Considering The Woodland Scenics Grand Valley Layout Kit For Christmas? Things You NEED To Know!

[@cliffkiehl2070]

I have a Woodland Scenic Ridge Layout that another person built for me. One caution. When ballasting the track be careful to not over do it. The pieces of gravel become stuck in the locomotives and brake the gears. Also, at turnouts be careful not to ballast them very much.. When it's glued down the glue gets into the turnout and they no longer work.

[@DansGrandValley]

@@cliffkiehl2070 great points Cliff. Those are definitely important things to look out for and avoid! Thanks for watching! 👍🏼😎

[@johnrobertfox7775]

Hey Dan Good To See UP # 315 Runnin Strong Like It Should ! 👍😎🦊

[@DansGrandValley]

Thanks John!! 👍🏼

[@RVA1954]

Dan. I also purchased the bench work from Woodland Scenic and I’m happy with how easily it comes together. I’m not good at woodworking so I was very glad to be able to have that option. Definitely worth it for those of us who are not good at it.

[@copterdude1]

Nice work Dan, keep up the good work. Thank you for the shout...

[@duszty]

It's funny you mention ping pong tables - I am starting a modified Grand Valley based off Mark's "Grand Valley Plus" and needed a 5x9 to accommodate ... and found out that a regulation ping pong table is 5x9! I put it atop a pair of the Woodland Scenics modular square bases.

[@donnieshaffer741]

I purchased a copy of Atlas HO Layouts For Every Space earlier this year. It was nothing like the edition that I had purchased back in 1996 when I first got into the hobby of model railroading when it provided concept artwork of what the layouts could look like. I purchased my updated 2013 copy because Layout HO-15 inside the book was the main layout that caught my attention back in the day. I had downloaded a free-trial version program called SCARM - Simple Computer-Aided Railway Modeller - that helped me to modify the layout plan to measure 4-foot by 8-foot (the original plan was 4-foot by 7-1/2-foot) and make any modifications that I needed to make to the layout for minor switching operations. The program even provided me with a parts list so I would have an idea of the amount of tracks/packages that I would require. The program works with all brands and scales. For those who aren't benchwork savy, there's a video from World's Greatest Hobby that provides a material/tool list and has a two-part video with step-by-step instructions about how to build a sturdy 4-foot by 8-foot table.

[@FlyingCrow]

Good explanation of what it takes to get into the hobby.

[@DansGrandValley]

Thank you Robert! 👍🏼

[@markswiatly9613]

Good video Dan. Very informative for those who are considering getting the GVL layout or even just getting into the hobby at all. I spent 3 months looking at layouts and designing different layouts using the AnyRail layout program. I thought I had what I wanted. When I started researching buying all of the pieces is when I saw the GVL. I went back to the drawing board using that as my base and then adding my Plus portion. I went with the GVL because it had "almost" everything needed to get started. I knew I would need to purchase more, but at least it had most everything needed for my base layout. I'm happy I did. It was a good starting point and then from there I just tinkered and added as needed. As most of us have stressed, you don't have to follow the instructions exactly. Don't be afraid to experiment. I would also stress that because it's built the way it is, it's easy to cut sections out and redo or change if needed and make it blend back in easily. I did it 3 different times to my layout in different areas where I didn't like what I did the first time. Have a great Thanksgiving.

[@DansGrandValley]

Thank you Mark! You’ve done great work with your GVL, thanks for sharing your insights with us! 👍🏼

[@robgarcia1377]

Great video Dan. Cant wait to see the Christmas cam✌️.

[@DansGrandValley]

Thanks Rob!! And thanks again for your input! Checkout this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIaupKyqhrFlqq8si=-EBxZKBRV0M9KWLT

[@robgarcia1377]

I like your traffic lights. They look simple and do the trick 👍.

[@DansGrandValley]

@@robgarcia1377 thanks buddy!!

[@robgarcia1377]

@@DansGrandValley Oh wow ty . Nice Christmas video. Love the tunnel action. I can see a lot of work done. You put a smile on my face ✌️😊.

[@billsandage]

Another great video! If anyone out there is considering starting the GVL, it looks like the prices have come down some since I purchased mine last January. It was also hard to find back then, so if they are back on the shelves, snag 'em!

[@WigWagWorkshop]

This was my first layout, I learned a lot while building it. For me, I found there was not enough material, like lightweight hydrocal, and plaster cloth. I had to purchase extras of most of the included materials. It was a wonderful learning experience, and I would obsoletely recommend the kit, however I wouldn't recommend the building kits ( City and Industry), but rather purchase individual ones, maybe even some basic wood kits to change it up a bit. I do have some videos of it on my channel, but never 100% completed it.

[@survivingworldsteam]

@4:30 what I did with mine to get them closer together is I doubled the string back over itself so that the lights were spaced half as far apart, then twisted it to make it stay together. I got the lights spaced half as far apart without having the coils of wire to hide.

[@DansGrandValley]

Excellent tip, thanks for sharing! 👍🏼

[@goforitpainting]

Awesome

[@DansGrandValley]

Thank you! And thanks for watching! 👍🏼

[@FostoriaOhiomodelrailroadclub]

you inspire me to build a kit just like that but I did a few modifications on it

[@jessesdiecastgarage]

Hey Dan So what you can do with those LED lights because the battery pack is to big you can disassemble the box trying not to break any of the wiring and the wiring that go to the battery you simply tape the batteries together either side by side or long ways in which you will have to adjust the wires that connect to the batteries and then attach the power switch either to the end or to the side of the car that you are working with or even to the bottom but you can make it fit

[@DansGrandValley]

Ahh, great idea Jesse! Those cars would look pretty cool with lights on em like that! Great idea, thank you!

[@anthonycales9118]

Do they make one for O Scale track / trains or can someone modify these layouts to work?

[@DansGrandValley]

To my knowledge, they don’t make any of their kits in O scale. Some of my subscribers have mentioned that they would like to modify the Grand Valley a few days to accommodate O, but I don’t know of anyone who’s actually done it yet.

[@PicklemanYouTube]

I have a question, do I need to follow the track plan or could I create my own custom layout using this. Would it still fit if I didn’t have any inclines? Is any soldering or wiring required? That’s all thanks.

[@DansGrandValley]

I believe you can customize it any way you’d like to do it. The risers are flexible, and you don’t have to stack them if you don’t want to. You can use any track you’d like and build the mountains or not. You’d just get whatever track you like to use and plan it out that way, I think it’s very doable. There’s no wiring or soldering required. I’d I were to do that though, I’d probably do a scratch build and bypass the kit. Check out my video where I talk about this exact subject. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2LJfaGenL-Gprcsi=mBcq1cLLgsrCfxfX

[@PicklemanYouTube]

@@DansGrandValley Thank you, your videos are very informative and useful. You have a new sub!

[@CarlosVazquez-p4c]

Yo Dan, can I bring my Polar Express to run on your grand valley layout?

[@huntercoleman460]

Why don’t they make kits like this for O scale Dan?

[@DansGrandValley]

Hi Hunter. Great question! I imagine it’s probably due to production cost, or maybe they feel there isn’t a big enough market for it? But I think it would be awesome! Thanks for watching! 👍🏼