Hey, Dan. Great job on all the videos you've posted. Sorry that I missed out on the recent live feed you did. I've been pretty busy with work so I had to do plenty of catching up on your updates - lol. I decided to show my support for your page (and any future projects you have in mind) by purchasing one of your coffee mugs. Here's to hoping that I received it by May 18th on my 47th Birthday. Keep up the fantastic work.
Thank you Donnie! Boy, it’s good to see you back! I hope you’re doing very well. Thank you for all the support and watching the videos, I really appreciate it! Thanks for ordering the mug, I appreciate that as well, but give it plenty of time. I ordered a hat, and it took a little while to get to me. happy upcoming birthday! And thanks again my friend. 👍🏼
I’m about a month into my GVL (and I’m going slow!), and your videos, along with Dave’s, we’re really helpful in getting started. People absolutely marvel at it, even in its early stages
My $.02 worth: #2. Buy the kit. It's actually really good value and includes a ton of stuff. If you buy the same components ala carte, Woodlands will nickel and dime you to death. Follow the kit instructions pretty closely until you pretty much complete the plaster cloth phase. From then on, think of the instructions as mere suggestions but do whatever you want. There's lots of opportunity to mix and match and scratch build stuff. Just because somethings in the kit, you don't need to use it. #7. You are never "done" (nor do you want to be). You will always be adding, modifying, re-doing things. Don't be afraid to break out the knife and plaster cloth.
You know I enjoy the layout quite a lot. So much in fact that I'm always running a train or two instead of adding more landscape material to mine to make it more "done" too! :) The hat looks cool. I wonder if it'd be legal to stitch "Made in Grand Valley" on it? I just refer to the layout as something like a priceless (5 figure? not yet) piece of art in-progress. There is not much more recreation I'm doing at the moment and yard work is done by the landlord, haha. Hoping to make more progress on my build but you know how I love to run trains and there's currently a GP7 / RS3 consist on my layout hauling mixed passenger and freight so better get to rail fanning.
Ha awesome Tom! That’s the cool thing about the hobby is that everybody does it their own way. I don’t tend to run trains that much, but I enjoy modifying cars and weathering. But then sometimes I feel like doing some landscaping or ripping out a mountain or two! Lol. Thank you as always my friend, great comments!
Hi Dan based on your videos this is the way I plan to go. One of your top ten questions was train size limits. I have the Rapido Amtrak HO RTL Turboliner (DCC/Sound) - Phase V. will this size work on the 18 ' curves and tunnels. I am new and unsure how to tell. Thanks for your help
Hi Keith! The airplane flat car is something that Athearn sold back in the day. You can still find some on eBay. I took my original one that I had when I was a kid, passed down from my grandfather and restored it a bit. I got some parts from eBay and actually another whole set up, with airplane and everything. Here is the video I made of that: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lh_ycX79k-E.htmlsi=HdnGxi8VLVyjXLiS
Great video Dan. It answered many of my questions and I was having a hard time finding somewhere to buy the kit, but when I checked out TrainSetOnly, they had it in stock - but about $100 more than your video showed - $578.50 (April 25, 2023). But, ModelTrainStuff has it for $489.99. I'll have to check about shipping costs. The Building Sets and Track Sets were about the same price. So, it appears that you do not have any affiliate links for these stores - do you have any for other places? I really enjoy your videos (been watching since late 2022) and have been interested in the Grand Valley for a few years and now that I have retired, it might be time to take the plunge! Thanks, Charlie in Central Ohio
Hi Charlie, congratulations on retiring! I do not have any affiliate stores, I just shopped prices for my video. I got my layout kit from Tower Hobby, and I believe I had a coupon code for free shipping. This was back in 2018 though. Well, I wish you luck with your new endeavor, it’s going to be fun. I kind of wish I had it to do over again! Please keep me posted with your progress, and, of course, don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions. Have fun, and enjoy. Thanks so much for watching, I really appreciate it!
@@DansGrandValley - well, after putting the layout, track pack and building set into carts at Model Train Stuff, Train Sets Only and HobbyTown, Train Sets Only came up the winner at $578.59+$126.91+254.72 = $960 + $72.02 tax = $1032.24 with free shipping!! The FREE shipping was the kicker. The other stores may have had better prices, but wanted around $80 -$100 for shipping. I thought maybe HobbyTown would ship FREE to a local store here near me, but that wasn't an option. I have not committed yet, but I am still considering this for sure. Dan, your videos have really made building the Grand Valley an interesting future hobby possibility . I am still racing HO slot cars on a weekly basis since my first Aurora ThunderJet set at Christmas 1966. Thanks, Charlie
I think it would work well in N gauge. My only advice would be to eliminate the cross and go with an over-under there where the mains meet. It’s a fun layout and would be amazing in a smaller scale!
