The Grizzly & Dilapidated Ry.

[Jerry]

Hope you recover quickly!!

Jerry

[kyle creel]

Well, Kyle, I'd say "Stay away from the Furniture!"   

dave
Rightee-oh sir....          

[Larry C]

Kyle sorry to hear about your injuries and hope you feel better soon.
Sadly at our age your mind may say "go for it" when you decide to do something
but the body usually has different ideas.

[IWannaRetire]

Best wishes and fast healing, Kyle.

I've seen people use the insulation-displacement connectors on layouts and modules.  But there was one layout that used them in a damp basement. I was asked to get it electrically and operationally ready for an event, and I found a lot of issues caused by those connectors.  Might have been a cheap brand, might have been the wrong gauge wire, might have been the damp.

Seconds on the healing, Kyle.

James, regarding the damp if you're talking about the little box-shaped plastic connectors with a blade that cuts the insulation but just grazes the conducting wire.  Dorman calls theirs "quick splice terminal".

Over the years, I've had to do an awful lot of trailer wiring repairs, as far too many trailers come from the factory with this sort of wire splice as original equipment.  The problem is that the metal the blade is made from is usually a different alloy than the metal in the wire.  In the presence of moisture, two metals only need to be slightly different for a galvanic reaction to start.  The result is corrosion.  The fix is a soldered splice.

[ACL1504]

Kyle,

You are a walking medical study. I want to say stay safe.

I had a torn rotator from weight lifting and it took me three years to decide to have the surgery. I should have done it the month I tore it..

Take care of your self and get well soon.

Tom

[kyle creel]

Hi Fellas;  I'm overwhelmed and so thankful to have friends like ya'll.  Thanx for thinking of me...I'm doing much better, and I'm getting used to not having the 'same old left arm'.  I'll be back at work on the RR soon.  I'd like to thank each of you so here goes......

Thanx Dave, thanx Rick, thanx Phillip, thanx Jerry, thanx Larry C., thanx Mark, and thanx Tom.       

I've been taking the 'time off' to consider my future Model Railroading 'exploits'; and have decided a number of things.    

1. I'm not and should not go to the expense and trouble of changing scales to HOn3.
2. The current layout as constructed is interesting but not fulfilling, and has no 'long term intrigue' or
    allure.
3. As silly as it sounds-I HAVE TO HAVE A LOOP-; of some sort or fashion.  
4.  "    "    "    "     "       "    "      "      "      " - POINT TO POINT- of some sort.  
5. If I'm going to build a different layout, then it should be the one I most want and can afford, manage and
    (long term) enjoy.    
6. In 2022 Mark helped me build a 'new layout'- "on top of an old one".  Many of you commented on how inventive
    and 'outside the box' the concept was.      
7. That brings me to to this....I'm going to recreate that layout; instead of  50"x110"- it'll be reduced to 4'x
    8' and built in three 32"x 48" sections for easier storage and transport, be built entirely of pink foam
    board with texture paint instead of plaster, removeable mountains and rock work, and utilize the 26"x40" TT
    & 2 stall 'roundhouse' section from the current project, and previous layouts.  The basic sections  will be
    trimmed in 1"x3"s for support.  I will use the current backdrop as a 'background scene effect' around the
    layout, but leave it on the walls.  I've talked the idea over with Patrice; and she said "You mean now we can
    just watch the trains run?"      
8. During the 2022 Southwest O Scale Show Home Layout Tours, a number of people commented how cool it was that I
    just built another layout 'on top of' the old one, without removing it.  The highest compliment I got was
    from Barry Bogs; who said "I love the track plan, it's very well thought out,...you built it on top of the
    old one?"
9. That's good enough for me; Barry's an amazing modeler, an MMR, and he scratch builds EVERYTHING on his G
    Scale layout in Houston; locomotives and rolling stock included.      

So, in all its' absurdity, I'm scrapping the current build, keeping the bldgs., bridge, trees, turnouts, hand laid track, and anything else I'll need, pink foam board, and the partial 4% grade incline for example.

I've spent the time I've been recovering from the injury working up the track plan in 1-1/2" = 1 foot scale and will post it here.  It includes all the industries and something new...     .....the JOHN W. ALLEN MEMORIAL "UNFINISHED BRIDGE".         ...I love it....     .....All for now, thanx again for all the well wishes and support; ya'll stay tuned......see ya......    

KYLE CREEL
G&D Ry Co.

Here it is......the green lines are the 'cut lines' for the 32x48 sections; the red arrow is the highest track elevation-4"; the yellow line marks the joint of the 40"x26" section and the Main 4x8 section.  I'll get a full color rendition ready asap..    

[PRR Modeler]

I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Do you have any photos of the layout on top of a layout? That sounds intriguing.

[kyle creel]

Thanx Curt;

Yes, here are some shots of the 'layout on top of a layout'.    

KYLE CREEL
G&D Ry. Co.

In the beginning in Feburary 2022......there was an idea.....  

Then Mark & I started to work...  


Sometimes it looked very strange.....    

Then late spring and into summer, things really took off.....    

We soldiered on into the early fall...    
to be continued.......      

KYLE CREEL
G&D Ry. Co.

[kyle creel]

The story continues.......

By October we were finally......   ......... all dressed up for the show........

And they all lived happily ever after......
Till January 2023; when I tore it all down... ...     and moved in March 2023......     .....then built another version of the G&D Ry. Co.       .....
But that's another story         ...... 

Thanx again for stoppin' by....see ya...

KYLE CREEL
G&D Ry. Co.

[Philip]

Welcome to the dark side, again

[PRR Modeler]

Very nice Kyle.

[Larry C]

Kyle does your "grey matter" ever rest? Interesting track plan; looks like you're becoming the master at track planning. In the end it's whatever "blows your skirt up", as they say, to make something enjoyable and can be easily maintained. I'm a big fan of the foam bases and 1x3 supports. I used that approach for my micro and it's nice and light as well as durable. I'll be keeping an eye on your progress; looking forward to the new incarnation.

[Rick]

Things change so often here it's hard for me to know what exactly is going on every time I open this thread.
I hope your arm is doing better and have fun building whatever you decide to build.

[elwoodblues]

It really is satisfying when you see a plan come to life.  The layout is looking great.

[kyle creel]

Thanx Phillip, thanx Carl, thanx Larry C., thanx Rick, and thanx Ron;

...Patrice woke up this morning(Saturday) with limited use of her left hand..??      
I'll call for an appt. with our Dr. on Monday.  She's in no pain, just a kinda 'floppy left hand'.  She can grip, although not quite as firmly as with her right hand.  When she rotates her left forearm to 'palms up'- she can lift her left hand.  When rotated to 'palms down' she can't. She also can only use all her fingers at once  on her left hand.  I did some online research, and it seems to have something to do with her Carpal Tunnel she suffered in the last 10 or so years of flying. (international flight attendant w/American)  SO thoughts and prayers are requested. :      

On the RR front   I REALLY AM CRAZY            ...I've decided (after much careful thought and considerable deliberation..     ...I'M NOT GOING TO THE EXPENSE AND EXTRA WORK TO........
1. Tear out the existing layout; and instead....    
2. Put that energy to use adding a 'finishing touch' to the existing project..   ...
3. Make the layout a 'point to point/loop configuration' by adding a simple narrow 4" wide shelf 7 long', a
   corner piece, and a slightly wider 6" section 5' long (for a passing siding) to continue to the door.    
     .  This will give me a point to point from Grizzly to Dilapidated, turn the loco, work the industries,
   and take a train back to Grizzly.  Or I can simply 'let em' roll...           ........
4. Build either a simple removeable 'lift-out'section, or a combination 'drop/rotate'section.  I favor the lift-
   out section. It could have a cool bridge or trestle incorporated in it at some point.  
5. Patrice (floppy hand & all) agreed......            "cause then I can watch TV AND the trains"
         ............

Here's the plan.....one cool   thing is that it will 'traverse through the taller plants' on the plant shelf below the RR, I'm not going to put up a backdrop and the only 'scenery' will be the lightly 'sculpted ground surface' with weathered and ballasted hand laid rail.     Simple and effective.  That part will be like an indoor 'garden RR'       .........

So here's the track plan showing the existing part and the part to be built.
Thanx for the comments and thoughts, and for stoppin by, ya'll come back now...  
I feel SO much better now.....      

KYLE CREEL
G&D Ry. Co.   

Here we are NOW.....  


Here's what's 'coming up doc'      
The green and orange arrows denote the 'drop/rotate idea      The blue arrows show the new
'shelf-work'       I like the 'through the plants bit'    
Here's an 'unmarked-up' look......          


The next post will show how it will 'go' in the room......