It took 18 years to completely build my HO scale Alaska Railroad layout. Long story short, we sold our house and had to tear it all down in one evening. Yes, in one evening! Unfortunately, I had to throw away the scenery, track, wiring, risers and cork road bed.

In November of 2016 my daughter Anne expressed a strong desire to have her son (my grandson) see my trains run at Christmas. I wasn't able to make it happen, but seeds were planted... read more.

And now to the details. The layout diagram is shown below and clicking on it will reveal a "super sized" image. The next section gives a blow-by-blow photo journal report of the work as it progresses. Enjoy!

Layout Design V2.0

Current Layout Overview (as of 2/6/25)

Looking northeast: Whittier and Portage depot	Looking southeast: Anchorage and most industries
Unlabeled panoramic	Label panoramic

And the movie

---

 

Here are the photos from past months:

For F7B #1517: The new motor with the flywheel and u-joint yoke removed and drive shaft installed. The drive shaft on the old motor will pop off and install to the yoke on the flywheel end of the new motor. The old motor will be unsoldered and the new motor soldered. Reassemble is putting the screws in to hold everything together.

Video: During train night, Rick demonstrated F7B #1517's successful motor replacement by pulling a baggage car around the layout. It is important to note, there is no hobby store in the 90 minute Dayton area that does train repair. Rick's expertise is critical to the successful operation of Clayton's Alaska Railroad.

Video: Rick did some tweaking on the railroad's Adventure Class passenger cars. Unfortunately, 203 and an unnumbered unit are still derailing. They are headed to the Eppley Shops for yet another repair.

Rick took a look at the Woodland Scenics Roto Wheel Cleaner. As can be seen in the above photo, the only items inside the Roto Wheel Cleaner are support pads and wires. All electrical connections were checked and everything seemed correct. However, the wheel cleaner still did not spin the wheels on the locomotive.

The photo above shows when a railcar is placed on the wheel cleaner, the flanges are the only thing in contact with the rails. Our best guess is this is not enough contact for RailPro to power the locomotive. The reviews John read/viewed were folks who used DC or DCC. Therefore, when using RailPro, the wheel cleaner is a 100% failure for locomotives. However, it can still be used for freight and passenger cars.

Terry illuminated the Valentine's Day spirit with red plates, Jello hearts, Dove hearted shaped chocolates, and fresh-from-the-oven heart shaped chocolate chip cookies. As gifts, Rick and Jackie brought killer brownies and salted caramels along with the world famous salad bar.

Video: The Eppley shops discovered coach 203 was half an ounce too light so weight was added. The other railcar had wheels brought back into gauge. A test run with F7A #1510 showed operations have greatly improved.

John began the final bit of scenery work in the Whittier area by laying down gravel he brought back from Homer. Eventually, gravel will cover this section all the way around to the barge.

Video: The weekly Maintenance of Way (MoW) train made its way into Anchorage to tie up for the night.

The Eppley Shops pulled cafe 300 and an unnumbered car for inspection. Coach 203 was sent as well for a coupler shim. Finally, two McKinley Explorer Ultradomes were pulled for coupler height inspection due to height changes at the incline at Whittier Depot.

The Whittier yard itself needed some ground material so John glued down gravel he grabbed while in Homer, Alaska. Here is the sand in front of Terry's cabin diorama.

The gravel was also applied between the Whittier depot and Steve Booth Way.

View of the yard with passenger cars.

Terry mentioned it was tough crossing the tracks while in her car to get to the grocery. Rick cut some wooden rail crossing planks for her. John painted these black and they will be installed next train night.

Rick cut precision made metal shims for both couplers for SD70MACs numbers 4001 and 4014.

Video: The Coastal Classic passing through the cut in Triple Peaks mountain. Rick addressed each and every passenger car problem until the operation was smooth as glass. Rick commented, "I wonder how many guys would have given up. I thought it was worth doing."

Video: Another problem was uneven rails north of Alaska Marine Lines. Rick used a file to trim down the offending rail. Operation through this section is now smooth as glass.

Video: Ultradomes enter the southern end of the Anchorage yard. Two McKinley Explorer Ultradomes are at the Eppley Shops getting epoxy coupler vertical extenders. Photos of this will be posted next week.

Video: Bicentennial F7A #1510 pulls the advertising boxcar past the Anchorage yard.