GP40 #3010 taped up to prevent metal filings from getting into the drive train when two metal tabs are cut off.

SD70M #7002, GP40 #3009, GP40 #3010, and GP38-2 #2001 wired and ready to run.

SD70MAC handrails on paint stands ready to be painted.

Time for more fun using the wire cutter on the foam board. LJ is cutting yet another piece of foam board, this time for the curve leading into Alaska Marine Lines (AML).

John paints the cork and track at the double crossover. At this point all mainline and sidings are painted. Woo hoo!

Last week Paul painted a half dozen pieces of foam board. This week LJ puts the dried foam board into place. No more pink! As a reminder, all of this foam board was obtained free from a job work site.

EMD sent two demonstrator SD70s to the Alaska Railroad in a "try me then buy me" deal. My friend, ARR locomotive engineer Frank Dewey was one of several engineers tasked with trying these units out. The Alaska Railroad eventually bought 28 of these units. Frank passed away several years ago and I am proud to run "his" SD70 #7002 on our layout. [Click here for video]

Rick also finished GP40 #3010 this week. He delivers it tonight and gives it a test run on the track with a blow of the whistle and a ringing of the bell. [To view outbound video click here and for inbound click here]

Train engineers will want to open the swing gate and follow their trains around the layout. What if they forget to close the swing gate behind them? Their trains will eventually fall to the floor and break. Ouch! Rick is working to install a "deadman's switch" on both sides of the opening. If the gate is left open power is lost on a short segment of track on both sides. Work on this should be completed next week.

LJ continues to cut foam board along the mainline and sidings. This piece of board completes the Usibelli Coal Mine siding. Tonight his progress is somewhat limited as he is handing off and retrieving foam board from Paul the Painter and helping to paint the double crossover. "My kingdom for a talented octopus!"

Painter Paul continues to paint the foam board. We initially went through a quart of paint. Tonight Paul finishes the first gallon of paint and cracks open a second gallon.

After placing an orange drop cloth over the barge and nearby locomotives John paints the area of the Whittier depot. The next day he finishes painting the entire area of Whittier.

During the week the CFO again volunteered to paint track. She and John finished the entire northern end of the Anchorage depot. All painting of existing surfaces is now complete!

At our last session LJ asked where foam board should be placed for the mountain area. As I am not an abstract thinker I figured a rough mock-up was in order. During the week I dug through all 20 boxes of stored items and eventually found the tunnel portals from my old layout.

After a bit of experimentation I determined possible locations for each of them. The next step is adding foam board, but I ran out of energy. This effort will be continued on train night!

Tonight Rick brings in GP40 #3009 and SD70 #7002. Although #3009 runs successfully, #7002 did not and needs two wires reversed.

The next priority is wiring the deadman switches so trains will stop at either side of the swing gate whenever it is open.

Rick makes cuts in the tracks to the southwest of the swing gate and then wires the isolated segment to the deadman's switch. GP40 #3009 serves as the test unit and proves the switch operates as intended.

Using the hot wire as well as the jigsaw John makes a rough mock-up of the first two layers of the mountain.

Here is an elevated view of the mock-up.

As Rick finishes "deadman's switch west" he discovers the north Anchorage yard switch does not open completely. Adjustment proves difficult as the Tortoise spring wire is blocked in by woodwork. Rick removes two boards and gets a good look at the problem...the spring arm is bent at a 30 degree angle! How did this happen?

Front and rear headlight incandescent bulbs removed and LEDs installed. Ditch lights installed on front of walkway. Headlights and ditch lights ready to wired. [Side note: Rick brought the unit tonight, but had trouble getting it to run without stopping. Long story short, running the amperage load test again corrected the issue.]

LJ is using the hot wire to cut foam board for the gap between the main line and the Flint Hills siding.

Each time foam board is added risers are put into place from the L-girder structure.

After adding the risers LJ puts in a small plywood shelf to hold the foam board.

Here is the finished product. Since the tracks are different levels a rasp file tapers the foam board to create a gradual slope.

Rick remounts the Tortoise and bends its spring wire to the required configuration. Now the North Anchorage yard switch works correctly! Next, he replaces all the boards along the edge of the table.

Rick installs the deadman's switch at the east end of the swing gate.

Rick performing the final wiring for the east deadman's switch.

LJ continues work on the Flint Hills Refinery foam board sections. The first section is flat and will hold the refinery and two 6-inch storage tanks. The second section will slope from the refinery to the double crossover.

Using scrap lumber LJ builds risers and shelves to hold the foam board. The refinery foam board is pictured at left.

Master foam board painter Paul puts coats of camouflage paint on the foam board pieces which reside between the main line and the Flint Hills Refinery siding.

Rick installs two pairs of magnetically activated Reed switches behind a diesel shop track. The first set activates power to the diesel shop tracks while the second set activates the passenger car track. On our RailPro system track power is always on. At the end of the operating session being able to turn power off to the locomotives eliminates the infinitesimally small chance a Keep-Alive will catch fire while power off to the passenger car track keeps interior lights from burning and decreasing bulb life.

Ricks tests the Reed switches and determines the magnet does indeed open and close them. Rick will install the magnet in an HO storage shed. Slight repositioning of the shed will open and close the switches.

Our General Construction Foreman is keeping a close watch on the scrap wood pile. We would not want these high value items to wander off into someone's lunch pail and appear in a home project. Good job Max!