Another thread got me thinking about scaleable operation, the ability to operate with a varying sized crew.  Aside from physical size, my theory is that on a sliding scale between all switching and all running, either end of the spectrum is very scaleable.  A layout that is all switching can be operated by one person or a full crew just as easily.  A layout that is all running can be operated by anything from one person to a full crew just as easily.

I decided after I bought the add on silos for the Walthers Cornerstone ADM Concrete Grain Elevator to give me a 2x8 configuration, I wanted to represent a local company known as Riceland. Riceland's HQ is located in Stuttgart, AR and served as a major industry on the St. Louis Southwestern or formerly known as the Cotton Belt and still in service by the Union Pacific today.

It is interesting how much work you can complete when you have two weeks off from work.   I'd spent several months working on my track plan, but these last two weeks have been almost dedicated to it,  And i'm calling it done.

Done in the sense I now know enough to start buying track and turnouts.  Need to still work on the actual benchwork design.  Trying to decide between box frame or L girder.  And actual track placement may well change when the tracks hit the plywood.  (Like slightly increasing the runaround in Lynnsport.)

The current video is an interview with a CN train controller.  Bob Fallowfield is a familiar interviewer from TMTV and does more than this single “Platforum”.  See the link below.  Enjoy!