Tom spends the evening trying to fix the bugs on the crossover piece. His first idea was to use nail polisher as a track insulator to prevent any possible short circuits. However, it soon becomes apparent the problem lies with the width and depth of the flanges. Using various tools Tom increases the width and depth of the flange and finds the locomotive passes with fewer interruptions. Next week Tom will bring his files to see if he can put this problem to rest once and for all.

LJ solders power to the AM-1 (wireless control unit for four switch machines) under the north end of the Anchorage yard. He reaches a milestone by having all AM-1s in place.

The Tortoises will have three more wires run to the AM-1. These are communication wires and enable the AM-1 to know the position of the switch even in the event of a power outage or inoperable Tortoise. Blue, green and white colors are used to differentiate them from the red/black power wires.

LJ solders these three wires in place. Once the Tortoise is in place Mike double checks the unit to ensure it operates properly and relays the status information.

Although the wiring currently looks like a plate of spaghetti once all efforts are complete wires will be shortened, bundled and strapped. In this photo Mike is hooking up the communication wires to the AM-1. Eventually all the wiring will be hidden by sheets of foam board on which the scenery will rest.

In the spirit of Valentine's day Terry prepared a truly appropriate meal. She cooked a large pot of chili in her red cookware. Finger foods included red Jell-O jigglers cut into the shape of hearts. The twins were in attendance tonight and they loved picking these up with their hands plus getting a good sugar rush.

Cooking corn bread in the shape of a heart was a first for Terry and the middle of it was still slightly gooey. Although it was a culinary mistake it proved to be an unexpected hit.

Red Fiestaware complimented the appearance of the meal. Also on the table were red Gummy hearts and candied conversation hearts. Food coma!

Mike spent most of his evening running the communication wires for the Tortoise switch machines. Saving the worst for last - mounting Tortoises and running communication wires under the Anchorage yard plywood table requires a certain amount of contortions, strength and acrobatics. While Mike makes the connections Tom holds the flashlight and provides an extra hand.

Having the patience of Job, Tom continues to work on the pesky Atlas 12.5 degree crossover finally resorting to the power of a Dremel. Our evaluation is the Atlas crossover flanges are out of NMRA spec and a Shinohara crossover purchase may be necessary.

Although our locomotives are brand new their wheels picked up a lot of construction grime and thus are sputtering around the track. John purchased a wheel cleaner years ago, but never took it out of the bag. Tonight Tom hooked the cleaner up and removed grime from our two GP49s. Now there are running smooth as glass.

Max joins us for the evening, but finds sleeping is more fun than working.

And so begins the intensive task of placing Tortoise switch machines at the north end of the Anchorage yard! LJ begins by placing paper labels at each of the switches.

Tom spends some time working on a derailment problem at the north end of the double track. Next, he turns his attention to working on the Tortoise switch machines in the Anchorage yard.

LJ solders the wires to the Tortoise before mounting it to the underside of the plywood.

LJ and Tom work together to mount the Tortoise and put the switch arm wire in place. Two and a half Tortoise were installed tonight.

The update takes a while, but corrects the problem. Mike updates the second handheld controller as well so both are at the latest and greatest software revision.

Tom uses pliers to bend the spring wire to the specified shape and then installs it on the Tortoise switch machine.

The evening ends with four more Tortoise switch machines in place.

LJ notices some of the DCC locomotives use an 8 pin socket instead of the 9 pin required by RailPro. Therefore, an 8 to 9 pin convertor harness will need to be ordered.

Building a layout of this magnitude is not for the faint of heart. The initial costs are fairly expensive and many of the nights concluded with yet another order list.

After spending four unsuccessful Thursday nights on the double crossover intermittent power loss issues it is determined we are down to three options. We will try them in this order:

1. Purchase a $12.50 Keep Alive for each locomotive. This will provide 6-20 seconds of power in the event of rail power loss. One of these will be ordered to see if it fixes the problem.

2. Purchase an $80 Shinohara double crossover in hopes another manufacturer's product has better quality.

3. Eliminate the double crossover from the layout.