The Mogollon Railroad

[nachoman]

THe weather was great today, so I rode my bike up the road and stopped at the trailhead for Camelback Mountain for a hike. I took a few photos for inspiration of my layout rockwork. The mountain is composed of the two basic types of rocks I want to portray on my layout. As I mentioned previously, I wanted one side of my layout to show older "hard rocks" (granite and metamorphic rock), and the other side showing younger "soft rocks" (conglomerate and sandstone). This is typical geology of southern Arizona to see younger sedimentary rocks abutted against older hard rocks forming the core of the mountain ranges.

Here is a photo that shows the jagged nature of the granite that forms the "back" of Camelback mountain:
   
I am attempting to model this using rock castings using the technique I outlined.

The "head" of Camelback mountain is made of much younger conglomerate and sandstone that is similar to many rock units exposed along many southwestern basins. It forms a rather unique weathering profile, and the larger rock fragments that make up the conglomerate are big enough to be seen in HO scale.
   
   
Notice also that the conglomerate exhibits some sedimentary bedding, and tends to weather more rounded with many cavities. I am going to attempt to model this by carving the foam to an appropriate shape, and then adding a veneer of plaster, joint compound, tile grout, or similar to get the appropriate texture.