"Howdy Folks! Welcome to the little mining town of Rainbow Ridge, the gateway to Nature's Wonderland"

This is my documentation of my miniature re-creation of the long-gone Disneyland attraction: Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland. This is a selectively compressed model railroad, in On30 scale at 5' X 7.5' that has been in progress since September 2005. In May of 2016, I finally got the layout to a point where I declared it "finished".

I started the layout when I was a sophomore in high school with basic skills and over the years the layout has been improved and reworked in drastic ways to match my ever improving model making skills. In fact, since I started rebuilding the sections to better quality and standards, I've actually created a whole new layout, piece by piece.

This is a stand-by basis project without a deadline, so it tends to hit the back-burner a lot due to other things with higher priorities. But whenever I can, I'll give an update when there is something worth talking about. All of my updates since day one are here, which include photos, videos, and plenty of rambling notes and descriptions.








Progress Report: 11/28/07

Rainbow ridge is gone!




Actually I am rebuilding the area with new wooden platforms that will replace the orignal sagging cardstock platforms. The buildings are being stored in the Living Desert section, and they will get some touch-ups when re-installed.

Here is the new load platform, built entirely out of wood, awaiting paint/washes and railings.

Progress Report: 11/3/07

It's about time I give an update, with the last one being in May!

Cascade Peak is looking almost finished...




The "Devil's Paint Pots" get some work...



I don't have any pictures, but I have a whole new fleet of mine cars that are currently in the paint shop (aka the clean side of my work table )

Progress Report: 5/13/07

Natural arch bridge gets some paint and scenery...



The trains is currently getting brand new cars, built from scratch and will be more detailed and tidier.

Progress Report: 4/2/07

< An update on the train. I retired my old NWRR engine and replaced it with a newer model, the old engine was plagued with problems that could not get fixed. The new engine runs much smoother and reliable than the older engine. The new engine was also a "second chance" at painting, and this time the paint came out perfectly unlike the old engine. Updates on the newer engine that weren't on the old engine are the painted "rims", the NWRR plate on the cab, the long awaited box headlight, and a number (it hasn't been numbered for a long time, so it's offically #1). The tender may need a new paint job and the cars may need a revised rebuilding to match the quality of the new engine.







NOTE: Ballast/ground covering has appeared and it stretches from Rainbow Ridge to the "Crazy Cactus" area.

I don't have any pictures of it, but Cascade Peak has two more waterfalls.

Progress Report: 2/24/07

Cascade Peak gets its first waterfall....



Made of melted plastic, plastic bag strips, shredded cotton balls, and many layers of medium gloss.

Progress Report: 1/8/07

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