Red Rock Canyon

The motivation for building a sandstone red rock canyon formation was inspired by the scene John Olson. He made it in 1984 and republished in the February 2008 Model Railroader magazine.

The layout is around the construction of the wall with this large peninsula section that was unfinished for many years. Three days of carving up Styrofoam with the Hot Wire Foam Factory tool. I colored with my #1040 Rock Powder Pigment is the result of this scene. We took photos of the construction sequence of the red rock canyon. They that reveal the techniques for building the scene. It can be seen on anther post. Notice that the scenery drops below the edge of the layout to eliminate the standard fascia board.

Dropped Wandering Edge Scenery for the Red Rock Canyon

I have used this technique for the last 25 years. Finally got around to applying it to this portion of the layout. It doesn’t matter if you have “L” Girder construction as you see here or a flat top table. Instead of using a plywood or Masonite fascia, let the scenery be the fascia. This type of scenery is advantageous for those low angle camera shots. Were any profile board ruins the illusion of an otherwise realistic picture. All it takes extra is installing a plywood shelf to the bottom of the girders or bench work. Here is an opportunity to avoid straight lines around the layout edge if you cut the shelf edge so it weaves in and out randomly.

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Sedona was named after Sedona Arabella Miller Schnebly (1877–1950). The wife of Theodore Carlton Schnebly, the city’s first postmaster, who was celebrated for her hospitality and industriousness. Her mother, Amanda Miller, claimed to have made the name up because “it sounded pretty”. Wiki

Sedona red is the rock most often quarried as a “dimension stone”. Sedona red is hard enough to resist abrasion, strong enough to bear significant weight, inert enough to resist weathering, and it accepts a brilliant polish. These characteristics make it a very desirable and useful dimension stone.