layout. In the foreground are the curved trestles I built in January. The next pic is another view of the curved trestles, taken shortly after they were built.

The seventh pic shows a passing siding on the upper level. This area had been unfinished for a long time, with the track only temporarily laid down, unballasted. I built a long, low miniature stone wall to separate the track from the pathway and to control erosion of the ballast. I also added a short spur track. The spur is level while the mainline and passing tracks run downhill towards the tunnel in the background.

I've added a new page showing how I built the miniature stone walls and stone bridges:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR-Stone_Walls.html

I also have a new "Events" page. It has a few photos from the San Diego Garden Railway Society meeting we hosted in February:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR-Events.html

[Rex in Pinetop]

Really nice work.  You've been busy.  And thanks too for the section on how to built a stone retaining wall.  I'm going to have to give that a try.

Rex

[sallesublime]

WOW!  So when is GR going to feature your layout on the cover?  Great scenery, and beautiful bridges.

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks for the kind words! I would like to submit an article about my layout to GR someday, but I need to get a little more done on it first. I want to at least get all the track in so I can run trains (I'm working like mad to get that done), and it would be nice to have a few more structures in place too.

[vsmith]

Wow Ray, that sure is a nice picture of the Goat Canyon trestle on the Carrizo Gorge line , when ya gonna get around to building the model of it???

[Coogler Rail Line]

Rocket Aerial photo's of your layout?  Wow thats a layout!

 

 

 

Just kidding.  I really love those stone arc bridges.  How did you make them?

[Ray Dunakin]

Coogler Rail Line: "I really love those stone arc bridges. How did you make them?"

Basically the same as the stone walls. I have a brief mention of it in the stone wall page:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR-Stone_Walls.html

The main difference is that I cut in arch in the form used to create the walls. Once the walls (sides of the bridge) are in place then I cut another piece of foam core board to fit into the arch, forming the underside of the bridge. Next I lay in pieces of stone over the foam arch, and pour mortar over the stones. Usually I do only a section at a time, working my way up from the sides and eventually over the top of the arch. If you try to lay in all the stone at once, they tend to slide down the arch before you get the mortar on.

After the stones and mortar have been put in, then I add a layer or two of hardware cloth and top it off with some more mortar.

The curved bridge on the corner of the layout is also on a steep slope, which added another degree of difficulty to it. The arch only goes through at the top, the lower parts butt up against the rocky slope. So I had to cut the foam core to match the shape of the slope.

I plan to write up a more detailed account and submit it to the magazine.

[Ray Dunakin]

vsmith: "Wow Ray, that sure is a nice picture of the Goat Canyon trestle on the Carrizo Gorge line , when ya gonna get around to building the model of it???"

LOL!

Unfortunately even in 1:22.5 scale the Goat Canyon trestle would be well over 25 feet long and 9 feet high. Which would be awesome! But I don't have nearly enough space for that. Mine's actually a bit less than half the length of the "real deal", is straight instead of curved, and lacks a few of the original's details.