John's Alaska Railroad HO Scale Layout V2.0

 

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

Layout Design V2.0

 

Current Layout Overview (as of 2/6/25)
Overview Overview
Looking northeast: Whittier and Portage depot Looking southeast: Anchorage and most industries
Overview Overview
Unlabeled panoramic Label panoramic

And the movie

 

Here are the photos from past months:

 

And the current work in progress:

July 02, 2025
image
image
image

Four Accurail 7500 series offset triple hoppers were sent to the Eppley Shops for assembly. The actual work was very involved, but the final result was exceptional. Two were returned complete and John added weights and coal loads. Rick added metal wheels for smooth running.

Rick spent a good part of the evening cleaning track with a two pass process of sanding and mineral spirits. All the main track was cleaned plus Rudd Spur, Usibelli siding, Anchorage depot siding and APU.

 Here is a photo of the Maintenance of Way train in the Anchorage depot yard.
image
image
image

Video: F7 #1512 showed extremely smooth operation through the newly cleaned track at the APU.

Video: F7 #1512 pulled the new 7500 series hoppers past the Maintenance of Way train in the Anchorage depot siding.

 Video: F7 #1512 pulled the new 7500 series hoppers past Jackie's flower field and the hobo camp. These new hoppers show exceptionally smooth running.
image image  
Video: Having completed their day's work, the Maintenance of way train pulled into Anchorage to tie down for the night. Here is Rick's photo of the Maintenance of Way train in siding behind the Dairy Queen.  

 

Feel free to contact me at john@alaskarails.org
Page created 9/4/17 and last updated 7/3/25