Jumping into Rainbow Caverns

"Now we're going deep into the earth to view the dazzlin' Rainbow Caverns! You'll see giant stalagmites, stalactites 'n colorful falls on every side..." 

- Recorded narration from Disneyland's Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland.

Let's Go Spelunking!

After a couple months away from working on the TMMC I figured it was high time to jump back in with both feet and get started on a major project again. Some version of Rainbow Caverns has been integral to the idea of Thunder Mesa ever since I first happened on the idea of freelancing a Disney-esque railroad. Until recently the Caverns have been an empty foam box that trains travel through, but now I aim to remedy that with scenery, animation, sound and lighting effects; creating a colorful underground world seldom seen on a model railroad. I won't try to recreate the Disneyland version scene by scene. Instead I'm going for something more like an homage that captures the feel of the original, along with a little of Knott's Calico Mine Train salted in for good measure.

Geyser Grotto in Rainbow Caverns on the Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland, Disneyland USA. © Disney

Cavern scene on the Calico Mine Train, Knott's Berry Farm, USA.

Planning the Caverns 

Rainbow Caverns will be constructed as two separate scenes, each one executed like a small diorama. The first scene will be on the original section of layout almost directly beneath the town of Thunder Mesa. A second, larger scene will be built beneath the Calico Section once track has been laid through that part of the expansion. Since the track and most of the infrastructure is already in place for the first scene, I'll be starting there.

The area for Scene 1 currently has the exterior scenery roughed in with pink foam and the interior painted flat black. The scene will be viewed through cave like openings in the cliff wall and a large hunk of this wall can be removed for access.

Scene 1 of Rainbow Caverns will be viewed through these cave openings in the cliff face.

Here a removable section of scenery has been placed to one side to enable work on the interior of the caverns.

A Backdrop for the Diorama

Scene 1 will be a classic "wet cave" with rushing waterfalls and a large chamber filled with stalagmites and stalactites. In addition to lighting and sound effects, one of the most important elements for making this shadow-box like diorama work will be a convincing backdrop. Since I'll literally be working "inside the box" in rather close quarters, it just makes sense to paint and install this internal backdrop before any more work is done.

I created my Rainbow Caverns backdrop on a 5" x 15" piece of  Strathmore illustration board. Working from the darkest shades to the lightest, I painted the cavern scene with artist's acrylics, using photos from Disneyland, Knott's and real world caverns for reference.

The completed Rainbow Caverns backdrop ready to be installed on its shadow-box diorama. The colors are intentionally over the top, nearly florescent, in order to show up well in the dim cave. They don't call 'em Rainbow Caverns for nothing!

And here is the scene with the backdrop in place. It's a little difficult to photograph without any lighting installed yet so I composited a couple of pictures in Photoshop to illustrate how it looks in person. The next step will be constructing some 3-D cavern scenery to blend with the backdrop. Just in front of the locomotive in this shot will be a ceiling to floor waterfall, animated by fiber optics lights.

Several LEDs will be used to light the interior of the Caverns, including some ultraviolet lights. A hidden speaker will provide the sounds of running and splashing water.

On Down the Line

With the all important backdrop painted I can proceed with building the rest of the scene. Next will come some unusual subterranean rock formations carved from polystyrene foam and painted to blend with the backdrop. Then I'll try and tackle an animated waterfall with twinkling fiber optics. Should be fun!

Thanks for checking in. Adios for now!

A Backdrop for the N Scale Pagosa & Southern

Greetings from N scale Colorado! A backdrop sure does help set the scene.

With the benchwork finished and the Kato Unitrack in place, the next project I wanted to tackle on the P&S was the backdrop. It's much easier to install a backdrop at this stage and having one in place early on really helps set the stage for the scenery to come.

For this project I designed my own backdrop in Adobe Photoshop, blending together several photos taken on trips to southwestern Colorado. Sharp eyed rail fans might be able to pick out a few well known narrow gauge landmarks like Red Mountain, Animas Forks and Lizard Head Pass.

This is the complete backdrop created for the P&S. It measures 15" x 90" and curves around two sides of the layout.

Once the design was complete, I sent the digital file off to be printed by a commercial firm that specializes in banners for trade shows and point of sale. It was printed on 13oz vinyl scrim making it waterproof and durable; important considerations with the scenery as yet unbuilt. Turnaround was fast, and the entire cost was much less than commercially available backdrops.

An even coat of 3M General Purpose 45 spray adhesive was applied to the plywood backdrop supports. Brown kraft paper was taped down over the layout and over anything else that I didn't want coated with glue.

With the glue nice and tacky, I rolled out the backdrop, lining up the top edge with the top of the backing board. Rolling out about a foot at a time, I used a brayer to insure good adhesion and to work out any air bubbles.

The backdrop was designed 2" shorter than the backing board. This causes a nice, natural curve or cove in the backdrop when glued into place. No further support for the curve is necessary. 

Getting the entire backdrop installed took a little less than an hour. (In fact, it has taken longer to write this post about it than to actually do it!) I'm really happy to have this done because it already adds so much to the railroad.

Starting on Some Scenery

While I was waiting for the backdrop to arrive from the printer, I went ahead and started roughing in the scenery around what will become Wolf Creek Canyon.

Soon a high country stream will cascade through this canyon. The scenery forms are carved pink Polystyrene foam insulation. The section of Unitrack over the gorge will be replaced with a scratch-built trestle.

Well, that's about it from N scale Colorado! Thanks for checking in. More progress across the aisle in On30 Thunder Mesa Country coming real soon. Adios for now!

Thunder Mesa in the 2014 On30 Annual

My article in the 2014 On30 annual. © Carstens Publications

The 2014 On30 Annual is now available and I'm happy to report that my article on constructing a narrow gauge combine for Thunder Mesa is included in the issue. The combine body was built using photo-texture modeling techniques and the model is based on a Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad prototype. Both the car and the article were a real pleasure to put together and I hope everyone picks up a copy of the latest On30 Annual at their local hobby shop. They can also be purchased online at the Carstens website.

The Pagosa & Southern ~ An N Scale Project

And now for something completely different...

Now that Thunder Mesa has progressed to the point where I know exactly how much real estate the expansion will take up, it got me thinking about a small, empty corner just across the aisle. I still have a lot of stuff in storage from my old N scale days and it occurred to me that there might be just enough room there for a small N scale layout. Two days and a great deal of wood butchery later, the Pagosa & Southern was born!

The Pagosa & Southern, an N scale layout in just 32" x 60". I'm using Kato Unitrack on this one for a couple of reasons: 1) It operates really well, and 2) I have a bunch of it on hand.

The layout measures just 32" x 60" and is built with dimensional MDF board and 1/4" plywood. Track level is about 56" above the floor, a bit higher than the Thunder Mesa layout, with loads of room underneath for shelves and storage. The track plan is deliberately simple. A mainline upfront acts as a staging track to bring trains onto the loop. Two additional sidings offer a little switching variety. Control is standard DC from a Kato power pack. The turnouts route power, making it possible to have up to three trains on the line without the need for complex wiring.

The track plan was laid out on a 32" x 60" sheet of 1/4" plywood using Kato Unitrack. The track was taped down and then outlined in pencil on the sheet. The locations needed for turnout and track wiring holes were also marked. 

The completed table top with track in place. The box was built from 1" x 8" MDF. Wood glue and drywall screws hold everything together. A deep canyon will separate the layout diagonally.

Backdrop supports were created using leftover 1/4" plywood and 1" x 2" MDF. The actual backdrop will be a photo print laminated to this surface.

I couldn't resist digging some old N scale structures out of storage and placing them on the layout. The locomotive is a fine running 2-8-0 Consolidation from MDC/Athearn. I lettered it for another layout with the initials "P&S" long ago and that lettering inspired the name Pagosa & Southern.

The P&S in place in my studio, across the aisle from the On30 TMMC. The 56" tall supporting legs are L-girders made from MDF. All controls are located on a shelf below.

As the name suggests, the Pagosa & Southern will have a southern Colorado, San Juan Mountains theme. The era will be the early 1950s, representing a line that was originally built as narrow gauge and later converted to standard. If you look closely, there are a few Nn3 cars in the photo above and they will be parked on a non-operating bit of track to help represent this history. The rear spur track will serve a classic, Colorado style sliver mine.

I'm sure that some may object to the lack of operating potential on this little layout but the point here is primarily display and an excuse to build a bunch of N scale kits I have that are gathering dust. I don't want a big N scale pike (been there, done that), but I do really enjoy the charm of watching these little trains go round.

Meanwhile, on Thunder Mesa

Across the aisle on the TMMC, a bit of progress continues. I ended up taking a longer than expected two month hiatus from the layout but the train bug has bit again and more progress on the layout expansion and other projects will be coming soon. In the meantime, here's a look at my latest On30 project, a combination baggage/passenger car mostly scratch built with a Bachmann frame and roof. I wrote an article for the 2014 On30 Annual detailing the car's construction and its Disneyland inspiration. More details on that after the magazine comes out.

Thanks for checking in. Adios for now!