Off to a Good Start

Looked at your site. You are off to a great start. As many of the pro-designers (of whom I am not) will tell you it is best to validate your pencil drawing in scale with accurate track geometry. This isn't to say what you have drawn won't work. But rather as positive verification that it will.

Some use pencil and drafting tools, some use CAD programs, still others physically lay out the track on the floor. The method doesn't matter. What matters is that you verify the plan before building accommodating benchwork.

Your story so far is very similar to mine. Basement work, layout design, layout construction. I suppose this is really no different than many. A piece of well worn advice I received early on that has proven invaluable to me was the creation of a Givens & Druthers list. My G&D has served well to keep me from wandering afar during design and early construction.

operators

I see on your blog that you listed the max # of operators as 3.  Before you start building anything you should carefully consider how those 3 operators would be working and moving around during an op session as you only have 24" aisles in a lot of places.  For example the yard at Colfax and the town of Moscow are on top of each other with part of another yard and a juntion stacked directly across from them.  I suspect those would be busy spots and if more than one person needs to run trains in any of those areas things may get a little cramped.  One thing that I found helped was to set up big cardboard boxes to represent benchwork in a full size mockup.  I spaced them the actual distance I had planned the aisles to be so that I could get a better feel for whether it would seem cramped or not.

Fab scenery potential

With all the great scenery potential, I'm glad you left a lot of single-track main "space".  Great photographic opportunities.

As with the previous comments, I'd also recommend mocking up both the bench & track plan either with computer program or physically in the room.  Some of your curves and turnouts look a bit tight.

I'd also figure out & measure the length of trains for your various "jobs": the train length will determine the necessary length of sidings and yard.

Yards: your leads / drill tracks are very short.  It seems as if Elk River is using the return loop track as it's drill.  Curving a yard also means more space between tracks than a straight yard.  If not using a design program, I suggest setting up a table and mocking up just the yards with track and physically move the cars around to check necessary length and clearances. 

Good luck & looking forward to seeing your progress!

(I hope the instruments don't get stuck in storage along with the live music!)

How do you access the center of the layout?

Your drawings were small enough that when I tried to look at them, I could not make out where the access to the center operating pit was located. 

Thanks for the feedback

I have planned to chalk out the basement once I have it cleaned out to test for aisle space but the box idea is a better idea.  I think I'll do both.  I was also going to lay the track on the card board cut outs before revising my track plan in the possible trouble spots.  (Music is still being played, it's just been moved over to another's house.)  I don't plan on having much yard switching as part of the Ops but I will defiently have to test the drill tracks so thanks for pointing that out.

In terms of a 3 man crew, both the Colfax and Moscow yard would be worked by the same train, the idea being one would work the local along the line, the 2nd in the Elk River yard, and the 3rd would be on thru freights.  This will primarily be ran by myself however I want to keep possibilities open for others to join in. 

The access to the layout is on the right hand side, where Wilson is.  It is currently cramped and that is where the stairs enter the room.  I am planning on having the top level have a lift up arm and the bottom swing down.  I may have to forgo Wilson, WA but I'd prefer to find a way to make it work as McGreggor fertilizer is a busy customer for the line.

I use to railfan and catch rides in between Moscow and Pullman back in 1996 to 2000 when WATCO was operating the PCC so I am familiar with the industries along the line and their carload volumes.  I would like to similate that somewhat but with a slightly larger volume since this is a better maintained bridge line rather than the low maintained shortline.