respect for the guys that solved problems

I know what you mean.
I purchased a 4.75" gauge 1.5" scale live steamer (2-6-2) in 1987. Since I did not know of anyone in Atlanta with live steam at the time, I figured I'd put a small track in the back yard.
As I did not think I'd have room for a loop of sufficient radius I figured I'd run the track from the side of the house (where I would have had to put in a 10% grade - my front yard is about 8-10 feet higher than may back yard) to the back yard using up to 4% grades and allowing a 25' minimum radius. I put in a turnout to allow the track to enter a basement door.
I built a stub turnout using an HO scale #6 point switch as a model. Oh boy did I have problems!!!! I finally got it to work fairly well, but I now know I should have looked for stub turnout plans. I had no machine equipment at the time and could not make points.
Later on, I purchased a 4.75" gauge model of SV 101 (no tender step castings like it wore for D&RGW). I figured that it might make the 13.5' maximum radius I could fit in the yard. Boy was I wrong. It would sometimes make it but most of the time it would pop off the track.
One time when we had an ice storm and I used #50 to plow the track. It was quite interesting how it would remove a lot of mess from the track but leave a small sheet of ice/snow between the rail and wheel. I now really understand what a flanger is used for. I also see how ice and snow can lift a 150# object off the rail and then be able to sometimes roll right back on. And how plowing is extremely difficult without traction. I had no sand but could get off the loco and push it back to metal for traction (try that with 463). I then became a manual flanger with a screw driver and cleaned the top of the rails and the inside flange ways.
Anyway this sharp curve ended coming into my stub switch such that I had was functionally equivalent to a double slip switch BUT was a stub with 4 rails. I published photos in Modeltec in 1992-3. Someone then showed me a photo taken in post-Civil War Washington DC with the same switch in the foreground!!!. Wish I'd known about it.
It is amazing how some of these guys come up with solutions.