Rick is doing some trouble shooting for MP15 #1552. The jumper wires look fairly comical as the locomotive moves up and down the track. By reversing a pair of wires to the RailPro module he finds the locomotive purrs along like a kitten.

The conversion of locomotive #3015 from DC to RailPro goes well and the unit is fully functional. Rick even replaces the headlight with an LED plus added a tail light as well.

It is raining pink sawdust as LJ cuts the foam board with a jigsaw to create a surface for the Anchorage depot and APU.

More intricate work is achieved with the aid of a hot wire cutting tool. Ah, the aroma!

LJ does a test fit and finds a few minor cuts are still needed for the foam board to slide into place.

Snip, snip here, snip, snip there and the board drops easily into place.

Track painting continues along the main as well as the Portage depot.

During the week the CFO volunteered to paint track and did the entire TwentyMile division.

The twins heard we are cooking bratwurst and big red Smokies on the grill plus homemade French fries and applesauce so they decided to pay a visit. Before dinner they both were in the train room playing with the birch kitchen set made by their great grandpa Doug.

Rick makes a test run of former DC powered unit #3015 and finds it will not run in reverse. After a wee bit of troubleshooting he discovers a bad solder joint which he quickly fixes. We now know DC powered units can be converted to RailPro and the flood gates will open for more conversion to be made. Click the above photo to see a brief video.

GP38 #2001 doesn't have quite enough room for the RailPro module, Keep-Alive and iPhone speaker. Rick mills down the weights to accommodate the former two items while the iPhone speaker is put into the cab of the locomotive.

More Dremel magic tonight from LJ as he cuts the foam board strip for the APU industries section.

The foam board is a bit snug so he shaves off a little more. He also adds wood underneath to support the foam board.

Both the Anchorage depot and APU industries section are now complete.

LJ shapes another section of foam board for the Alaska Marine Lines siding and drops it into place. Zeus is on guard this evening and oversees all the labor.

A view looking north of the foam board for AML, the APU and Anchorage depot. As a reminder, all foam board was obtained free from a job work site. The CFO is glad to get it out of her barn!

Rick spends a hunk of time tonight wiring the first two of the four frogs on the double crossover. He uses a locomotive to test the system and finds it works correctly. Two more frogs to go!

Mainline painting continues with John crawling under the table and emerging to cover the corner in camouflage-colored paint.

Painting now enters the southern end of the Anchorage yard. Locomotives and cars were covered with cloth to keep them safe from splatter.

Terry surprises the crew with hot fudge cake. The fudge is so hot the whip cream slides off the side. Yum, yum!

The top picture shows the speaker in the nose of the short hood just in front of the cab of GP38-2 2011. The bottom picture shows the speaker on the weight at the front of the frame. Excess material was removed from the weight to allow room for the speaker between the weight and the nose of the short hood. Excess material was also removed from the weight on the underside where the LED is to allow room for the RailPro decoder and Keep-Alive.  Another picture will show where the RailPro decoder and Keep-Alive will be located.

The top picture shows the front weight of GP38-2 2011. The left side had material removed from the bottom of the top horizontal part. The top of the left side had material removed for the speaker. The middle and bottom pictures show the bracket/shelf that the RailPro decoder and Keep-Alive will be on. This will fit on the top of the motor.

The top picture shows the bracket/shelf as viewed from the top of GP38-2’s frame. The bottom shows the bracket/shelf from the side mounted on top of the motor. The hole for the speaker wires is visible on the weight on the left.

SD70MACs 4011, 4014, 7002 and GP40-2s 3009, 3010, 3012 ready for parts. Numbers 3009, 3010, and 7002 have a bracket/shelf installed to support the RailPro decoder, Keep-Alive and speaker. Number 3012 has an extension added to support the Keep-Alive and speaker as the RailPro decoder will be above the board with the 9-pin connector.

The artist formerly known as "DC powered locomotive GP40 #3015" makes another appearance on the layout. It performs well under RailPro and has some nice prime mover, bell and whistle sounds.

LJ is using the hot wire on the foam board to make some final cuts. This piece is the future home of Alaska Marine Lines.

LJ slides the Alaska Marie Line (AML) foam board into place and makes some final minor adjustments.

After finishing the AML piece he switches to the other side of the scenery backdrop and adds some additional supports to the APU foam board.

Ripping into more foam board LJ carves out the northeastern section for the dreaded "S" curve. Currently, no industry is planned for this area, but the team is considering something special.

Rick finishes powering the final two frogs for the double crossover. Powering the frogs will facilitate better track power through the section.

One of our construction requirements is reutilizing the turnouts from the old layout. We discovered the Portage depot turnout had been damaged when removed and caused derailments on the new layout. Rick removes the defective turnout in preparation for replacement.

The new turnout is shown above. Rick removes the track in all three directions. Next week he will put everything back into place as well as correcting a misaligned curve.

During the week John and Terry began painting the southern end of the Anchorage yard. All freight and locomotives were either moved or covered with old bed sheets.

Half of the freight is put back into the painted southern end. All painting will be complete once the northern end is finished.

LJ and Leigh are both licensed morticians. Therefore, I thought it to be appropriate to have a cemetery on the layout. A good location may be the foam board northeast of the "S" curve?

Rick was busy over the past week and wired up a few more locomotives. He intended to wire up more, but ran out of 9-pin connectors. I ordered another six and they should arrive soon. He did have one connector left and now SD70MAC #4014 is ready to roll.

Last week an acquaintance of Rick's stopped by to see the layout. I invited Paul to return, but warned that warm bodies are put to work. When he appeared tonight he was issued paint, a brush and an area in which to crank out painted pieces of foam board.

Paul enjoys painting the foam board and finishes five piece in one evening.

LJ continues to cut foam board while Rick replaces the old Portage switch. The Portage switch and adjacent track was the cause of numerous derailments. The new switch replaces the defective one while the new flex track eases the approach.

The new track and switch performs flawlessly. Clicking on the above photo will play a video showing the smooth transition.

LJ cut two sections of foam board for the double track subdivision. As you can see one of them already displays Paul's painting skills.

Foam board cutting continues from the end of the double track to the entrance to Alaska Marine Lines.

LJ places another piece of foam board at the end of the APU. Before the evening ends LJ has a total of five new pieces in place.

Rick performs a track test on SD70MAC #4014. We now have three SD70MACs operational. The hand rails on SD70MAC #4014 met an unfortunate demise. All sources are out of stock, but I was able to locate two sets on eBay.

Rick breathes RailPro life into GP40 #3012 which is one of the oldest units in my collection.

Track painting in the Anchorage yard continues. Work around the switches is slow and tedious.

Two thirds of the yard is now painted. One more week and yard painting will be complete. All that will remains is the double crossover.