In-ko-pah Railroad news

Ray Dunakin · July 13, 2012, 12:36:41 AM

Last Saturday the In-ko-pah Railroad was part of the West Coast Garden Railroad Tour. We opened at 9 a.m. and had visitors almost the entire time, until almost 4:30. I was surprised at how many people showed up, and how many came from out of state. We had visitors from Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Ohio and Florida! About 160 signed our guest book, and there were probably a few more than that.

Cris and I wish to extend a big "thank you" to all who visited! We had a great time.

I wanted to get some good shots of the crowds but as usual when there were a lot of people there I was far too busy to get any photos. Here's a shot from one of the quieter moments:

In the weeks prior to the tour, I labored to get the railroad up and running after an extended "down time". I got the Hotel Torgo finished enough to show, and added it to the town of Dos Manos. (It still needs a few small details, some lighting, and a partial interior.):

The house in the lower left corner of that photo needed repairs to the roof. I had originally used a glue called "E-6000" to attach the simulated "rolled roofing" material, and it didn't hold. Also, the overhang on one side had warped badly from the sun. So I scraped off the old roofing material, heated and straightened the warped section of roof, and then laminated another layer of scribed siding to strengthen the roof and prevent further warping. Then I applied the "rolled roofing" -- painted strips of Tyvek, held in place with acrylic matte medium. Ironically, this had to be carefully cut and torn to represent old, slightly tattered material!

My mini-people also needed a bit of work. Some had faded a bit and needed to be touched up. A couple had become badly mildewed (a result of using a clear coat that was not compatible with the polyclay) and needed almost complete repainting. Mini Me ended up with a new shirt.

I added a lot of new, handmade plants to the layout, mostly on Grandt Cliff near the Cliffside Mine, as seen in the photos below: