What type of layout design would work best to achieve good , satisfying Operation during an O/S, by mimicing the 1:1 more closely?
I have only ONE preference and would use it in a HEARTBEAT, IF I owned a home with a useable, dry, clean basement, garage or spare room [ own SMALL, old farmhouse, small rooms, dirt floor cellar, no garage, wife and yours truly raised 8 children in it, NO $ and too old to worry about it now, LOL! ]:
Single-track [with passing siding(s) where required], narrow shelf, around-the-room, point-to-point layout [with continuous running provision via reverse loops, to appease pals, who like this] with whatever size narrow peninsula(s) could be fit in the plan and each operator would also be turn crew switchman as all turnouts would be manually operated [unless impossible to do so in some special case]! This creates LONG right-of-way, gives operator the 'feel' of operating a real railroad as train negotiates the main [use of scenic dividers at peninsulas helps to separate view on layout so one cannot view it except as a train crew would]. Would span a doorway, if necessary to do so, with drop-in section [with necessary track power cut-off safeguards, of course]. Shallow depth puts every area within easy reach [including UNDERNEATH, for wiring, etc.] and makes aisles wider for crew maneuvering during an O/S, saves a lot on scenicing supply cost over wider layout depth, makes one be very creative in planning the topography [vertical scenery, tunnel, cut, fill, track paralleling a river, etc.], industries [with Operation ALWAYS in mind], towns, etc., along r-o-w and entails use of building flats where they would work successfully [Walthers has angled 2-wall ones with end, overhead car doors, allowing a car to be spotted in interior. NEAT!]
And not only that, but my entire layout would be built using luan hollow core door construction [personal favorite after trying it!] with AT LEAST 2" of foam on top, as am a FIRM believer in UNDER-TRACK scenic possibilities [ fill, ravine, river, bridge, trestle, culvert, underpass, below-grade industry [a coal dealer's trestle could go in dead flat so cars would never roll out to foul main], village, farmland, pond, wetland, even lake or seaside, drive-in movie, trailer park, school w/playground and ALL sorts of other scenic details, YEEHAA.] Have just seen TOO MUCH of dead flat layout r-o-w's over the years and am just trying to give newbies a picture of the TONS of alternative possibilities out there, BOTH for Operation AND trackside aesthetics!
P.S. Please read my HO post on NE freelance to find out what pal Gary and I are up to at present!