March 2018

March 1, 2018

Mike and LJ continue assembly the bench work for the APU district.	Mike and LJ continue assembly the bench work for the APU district.	APU spur

Alaska Marine Lines in Seattle donated an HO scale Hydro-Train barge which they had on display for many decades. The model was brought into the train room for measurement and determined to be too long for the designed space for the Whittier barge. Many thanks to N scale Alaska Railroad modeler Tom Koole in Springboro, Ohio who volunteered to shorten the barge plus undertake the necessary restoration work.	My dog Max suffers from anxiety. Although he longs to be by my side the drills, circular saw and hammer prove to be too much. He will visit for a few minutes until the noise gets to him. Tonight he actually feel asleep behind the CEO's chair. Maybe he is getting used to the noise?	Mike and LJ assemble and mount the bench work for the Whittier depot and barge area.

March 8, 2018

Mike and LJ took a 4'x8' sheet of plywood from my old layout and ripped it right down the middle. The two boards will be laid end-to-end to create the base of the Anchorage yard.	Switching gears the construction team fastened the top boards of the L-girder bench work for the future port of Whittier.	Mike prepping the attachment of the plywood for the Anchorage yard.

These two photos show the attachment of the second section of bench work for the Anchorage yard. Bottom cross braces are attached for future shelving.
John shared Ring Engineering had taken our design and marked it according to placement of their RailPro products. Additionally, they will program each of the six control blocks so they work with the reverse loop control.

March 12, 2018


I dug out all my old snap switches and found I still needed to buy a few more for the new layout. I checked with the RailPro folks to ask if their system interfaces better with Tortoise or Walthers switch machines and found either will suffice.	Mike finishes the L-girder work on the diesel shops/swing gate section. This completes all L-girder bench work. Mike took the plywood from my old layout (which was cut in half on March 8) and laid the pieces end-to-end for the Anchorage yard. He also put facia on the sides of the plywood.	A roll of 1/4"x48"x25' piece of cork and a 1 quart can of Weldwood contact cement was ordered from Amazon and should be delivered by March 16. This will be placed on top of the plywood for sound deadening.

March 22, 2018

Mike cutting lumber on the balcony to keep the dust out of the train room.	Finishing the framing of the lead yard and diesel shops.	Finishing the framing of the diesel shops and swing gate point.

Clicking on the above thumbnail photo will bring up a 32MB movie of Mike cutting a 4'x8' sheet of plywood to use for the base of the Anchorage yard lead and diesel shops. For a multitude of reasons (cost, politics, etc.) we are harvesting the old layout lumber for the new one.	Cleats are mounted to the framework. These will be used to hold the plywood to the bench work.	LJ and Mike finish securing the south end of the Anchorage yard. The AC grade plywood is laid A side down due to clumps of adhesive from the former layout. Spackle is used on the C side to fill in holes and make the surface smooth. Rubber cork will lay over the plywood so appearance is unimportant.

I needed lots of cork to cover the Anchorage yard and diesel shops. Four squares of 1/4" cork costs $10 plus shipping. That is pretty stinkin' expensive. So I posted on Facebook's "HO Scale Model Railroading" page and asked if anybody knew a cheaper source. The best response was a roll of 1/4", 4'x25' for $80.99 with free shipping. I'll bet our UPS man has a retroactive hernia!	At left is the bench work for the APU yard. The center bench work is for the area of TwentyMile River and bridge. To the right is the completed plywood Anchorage yard. The near end of the Anchorage yard will have the lead yard at right, diesel shops in the middle and swing gate anchorage at left.

March 29, 2018

LJ and Mike install ribbing (joists) for the TwentyMile segment. Risers will attach to these to hold the track and road bed.	LJ and Mike the construction foreman attach the risers.	North view of ribbing installation.

Mike and LJ mount the western ribbing facia for TwentyMile.	LJ and Leigh mount the eastern ribbing facia.	The cordless Drill Master!

The wood from the old layout feeds the need of the new as can be easily seen from their different colors.	Completed ribbing and facia for TwentyMile area.	Max always makes it a point for follow and supervise the photographer.

LJ doing the necessary acrobatics to secure the frame work at Portage depot.	This is a partial completion of the curve from Twenty Mile to Portage depot to the APU spur.	After every night of construction the Janitor comes in the next morning to sweep and clean. When asked what goes through his mind while cleaning he replied, "A pay raise!"