The Story of Hanging Rock: Part I

As the crummy waits on the mainline, engine #6, Ollie Johnston, spots a car at Hanging Rock siding before pulling forward to take on water at the tank. Crews are always a little nervous at Hanging Rock and never linger too long due to all of the outlaw activity in the area. 

About halfway down the line between San Lorenzo and Thunder Mesa is the whistle-stop burg of Hanging Rock. There's a water tank there, and an old combine repurposed as a depot, but not too much else. In recent years, the labyrinth of canyons, caves and rock ledges have become a haven for horse-thieves, rustlers, bandits and other unsavory types. Before the coming of the railroad, it was an Indian stronghold, a natural rock fortress where a handful of braves once held off an entire regiment of U.S. soldiers. Legends of lost Spanish gold lured a few hearty prospectors to the area but they didn't find much and now their old, abandoned diggings dot the cliff-sides. The height of prosperity arrived with the railroad in the late 1870's when a construction camp was established there for bridges being built across Horse Thief and Coyote Canyons. A couple of enterprising old railway men named Olson & Furlow opened a saloon and small store for the camp workers and it still stands between the tracks today, a haunt for outlaws and the only going concern left in town. Hanging Rock is a good place for an ambush or a hide-out and most decent folks don't stay long.

Hanging Rock Depot is an old combine left over from the construction camp days. The Olson & Furlow Saloon seems to be the only business left in town.

Building Hanging Rock

With all of the mainline track now laid and a good start made on the branchline up to Big Thunder Camp, I've decided to dive right in to the scenery at Hanging Rock. As usual, I'm roughing everything in with layers of 1" thick pink polystyrene insulation foam held together with Powergrab adhesive and pins. I really want the cliffs to tower above the trains here. The dramatic sandstone ledges overhanging the track are what give Hanging Rock its name. Unlike some other scenes on the layout, Hanging Rock has no corollary at any Disney park. I wanted to do something entirely original here. Still, the scene is being designed with the same playful spirit and attention to story in mind.

Here's an overview of all of the track through Hanging Rock. The uppermost "high-line" is the branchline on a 6% grade up to Big Thunder Camp. The track is painted flat black as the first step in my track finishing process. More on that in a future update.

Pink foam was used to rough in the tunnels and cliffs around Hanging Rock. I use a hot wire cutter and hobby knives to shape the foam. The next step is to paint it tan. It's not necessary, but I've gotten into the habit of doing it as it helps me to visualize the final result. By the way, this view only shows the first half of the mesa. The second half will be built on the San Lorenzo side and include a forced-perspective village of Indian pueblos on the very top. The mesa top will be removable to allow access to the tunnels.

A defunct Bachman combine is being pressed into service as a station. So far, the project hasn't progressed much beyond a coat of primer.

I thought it worth the time to build a mock-up of the Olson & Furlow Saloon. This will be a very detailed, scratch-built structure and my tribute to a couple of favorite old narrow gauge modelers, John Olson and Malcolm Furlow.

One prominent sandstone ledge high above the tracks is known as Robber's Roost. The Hanging Rock Gang almost always keeps a lookout or two there. These great looking figures were painted for me by Tim Kulinski.

The water tank was built and modified from a Banta Model Works kit. I built it for Thunder Mesa yard but it's a little small and I kind of like it better here. It might just stay.

The next step in building Hanging Rock will be to skin the foam with rocky-textured Sculptamold and add a few Balsa Foam detail carvings. Then the tunnel portals and interiors will need to be detailed and all of the rock work painted. After that, the structures get finished and ground cover, plants and final details will be added. There's always lots to do on Thunder Mesa so I'd better get cracking! I'm happy with the start I've made on Hanging Rock and very excited to finally be adding some scenery to the long-planned expansion areas. Thanks for checking in, amigos. Adios for now!

Click here for part II