John's Alaska Railroad HO Scale Layout

May 6, 2020

The layout will consist of two different mountains. John began working on the smaller of the two by first constructing a base outline. Each ensuing layer was made from bits and pieces instead of a solid sheet which saved weight plus used scrap foam board.	The rough shape of the mountain is complete. A paint can holds the layers together until the Liquid Nails dries.	Next, a steak knife is used to do basic carving of the surfaces. If this were the final product then the mountain would weigh less than a pound. However, plaster filled rock molds will probably be applied which will add weight. but increased realism.

Carving foam leaves an incredible mess. Thank goodness for a powerful shop vacuum!	The governor changed our "stay-at-home" orders to "Stay Safe Ohio". We now resume train night in the same spirit by practicing social distancing. LJ uses the evening to create supports for all (yes all!) unsupported foam board. The miter saw cranks out a far number of risers and cleats.	Expending lots of energy LJ crawls under the tables taking measurements and installing the riser /cleat pairs. In areas where track height is four inches LJ glues foam board blocks in place to serve as supports.

Only a few open spots remain on the layout. LJ, Leigh and John work together to plug this opening at Flint Hills Refinery.	For dinner John cooked hamburgers on the grill while Terry did French fries in the deep fryer. Terry finished the evening off by bringing warm chocolate chip cookies up to the train room.

May 13, 2020

Over two decades ago I bought Woodland Scenics rock molds and lightweight Hydrocal to enhance the scenery on my layout. After all these years I got these items out of storage and decided to create to some plaster rocks. The final products were pretty awesome and they will be used somewhere on the layout.	Remember the pink mountain I created last week? The CFO carried it down from the train room to the back yard so I could put a coat of spray paint on it. The exact color wasn't important as it will receive other colors and grasses when time permits. I just didn't want a stinkin' pink mountain on my layout for now.	Here is the back side of the mountain. I could have chosen to cover it with plaster rock formations. However, it is so cool having a mountain that can be lifted off the layout with just one hand.

I did a survey over the past week and saw only three places on the layout still need foam board. The first location is at the window at Usibelli Coal Mine. LJ cut foam for this location and glued it into place.	A second layer of foam board will be placed on top of it to prevent derailed trains from falling to the floor. This second layer will be removed once the backdrop is put into place.	LJ uses the hot wire cutter to shape foam board leading into the southern mountain portal.

The finished piece looks great! Now all it needs is a coat of brown paint.	"Air" high fives are given as LJ places the last pieces of foam board at the corner of the Whittier yard. Tonight we reach a major milestone with the completion of foam board!	John traces, cuts and sticks adhesive foam to the handheld controller holders. Next week LJ will mount these to the fascia.

Some of the locomotives have experienced issues on the layout. Rick has implemented an extensive testing program to track down the problems. He can run each locomotive on a DC track to ensure motors and mechanical parts work correctly. He can also run it on a RailPro powered test track to see if the LM-3 module is functioning properly.	This video shows Rick taking a locomotive "for a walk" on the RailPro test track. Tonight he test five locomotives and finds on with a suspected LM-3 module issue. Now just 19 more locomotives to test!

May 20, 2020

Foam board cut the previous week received a coat of brown paint. Once the paint dried the foam board was put into place. The only remaining foam board is the segment between Flint Hills Refinery and TwentyMile bridge. Most of this is in place, but needs quite a bit of fine tuning before receiving a coat of paint.	Cleaning 260 feet of mainline, some of which is not easily accessible, can be quite a challenge as well as exhausting. I bought this Centerline Rail Cleaner over 25 years ago and decided to let it run while I worked on other layout projects. Eventually, I am going to put a crowbar in my wallet and cough up some big dollars for the CMX Clean Machine.	Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. While staying at retired ARRC employee Curt Rudd's home in Anchorage my wife Terry fondly gazed upon their blue and yellow five gallon buckets filled with Marigolds. This past week she fielded the same on the balcony outside the train room. Please forgive the distortion of the panoramic photo. She also has planned two vintage metal rocking chairs, one in blue and the other in...well, you know.

While in Ohio's Hocking Hills region we spotted little balls of moss growing out of an old industrial road. Deciding they looked like little bushes we brought them home and placed them around the diesel shop. While Terry was in the train room this past week she gathered them up on a plastic tray and placed them on the balcony to enjoy the rainfall. Now fully rehydrated they are ready to return to to the diesel shop. If I had the skills I would make little ARRC concrete flower planters for them!	Rick spent most of the evening testing locomotives. Since he removed the Keep-Alives several weeks ago almost all the problems seem to have vanished. Currently he has tested 9 of the 24 locomotives and found only 1 in needing of module replacement.	After a few lessons from Rick on RailPro Assistant Software John spends the evening transferring the icons he created to each of the handheld controllers. Once all the icons are transferred then custom sounds (engine, bell, horn, etc.) will be transferred to each locomotive's RailPro module.

LJ spent a great deal of his evening on the floor under the tables checking for locations where foam board was lacking support. He uses wooden risers to support fiber board "shelves" for the two-inch foam board.	LJ reaches a major milestone by installing the last of the support structure. All foam board is now in place and has the proper support.	For his final task of the evening LJ fastens the wrought iron holders for the handheld throttles. The holders also provide a nice charging station as well. Tonight LJ finished all his projects so he will spend all upcoming weeks running trains!

Terry and Leigh enjoy a rockin' train night painting amazing artwork on smooth stones. Each of our four grandsons will receive a hand painted stone. More stone painting is on the horizon and it was reported some of them will be placed in geocaches.	John begins the huge task of weighing freight cars. Proper weight will promote a smooth ride and also prevent "stringlining" of curves. NRMA states a 6 inch car should weight 4 ounces. Each additional inch in length requires an additional half ounce.	Almost 200 freight cars will require measuring and weighing although duplicate cars will cut this number down significantly. Weighs will be added when required. Boxcars will be easy, but cars such as hoppers will require some disassembly before placing the weights.

May 27, 2020

Half my freight car roster (108 units) is unboxed and on the rails of the layout. Over the past week I've spent a multitude of hours checking coupler height as well as measuring and weighing each of them. I created a spreadsheet which shows all details plus a column showing how much weight needs to be added to each. I've had no problems with stringlining across curves so adding weight is not a high priority.	Terry spotted this beautiful Alaska blue table and chairs set at Menards and purchased them for the balcony outside the train room. This will be a wonderful spot to take a break and enjoy the beauty of nature. I mentioned to her about purchasing a yellow set for the other end of the balcony. We will see....	After a phenomenal dinner of homemade pot roast, mashed potatoes, salad and bread we head up to the train room. With amazingly precise hands Rick disassembles locomotives to check for proper operations. Tonight he finishes with seven locomotives and next week will only need to check a final seven. Tonight one of RailPro modules fail testing and will need replaced.

After spending two years cutting, drilling, hammering, wiring, soldering and crawling on the floor LJ finally reaps the rewards of his efforts by running trains on the layout.	LJ selects GP38-2 #2001 to head up a three hopper consist. Lots of fun! We are all on the edge of our seats to see what locomotive and freight car consist he selects next week!	With foam board projects in the rear view mirror John neatly stacks the leftover foam blocks in a space under one of the tables. For the first time in two years the area under the APU and Alaska Marine Lines is empty! Some of these foam blocks will be used for the large mountain in the Tunnel Subdivision. John also gathered all wood scraps and stacks them under the table at the "dreaded" S curve. Time to run the vacuum cleaner!

Feel free to contact me at john@alaskarails.org
Page created 9/4/17 and last updated 5/11/20