click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view Layout Size 1475 sq ft. & still Under Construction, Will Grow Feet of track 347   feet Era & Place Depends on Day- 1890s-1920s, 1950s-1980s Control type Aristo Craft Train Engineer-Sound engines Phoenix K2K Prototype Detroit Toledo & Ironton Contact Boss Man URL Under Construction, Hopefully Up Soon, check back Miles Track (perceived) 325  miles Motive Power - Steam 18 Motive Power - Diesel 15 Trolleys, RailCars, Other 5 Rolling Stock 110 Mines, Oil Fields, Rail Yards owned 3 Buildings & Structures owned 20 Employees & Local figures 67 Trestles & Tunnels 3 Tres Vehicles & Heavy Equipment owned 26   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view The first 3 years was basically the planning, staging, and more planning on how to get the Great Lakes out of my backyard. All of my neighbors house grades were higher than mine and I was the "Drain" for all of them. And some of the neighbors were nice enough to bring in more dirt and make their grade even higher! Beautiful, MORE water for my lake. The only problem is that I wanted to run TRAINS, not RC boats! Well after many hours of bathing in the backyard I finally had to do something because it was driving me nuts and I still was not making any progress on the railroad. I first started off by putting in some drain pipes in the lower areas of the yard to get the water out to the front of the house and out of the backyard. What a job, it sucked! All trenches were dug out by hand. Then I had another great workout, I had to haul approximately 40 yards of dirt & clay with a shovel and wheelbarrow, talk about fun, Ya Right, that sucked worst than the trenches... I had to haul the dirt in the wheelbarrow approximately 135 feet on every load. I started to think the clay was made of concrete, hahah... Well after 3 years the Hoover dam was in place and let me tell you one thing, with that clay and dirt mix, "No" water was going to penetrate that combo. I almost forgot to tell ya, 1/4 inch down was also thrown into the mix, I think it did turn into cement, hahaha... Guess what, Dry backyard at last... With the foundation finally down I needed to get the wiring to the railroad because I wanted to run the trains from track power and I needed electricity to supply power to the buildings, accessories, and individual lights. I ran PVC pipe and piped all my wires underground with the transformers located in a nearby shed, it worked out perfect, not only to store the transformers but also to store the railroad equipment (rolling stock only)and keep it out of the weather in between running sessions. After the wiring was planted underground, it was time for my base which I used 3/4 inch down rocks. The jagged rocks keeps the track in place nicely and there is almost No movement at all with the track. Their was only one problem I came across when I got the rock delivered, I got rid of that 25 year old "heavy" wheelbarrow, hahaha... I had to borrow one and I was back hauling heavy rock, all by hand, YUCK... I thought the heavy hauling process was never going to end !   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view Ok I forgot to add a couple other things. I figured that some people might think that I'm a slow worker on the Railroad, I contemplate to much, I didn't get enough of the railroad finished in past 8 years, but I forgot to add that after the Hoover dam was put up and before any track work started I only had to rip out a chain link fence, put in a new vinyl fence, build a shed, and add more grass. NOOOOO Problem, ya right....Well after all that it was finally time to start laying some track, YES, "FINALLY"... To sum it up because I getting flashbacks I'm tired just thinking about all that water, dirt, rock, I'm still having nightmares, hahah... All my track is Aristo Craft and all the joints have split jaw clamps. I have feeder wires going to only four sections on the railroad and their is "No" voltage drop, and the trains run smoothly, they will even crawl on the layout! My track consist of 5 & 6 foot straights, Curves consist of 8,9,10,16,& 20 foot diameter curves. I'm in the process of hand building the trestle and that's another long, slow, process. I have the upper main loop almost finished with the tresses, I just have to add the smaller details to the sides of it. Then I will start to build tresses for the 2 percent rise up, and down, from the upper 20 diameter circular loop. I have only a few buildings, cars, people, and accessories out at this time, I like to add accessories and buildings to the railroad as I make progress on it, sort of as a reward to myself, to see the railroad develop into what I had visions of for many, many, years, "The DT&I Railroad". Thanks for Stopping by and may all of your visions of your "Dream Layout" become a Reality... God Bless !!!   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view   click on image for an expanded view