John's Alaska Railroad HO Scale Layout

March 9, 2022

The west Anchorage depot turnout caused occasional derailments. Rick slowed down the video he recorded and spotted the exact location where the wheels came off the track.	Using the NMRA standards gage we found the turnout was 1/32 of an inch too wide near the points. John ordered a new turnout and it should arrive before the next train night.	The east end of the swing gate required shims under the cork roadbed. This left gaps between the cork and table. Rick filled these gaps with sawdust and John glued it into place.

The track just north of the west Anchorage depot turnout had a noticeable hump where the rising track met the level track. Initially, we chose not to modify this until we realized it caused the Ultradomes to uncoupled. Tonight Rick tackled this problem. First, he released the screws holding the support structure underneath. Next, he clamped the track to the cleat thus removing the hump.	This is a view from the underside. With the clamp in place Rick drove a new vertical screw through the cleat into the underside of the plywood road bed. The clamp was moved over top the new screw so a second vertical screw could be put into place. Finally, two horizontal screws were put through the cleat into the roadbed support post.	This video shows the ultradomes passing over the modified location. Notice the hump is now gone and none of the railcars came uncoupled. Magic!

March 16, 2022

During the week John grabbed his paint brush and began putting the first coat of black paint on the barge controls fascia framework.	One coat of paint down and one to go.	During train night Rick starts phase two of eliminating the transition hump. Screws are removed from the two cleat/riser pairs.

Clamps are placed on each riser/cleat pair. Rick raises/lowers each cleat until no daylight is seen between the level and the rail. Rick then puts the horizontal screws in place.	The last task of the evening is placing an additional support under the ginormous mountain. Rick makes measurements and then begins cutting foam support blocks.	With the first support block in place an Ultradome train passes through to ensure proper width clearance. Next, Rick glues a horizontal block on top of the first block to act like a shelf. Again the train passes though to ensure proper clearance.

March 23, 2022

In the spirit of the song Long Train Runnin' by The Doobie Brothers I'm running a 33 car consist. Not long into the session I receive a tornado warning from the weather service. The dogs and I scurry to our tornado shelter, sit until receiving the "all clear" and then resume running trains.	The ginormous mountain has a separate "wing" protruding to the north. I scrounged the last remaining sizeable pieces of 2-inch foam board to create this wing. Using a steak knife I created a rough texture for the rock faces.	I used camouflage spray paint for the base coat and then added Wal-Mart acrylic paints. Next, I added Woodland Scenics grasses, rocks, lichen and foliage clusters. Over the next few days I will add trees and more foliage.

For train night Rick tackles the replacement of the west Anchorage depot siding turnout. First, he removes the Tortoise spring wire, unsolders the joiners and then removes the turnout. Next, he installs the new turnout, solders the joiners and re-installs the Tortoise spring wire.	The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Rick runs a freight train across the turnout. Included in the consist is the aluminum coal hoppers that derail on the closure rails. As can be viewed in the above video the effort is a huge success.	Rick decides to run a passenger train across the new turnout. However, before it gets there a loud repeating thud is heard. The passenger cars are striking a protrusion on the ginormous mountain. Rick uses a Dremel to remove the offending bump while I hold the vacuum nozzle close by to catch the dust and plaster chips.

After adding trees and foliage I put the wing in place.

Feel free to contact me at john@alaskarails.org
Page created 9/4/17 and last updated 4/14/22