Sad story for sure. As an older fella myself I can sympathize with that guy. Age creeps up on you. I have a brother who is a year younger than me. He has an extensive HO scale layout that like this one is heavy on the scenery and buildings. Almost all is scratch built. Similar time period and theme. His eyesight is not what it was and he has a lot of other age related problems. Don't we all. Because of arthritis in my left wrist my guitar playing has been cut back quite a bit.
Still it is nice that this layout will be shared in someways with others and live on. It truly is a work of art.
Thanks for sharing Steve.