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Good tip.

Thanks. Take a look at the later videos if you get a chance. There's been 3 major changes to the layout over the last 3 years. Still working on it. Getting into more detail work now.

Many thanks. Glad you like it. Hope to publish an update soon, so stay tuned.

It's made by Bachmann and actually comes with section of EZ-Track to go inside of the round house. Though it will work with any track you may have, it's designed to work with their EZ-Track.

Thanks for the quick response! Like what you’ve done. Probably will be using some of your ideas.

Thanks 👍

Thank you. It's been fun. Now that summer is nearing it's end will be spending more time again on the layout.

Yes. I spend too much money on this hobby. Just ask my wife.

Appreciate it.

Thank you. Glad you liked it.

Glad you like it It's been a fun journey.

Thank you. Well worth the effort.

Thanks. Just finished putting together the yard yesterday. So I'll be putting out the new video sometime this week.

Waiting to hit the lotto might be a good idea. The switches I buy are already powered, which obviously makes them more expensive. But that's because I'm using the Bachmann track. I'm not sure there is a way to add tortoise switches or any of those other kind to them because of how they work. The #4 and #5 switches I used each ran around $40-$45 dollars depending I were I could find them. I've bought them on Amazon and Trainworld and Modeltrainstuff. Then it's just a matter of running the leads to the switches and then powering them up. I power them up off of an old DC transformer I still had laying around, and use the accessories terminals on the back. Reach out to me via email if you need to know more.

Thanks. And yes it does. Trying to enjoy layout as much as possible. Coming soon, I just finished putting new ballast in that area.

Thanks for the interest in the layout. The main layout is 5 feet x 9 feet edge to edge. The extension to the left is 2 feet x 6 feet and the extension and the other extension attached to the first one is also 2 feet by 6 feet. All in all the entire layout is 11 feet wide by 9 feet deep. That includes the empty space inside of the "U" where I run things from.

Thanks. It's all about having fun.

Thanks!

Thank you. Much appreciated. Glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks Rob. Those are #4 turnouts. They are the only ones that would fit in my current configuration. Other sizes were too big and I couldn't make fit.

Thank you. It takes some work but I feel is worth the effort. I should have done a video on how I did the work. I only worked on 2-3 feet at a time.

Thanks 👍

Thank you. Those are excellent ideas and suggestions. Appreciate it.

👍

Thanks Rob. I'm excited to get started. I have all of my shelving in. Just have to get the track. By the way, how's your layout coming. Email me some update photos if you have any.

Thanks. It's nice having the track planning software to help conceptualize it. I'm happy with it.

I was trying to figure out many ways to add to the layout. That was the one that made the most sense. I finished putting up the shelving yesterday and cut out that piece of track to put the turnout in where the yard track will enter the main. Ran trains over it for a 1/2 hour with no problems so I think I'm ready to proceed.

Thanks and good luck with your layout. Keep us updated as to your progress. Reach out if you have any questions.

Basically just running my locomotives and some freight cars throughout the whole layout over a matter of days. Forward and reverse, Slow and quick, No hurry. First I did that after I had all of my risers in place but before I glued any track. Looking for any flaws. Then after I glue the track down doing the same thing before I move onto the next steps. This way if I have to change anything or rip anything out is just risers no scenery. As I added new sections of track to the layout I would do the same thing. I feel I got good results because of that. As I added more loco's and cars if they had a problem I would fix the problem with them because I was confident that the track was laid well and had good connectivity. Hope this answers your question.

Yes indeed.

Thanks.

I've planned it out with my track planning software and it can be done, but will yield a different landscape. But if someone took it on I would interested to see what it looks like.

Not sure what you mean.

Yep. Thought it would be good to share what I learned the hard way. I'm probably going to rip that entire section out and redo it to correct the problem. A bummer sure, but it will be better in the long run.

@@markswiatly9613 Yeah thats some work for sure. I look forward to your next post 😊👍✌️. We’re gonna get so snow tomorrow 😂🤦🏻.

@@markswiatly9613 Hey Mark since Im taking a break from my build while my arm heals.

Im wondering if I should cover my table. What do you think 😊

If you are going to be away from it for a while it might be a good idea to cover it with some plastic or cloth to keep it from getting overly dusty. But it's going to depend on how far you are. If you are quite a ways along be careful not to break anything. If you still have a long way to go it can't hurt.

Actually I've heard the same riding the Chicago subway and "L" system in my youth and growing up only 2 blocks away from the "L" system. Yes, it's painful to hear. But those cars are much shorter than the passenger train cars that have been in use since the around the 30's, I believe, in passenger train service on the nations rails.

Let's hope that this short tip helps anyone considering expansion.

That's what I'm hoping to have people avoid in the future. I'm actually thinking of ripping my out and redoing. Wish I would have realized before I ballasted.

Thanks. Glad you like it. All of the track in my layout is Bachmann's EZ-Track. The turnouts are their standard turnouts. Part #4456 9", 18" radius. I went with Bachmann only because I had a ton of it that I got really cheap (free). In fact I have enough left to do another Grand Valley layout, no plus, just the layout. Though the track works really well, I do not like their turnouts. I feel they are inferior to others. I would look into other track. If I had to do over again I would use Atlas track.

Thanks Rob. Hope you had a good Christmas and wishing you a Happy New Year. 👍👍

Thanks. Glad enjoyed.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Me too!

Thanks 👍

Cool, thanks!

Thanks Rob. How's your layout going?

@@markswiatly9613 slow like me 😂. Thanks for asking bud. I bought the Ryobi dual temp glue gun and sticks. They are dual temp sticks which is nice. I think after the risers and inclines I can lay the track down. Can’t wait. Keep up with the shorts, although they might be a little cold this time of year 😂. Bad jk. Its great that you Mike and Dan are throwing down all these pro tips 👍✌️.

Randy, I did ballast the EZ-track. I didn't find it anymore difficult than ballasting I did 25 years ago to another layout where I used Atlas track and cork roadbed. I will admit that I did get annal at times when working on the turnouts. I used a micro screwdriver and tweezers making sure not to get too much in critical areas, but in the long run it was worth it. I also did not lay any ballast down where the track has to move. I don't like the way that looks, so I might play with that later. How I handled the plastic was I would only work on 2-3 foot sections at a time or 3-4 pieces of 9" track or curves. I would use any regular white glue, like Elmer's, and squirt a small bead of glue on both of the sloped sides. Then I would spread it out with a small paint brush. This will allow the ballast to stick to the sides nicely and you can leave as it or then have a base to build up on, which is what I did. I like the extra ballast because that is what I notice on real tracks all over the Midwest, which is where I'm from and was trying to mimic. Be careful when spreading, as you don't really need any on the top. If you get some overlap on the ties it's a pain to get off. After I spread the glue out, I laid the ballast using a ballast spreader from Bachmann. Bachmann HO 39015 (BS-HO-04) Ballast Spreader With Shut-Off. For my personal preference I found that the grooves for the track were too shallow and the spreader left a lot of extra ballast to be cleaned off. Not a big deal, just time consuming. So I glued some styrene strips to the bottom which left less space and would also leave less ballast, which enabled less clean-up. I used a small 1-1/2 angled paint brush to clean excess off of the ties. Sorry but I didn't take video of me doing that. Hope this helps. Also I know there are other videos out there of people who used EZ track and ballasted it and show how they did it. To each his own. It's best to experiment and find the way that works best for you. When I started ballasting I just spent a whole month attacking it as I wanted to get it done. I never did quite finish my old layout, only about 50% done, and I swore I was not going to do that this time.

Thanks!

Yes, I did use Bachmann's EZ-Track. It fit the layout pretty easily. I bought a couple of their small piece assortments to help where things might be off a miniscule amount. This was helpful to have on hand and let me fine tune the fit. The layout runs very well. If you watch some of the earlier and later videos I could into greater detail on some of this. Thank you for reaching out. I'm always glad to help if I can.

@@markswiatly9613 thank you! Which Bachmann switches did you use?

@@atuldivekar Those were the #9. 44561 Left turnout remote and 44562 Right turnout remote. Both are 9" straight with an 18" radius curve. They are also the powered ones, hence the remote in the description.

Thanks Mike. In the future besides showing my progress I think I will share more of what I went through to get where I am at as it seems that is what a lot of people are looking for based on the comments I get. I don't profess to be an expert, just a little experienced and maybe that is what I should share. I just want people to have fun constructing their layouts and then have even more fun running their trains as that's what it should be all about. At least in my opinion. What thing I think I've stated in the past, I don't care about being PROTOTYPICAL. I care about things running well and having fun. I'm too old for the BS if you get my meaning.

Thank you. Glad you are getting something out my video's. To answer your question when I first started the layout I was using Bachmann's E-Z Command DCC controller. It was sufficient to run the GVL layout with just the outer loop. I did not worry about the yard area until I was satisfied with just my 5 x 9 section. Since I was using E-Z Track I just had to plug it into one of the power rerailers at the front of my layout each time I was ready to test. Just one connection at that point with a simple plug. I did not add power drops until I was ready to glue the track down. At that time I marked where I was going to add my drops, which was about every 3-4 feet of track, used a 6" drill bit to make the holes under the center of the pieces of track with the drops and stuck plastic straws in the holes and glued them in to make it easier to run the wires. At that point since I knew i was good to go, I soldered my drops to the rails, ran them through the straws, then glued my track down. At this time I also switched to a NCE Power cab. Installed a buss line under the entire layout and used suitcase connectors to install my drops to the buss line. Was this the best way? I can't say for sure. Everyone seems to have their own opinions. It was the way I was the most comfortable working. I just didn't want to have to rip things out if I could help it. Good luck and remember, have fun. That's what this is all about.