I have a few comments from a minimally experienced modeler:
First and foremost, It is your layout, do what YOU want. Getting tips or advice is never a bad idea, but just because something "didn't" run in a particular location, doesn't mean it cant on your layout. Build the towns and places you want to see, and run the trains you want to run. From experience, it is almost too hard to try and do exactly what a prototype did in a specific year at a specific location. Plus, you are almost guaranteed to exclude some of the equipment or locations you want.
Second, there are three main types of railroads. Switching, Operations, and a more set it and forget it. If you have a large enough space (I'm thinking Eddie Carrol for those who know him) you can possibly do all three. Switching would be something like two main large yards with a little track in between. The objective would be to "switch" cars at each end. Operations is more like a big town or two with several little towns spread out between. The goal is to take trains from the larger towns and divide them up between the smaller and vise versa. The last is more of a build a train, set it on its way, and just let it go.
Third, a healthy mix of towns and runs is probably the best in my opinion. If you only have a few feet between towns, you are always working and cant really run long trains. If you have too few towns, there isn't much to do. In the beginning of the D&RG, locos were light, grades were high, and trains were shorter. Towards the end, you would find trains that easily got over 50 cars long, and I've even heard rumors of a 120 car train.
And last, Don't sweat every single detail. If you don't do something perfect, more than likely you are going to be the only one that notices it. In the beginning, the goal should be more based on completing tasks, such as buildings, track, equipment etc... Until the track is laid, spend more time on that than anything else. Track can be the hardest thing to have to repair, because everything else on the layout will be in your way. The most important part about construction is having a solid track plan, and sticking to it. Once you have a running layout, it is easier to go back and fix some of the mistakes made along the way, or add more scenery and buildings...
In truth, however much room you think you need for a layout, double it, and you might be able to get what you want. The same goes for cost and time too!!!
Casey
