May 10th, 2015: The Mountain Begins Construction

With the populated areas complete, it was time to begin work on the mountain.  It is the last major area on the layout that we have to work on outside of the 4'X3" bump out area.  The trains are all programmed onto JMRI for computer control and it is now time to raise the cliffs!

So two areas were carved.  One was the portal entrance on the southwest side of the roughed-out mountain and another next to it.  Once both areas were carved, gypsumed, painted and installed, they had to be reconciled where they met so some more gypsum and paint were added.

Once that was done, it was time to add foam to the top of the mountain platforms and start carving.  Today the facade for the waterfall was installed using carefully measured and cut 2" foam, liquid nails and pins.

It felt odd to put those pieces of foam on that empty area.  It's been more or less unchanged for the last two years and sealing it up makes the fact that the end of the build is coming undeniable.  A multi-level waterfall will be put in here.  The carving will continue, continuing the cliff line and putting in a stream up above to flow into the waterfall in the coming weeks.  Liberal use of our large amount of Fusion Fiber will help with sealing the cracks between the foam pieces but that will not be until later this summer.