Quick glance

As a general rule you do not want switching areas vertically aligned on the two decks.

I've got the same issue...

My main terminal is directly above a smaller flat yard.  Granted, I'll be the sole operator 99.9% of the time but it's not something I can easily change without removing several other important elements.

Crusty, It'd be a good reference for us to see which "town" is which.  From what you wrote, it looks like Midland occupies the bottom portion, Odessa on the peninsula and Wichita Falls on the upper portion?  Geographically, I'm not familiar with these towns and how they line up according to your trackplan but, in order to maintain continual running, looks like you have the right idea.  I wouldn't hide anything.  Worst case scenario you'll have to explain to visitors that the top half of the peninsula is "No Man's Land".

You are correct

Johnny, you are correct in the placement of the towns.

Wichita Falls is a small town North West of Ft Worth and was serviced by the KATY line as a branch off of the main line that runs north. I've left the transfer out in my plan as I think it may be too hard to do. My only thought of if I did put it in would be to move Wichita Falls to the upper side of the peninsula, add in Whitesborrow to the top of the layout and put in the interchange on the left end. With this, I could run the main line thru the back drop in the left corner of the peninsula and have it run behind everything back to the lower helix.

Or I can leave it as you said "a no mans land".

The bottom two towns are west of Ft Worth on the T&P main line. Back during this time period, they were two different towns but fairly close together. Their main industry was oil and the big oil boom. Recently when I drove thru this area on a trip back home to Ft Worth, I noticed that it was a bit hard to tell where one town ended and the other began. They are now considered a metroplex, kind of like Ft Worth and Dallas became. 

There are other towns along the main lines but I chose these as I have relatives that grew up in these towns and so wanted to incorporate them in my layout.

Wichita Falls on the MKT

Its going to be hard to tie T&P and MKT together on the upper deck to make sense operationally.You might have to pick one or the other. The T&P you have a good feel for and I don't.  I'll speak of the Wichita Falls area where I currently live and have a feel for the railroads that were and are still in the area.

All depends on what you want to do with Wichita Falls for the MKT. Oil boom was going on up there during the timeframe you model. The MKT yard was (and still is) north of downtown and the Union Station with FW&D yard. As said before you could model the FW&D and parallel MKT line east to Henrietta, TX and then maybe Burkburnett, TX, which was in the heart of the oil boom, to the north of Wichita Falls on the MKT.

So what you could do is this: Start on the upper peninsula with Henrietta, TX at Tower 198 ( http://www.towers.txrrhistory.com/198/198.htm )with the two lines next to each until you get to the middle peninsula where you could put first Union Station and the FW&D yards (if you want, you could imply they are there with dummy switches going off the front of the facia), a possible scene over the Wichita River, then MKT crosses over the FW&D then the MKT yard with the roundhouse and industries. Then going to the bottom peninsula you could put Burke and its industries there with tie in to staging to represent Altus,OK and beyond or a return loop. Wichita Falls during your time period was a boom town and growing, unlike today. This line was a long branch/secondary main line and would have a different flavor I think than the T&P west of Fort Worth. How you can tie the lower deck T&P and the upper MKT, I'll let you decide.

Paul

space

With the limited space I would go ahead and plan for switching and if it stacks over the lower then it happens. Because of the space its not like youll have 20 people running at the same time.

Dont forget some simple scenes to make it look larger, a bridge scene is always good. Adds interest and some open running to provide some space between towns,

Thoughts.

Paul, thanks for the input. I've been struggling with the design for some time now. My original plan was to have the MKT north bound from Ft Worth on one level and have the T&P west bound on the other level. But it was hard to get it to look right with T55.

But then I came up with my current design which is Ft Worth on the main level and then this level which splits west and north. Maybe I need to go back to my first design and work on it. I don't know. I'll have to do some more thinking. Or just leave a no mans land.

Randy, I will have some bridges and such in the final plan, I just haven't drawn them in yet.