John's Alaska Railroad HO Scale Layout

And the current work in progress:

January 5, 2022

Clayton's Alaska Railroad theorem of barge motion says a brand new barge will not stay at rest for very long. We gotta put this creation to the test! The above video shows a loaded barge being moved into position.	This next video shows three locomotives using an idler flat to pull off the first string of rail cars.	After the first two tracks are unloaded the barge is moved into place for removal of tracks 3 and 4. The above video shows the removal of track 4.

The fifth and final track of rail cars are removed. Things to figure out: 1) How to visually know when the tracks are lined up between the barge and the yard and 2) How to uncouple cars from the idler flat when placed on the barge. Old man leaning over the layout with an uncoupling pick is murder on the back. Between-the-Rails Magnetic Uncoupler?	For several months John has been working on the large mountain in the southeast corner of the layout. Resuming work this week he used a razor saw to create a rock-like appearance on the upper two levels of foam board. Bits of static charge foam flew everywhere!	The mountain is now ready for its top layers. This view is trackside looking south.

This edge will go adjacent to the double crossover.	Woodland Scenics rubber rock molds and Hydrocal are used to produce super lightweight rock castings for the side of the mountain.	The mountain is turned on end and the rock castings applied. Dozens and dozens of rock casting will eventually be needed.

The new Alaska Freight Service Inc. containers (vinyl decals provided by daughter Anne) are placed at Alaska Marine Lines. They are a great addition to the containerized freight section!	A train was proceeding on the main track within yard limits when it encountered a switch that had been left open. Being within yard limits no SPAF, switch position awareness form, was used. It is currently under investigation what yard crew left the switch in the open position causing this incident.	When the foreman was made aware of the switch incident he gave the skunk eye.

During train night Rick worked on the east swing gate transition. First he removed the east track. Before inserting a new tapered shim he used a hand saw to notch the underside to fit the profile of the plywood sub floor.	After installing the shim Rick adds cork road bed and then track.	Next he tackles the east end of the swing gate. He removes the track nails and gets a putty knife under the cork road bed. He then inserts a shim and then tacks everything back into place.

This video shows the test run of a locomotive and passenger car across the new transition. Rick is still not satisfied. He makes some adjustments, glues it in place and applies weights. Testing will take place over the week to see if pull-aparts occur.

January 12, 2022

Half inch foam board was placed in the northeast corner and pressed down firmly. The depressed track marks were used as a guide to cut away the unneeded section. Next, a hot wire cutter was used to create slopes on the trackside edge.	This foam board will become Terry's cabin diorama. My wife has always wanted a cabin and this may be as close as she'll ever get. There will be a sunflower garden, goats and more.	John continued to work on the southeast mountain. This sizable entity will require a large amount of Hydrocal. After a lot of shopping John decided to have Amazon deliver a 15 pound bag right to his door.

Approximately 18 of these castings will be required to make up the north slope of the mountain.	Each casting is put into place using wet plaster. The gaps between castings was filled with plaster and scuffed up with a toothbrush.	After Rick worked on the eastern swing gate elevation last week derailments began happening at the western end. It was found one of the rails got knocked out of place. After a bit of testing the culprit was found and fixed.

John's ancient RDC used rubber bands to drive the wheels until these bands rotted away. Rick used his incredible machine skills to create a new transfer system.	This video shows the RDC once again underway! Now a RailPro LM-3S needs to be added.	Rick created part of the trim for the barge controls. All that remains is the vertical trim pieces.

Two Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC) units were derailing from time to time due to being underweight by over an ounce.	Rick cut and pounded out weights to fit between the underside ribbing and glued them into place.

January 19, 2022

Plaster rock mold work continued on the mountain. The north side is half done while the west face is about one third complete. In anticipation of a tour this extremely messy work area was cleaned up and vacuumed. Additionally, Amazon delivered the new 15 pound bag of Hydrocal so John can now fill more rock molds.	During the week John ran several different trains including this freight consist. As shown by the above video the newly weighted Lynden trailers did not derail at all! There was a slight elevated "hop" at the track adjoining the east end of the swing gate. Couplers actually move up and down. Rick will work on this next week.	This video shows a three company cruise ship train at Twenty Mile bridge. David's painted backdrop looks fantastic when combined with a moving tour company train!

Various areas of the fascia takes quite a beating during construction and tours. John did patchwork on all of them and applied a coat of paint. A new gallon of paint was purchased since the entire previous gallon was used on all the existing fascia board.	As mentioned in a previous report the rubber bands on my 23 year old RDC rotted away so Rick constructed a new drive system. During train night he installed an LM-3S and connected it to the RailPro system.	The above video shows the RDC cruising past the Anchorage yard. There were several instances when the unit stopped cold. At first we thought dirty wheels were the culprit. After the wheels were cleaned the problem persisted. Rick will take it home and disassemble the trucks for cleaning.

During the week John removed the barge controls fascia and painted it as well as the entire recessed area.	The more John painted, the more John thought needed painted. Studying this photo John realized we need an end board for the barge area.	During train night Rick constructed the framing for the barge controls fascia. Next week he will glue everything into place.

Final barge work was completed tonight with Rick adding a nut (shown by the arrow) to keep the screw rod from moving. The two nuts were joined together. This effort holds the screw rod into place.	While running the passenger train it was discovered the first car after the locomotives would derail. The culprit was #2004's rear coupler wasn't swiveling correctly. Rick took it home for further analysis.

January 26, 2022

Work continues on the ginormous mountain. All the rock molds on the northern face are now in place.	More molds were put on the western face. This work is halfway done.	The top mountain layers were added. Don't panic! It looks horrible, but it is merely the framework. There is lots of cutting and texturing to go.

Following another great train night dinner, Rick finishes work on the barge controls fascia framework. Try saying that fast four times!	Rick glues several tab backstops in place. The red clamps hold them in place.	Once the backstop tabs glue dries the fascia is put in place. Next, the framework is glued over top. Now it is time to paint the framework black.

Over the past week Rick took the RDC's trucks apart for cleaning and tweaking. He also thoroughly cleaned the wheels.	This video shows a "shell-less" RDC running past the Anchorage yard.	This video shows the RDC growling along Twenty Mile. We are guessing the loud motor noise is due to sound propagating through the hollow shell.

Over the past week Rick replaced the rear coupler on GP38 #2004. The old coupler didn't function properly and caused pull-aparts.	John wondered if some of the passenger cars were too light. Rick brought his scales and found almost all the passenger cars had correct weight.	For the second time in as many months, Rick pulled up the track east of the swing gate to install shims. He is sill not satisfied with the finished product as coupler height still rises and falls.

Feel free to contact me at john@alaskarails.org
Page created 9/4/17 and last updated 2/3/22