In-ko-pah Railroad -- Some work in progress

[Ray Dunakin]

Work on the railroad has been quite limited lately due to Cris' health issues, however I have managed to get a little bit done. Here's what I've got so far...

 

First up, I decided that the next building in the town of Dos Manos would be a hotel. I'm still working on the design, but here's a simple drawing of the front. It will be a "Mission Revival" type building, with Spanish tile roofing, arches supporting the roof over the sidewalk, etc.:

 

 

 

 

I wanted it to be three stories tall, but I wanted to make sure it wouldn't overwhelm the other buildings too much. So today I knocked out a very crude mockup and placed it on the layout. I think it will have to be another inch or two taller but I think it will still fit in ok. What do you think? I also need to raise the roof over the sidewalk a bit, and add a few more features to the mockup:

 

<img src="http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Dos_Manos_files/Media/IMG_0637/IMG_0637.jpg[/img]  

 

 

 

I'm still trying to figure out what material to make the hotel out of. I'd like something about a half inch thick that is totally weatherproof -- maybe some expanded PVC board? I'm open to suggestions.

 

 

The other project I've been working on a little is the site for the town of Mineral Ridge. Back in July and August I started preparing the site by building a miniature concrete retaining wall, supporting a short road up the slope. Now I've started creating foundations for the buildings that will eventually line the roadside. Here's a couple shots of the first two foundations under construction. I made forms out of foam core board...

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a shot of the townsite under construction. As you can see, I've also been building a miniature stone retaining wall on the cliff above the town. This will eventually support a small mining tram that will run between the mines and a future mill:

 

 

 

Anyway, that's it for now. But I would like to share something non-RR related. Here's a couple pics of the tiny little goldfinches that come to our feeder. These are one of our favorite types of birds! Cris calls them "tippy birds" because they hang upside down to eat from their special feeder:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

[Rex in Pinetop]

I made a display model of our future church sanctuary a couple years ago.  For roofing I used small diameter PVC tubing split in half, installed like shingles with silicon, and then painted.  Are you sure a tile roof (and stucco?) building will fit in with your mining town style?  You probably have pictures of such full size buildings to work with?

Rex

[ttrigg]

Spanish Tile roofing: This may not be the correct time of year, but, every spring Michael's has lots of "Mission Days" supplies whyen the 5th graders build their missions. Couple years back, I got a sheet of (thin plastic) "spanish roof tiles". I put it on a piece of plywood with 1x1's around the sides, layed in a 1/2 inch concrete (50-50 mix of portland & sand) with a whole bunch of red die, layer of cheesecloth, and another 1/2 inch concrete. Worked well, but a bit too thick. Just an idea. I'm going to try it again on another building this spring but thinner. (Like I said worked weel until I was moving things around while weeding and tripped over one of the dogs and it fell onto the patio.)

[Sailormatlac]

It's always a pleasure to follow your work on In-Ko-Pah.

I think the building size is correct. Yes, it is larger, but the storey height is quite consistent in all building.

Honestly, if you had a small two storey building a the right of the hotel, everything will blend together wery well. In a building row, you always have a taller building that stands out more than its neighbors. Esthetically, you'll get a classic "random" formula of 2 small, 1 large, 1 small which looks quite natural to me.

Good luck with your project, hope to see it completed!

Matt

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks! BTW, I'm currently posting updates on the hotel in the "Scratchbuilding" forum.