October 6, 2021

Since the warped barge rails could not be adjusted they must be replaced. First, Rick removed all the rails and then put a new center rail in place. He built a jig to ensure proper alignment of the rails. The above photo shows he left the jig in place to make sure the track stays straight while the glue sets up. The second track is underneath to keep the jig level.	This overhead view shows the center rail and jig with weights on top to hold everything in place while the glue dries.	Here is an overhead view showing the jig. A threaded rod is in each end of the wood strip. For each rod an inside nut sets the distance specified by a set of calipers. The outside nut locks everything into place.
The center track is finished. The fore deck end of the rail will be trimmed later.	The third set of track is put into place. The glue is drying.	This end view shows how the jig keeps the rails a constant distance apart. Weights are used to hold everything in place. There is still plenty of work to be done. Stay tuned for more...
It is Monday afternoon and David stops by to continue the artwork on TwentyMile bridge. As a reference he uses the drone photo provide by Alaska Railroad enthusiast Frank Keller.	There is still lots of work to be done on the TwentyMile backdrop. No timeline for this project exists. Sometimes David and I just spend time enjoying each other's company!	David will eventually paint the three vents covers to blend into the backdrop. He asked for me to sand all the surfaces with lightweight sandpaper for proper paint adhesion.
Rick spends train night checking wiring, soldering a jumper wire on the Portage switch and running trains.	Mikel Levine reports on the TwentyMile bridge project, "I have all the ties extended. I need to add the walkway. I still need to cut and install the bottom bracing on all the bridge sections. I keep plugging away when I get a little free time."

 

October 13, 2021

Our Indiana grandsons are staying with us for a week while their parents take a vacation. At the top of Liam's "to do" list is to run trains. He is an expert with the RailPro controller and soon has an SD70MAC roaming the rails.	His brother Lincoln is still too young to run the train. It isn't that he can't do it, I just don't trust him with a $150 controller quite yet. However, both are content to play with several old buildings and people.	They both enjoy running trains in the dark watching the headlight illuminate the surroundings. I decided to take a darkly lit video, but my iPhone had other ideas and turned its flash on as a spotlight. Pfffttt! It is fun to play in the dark with the room only lit by the locomotive, diesel shop and Rick's RailPro status panel.
The next day our twin grandsons came by for a day of fun as well as a sleep over. Soon all four grandsons were watching trains and playing with people and buildings. Here they watch Liam run F7 #1500 (hidden by the diesel shop). By my estimate we are 2-3 years away from brother-in-law Mike Cooper's dream of four grandsons each with their own controller and train....and some adult supervision, of course!	I used "grandson nap time" to do some rail cleaning. Here is a video of F-units #1500 and #1517 pulling the cleaning and wiping car. I really didn't have a plan and wound up mindlessly letting the train run for 25-30 cleaning loops while I attended to other things on the layout.	On the Facebook RailPro group someone asked if you could have more than one controller on a layout. Sure thing Skippy! He then wanted to know what would happen if one controller selected the locomotive used by the other controller. I prepared and posted the above video to answer his question.
No grass was growing under Rick's feet this week. He has all five tracks mounted on the barge and cut them to the same length. Why did he use rails with ties? To ensure the rails are held tightly in place forever. He will eventually cover the ties with plaster and cut grooves in it for the wheel flanges.	Passenger cars 300 and 400 had super long shank McHenry horned couplers. I need Kadee couplers so a swap was required. However, the long shanks hit the car body on the curves. What to do?	Rick removed the coupler and installed a draft gear box and Kadee coupler at both ends of each passenger car. If at any time we need to convert back to the original, although why we would do that is beyond me, the gear box can be removed and the long shank coupler re-installed.
Rick displays his handiwork at train night. Yes they look good, but will they operate smoothly?	The above video shows the passenger cars do indeed operate smoothly. As an added bonus Rick enjoys running his ARR locomotive on the layout.	Rick brings his rail barge jig by for display/ He uses the calipers to ensure proper separation for the entire length of the rails.
Rick spends a good part of train night making various barge height adjustments. This is a three dimensional challenge and grandsons Liam and Lincoln judge if the rail car rolls correctly or if a rail is too high or low. During testing Rick discovers the pair of Whittier tracks are a tad bit short and will need to be replaced with longer sections.	Long story short, we've been having derailments at the south main Anchorage yard switch. I purchased a new Atlas #8 Right-Hand Mark IV Turnout. Rick does a test fit and discovers a major design change will be needed - plywood base added, existing Styrofoam trimmed, Tortoise switch moved and modification of yard and main track. Another painful process which will in turn make for a better operation.

 

October 20, 2021

The north end of the Whittier barge track area causes the barge to bind when moving back and forth. Rick uses a belt sander to enlarge the area.	Work begins for the new high speed switch at the south Anchorage yard. The foam board is replaced with plywood. Rick crawls under the table and traces the outline.	Here is the plywood cut and put into place. This wood is from the last remaining piece of my old layout.
Rick uses flex track to demonstrate the path into the south end of the Anchorage yard.	The high speed switch is now in place and connected to the mainline. Next week the cork board and track into the yard will be put into place. Also, the Tortoise switch machine will be moved.	Bowser released 70-ton ballast cars with side chutes, nos. 14903, 14912 and 14909. Based on Casey Durand's positive review I bought all three.

 

October 27 , 2021

Tonight Rick concentrates on the south Anchorage main yard switch. He first installs a thin sliver of wood to fill the gap between the plywood road bed support and the plywood table. This takes multiple trips to the balcony to shave the wood sliver until it fits perfectly.	He removes the old snap switch and installs an Atlas #8 right-hand Mark IV turnout. Rick replaces the old cork bed with new and similarly the old flex track with brand new shiny rails.	A nice size hole is left for the Tortoise switch arm. Rick solders all rail joiners, cuts the track to fit and then tacks it into place. Next week the Tortoise machine will be installed.
This is a video of SD70MAC #4014 taking the turnout into the south end of the Anchorage yard. Note the smooth transition of the six axle unit.	Similarly the SD70MAC passes through the switch and continues on the main. No more derailments or wonky movements.	John puts a drop of glue into the holes of each snap switch. The area will be sanded smooth and painted black. A thin white permanent marker will mark each of the 41 switches with its corresponding AM-1 number and the brown label cards will be eliminated.
On TwentyMile Bridge Mikel Levine reports, "I was able to get all the ties extended for the walkway."	"While on vacation I was able to get the walkway cut and glued in place."	"I was also able to cut and glue into place all the cross bracing on the bottom of the bridge on all five spans. Recently, I started on the bottom rivet detail. I have one out of the five spans completed. Once the bottom rivet detail is complete all that is left to do on the spans is create the bridge shoes. Assembly and painting are on the horizon!"

 

 

 

 

Feel free to contact me at john@alaskarails.org
Page created 9/4/17 and last updated 11/4/21