David, I don't know how I missed this thread until it got to be 3 pages ong, but congrats on the new train shop. I would like to add my $.02. On the layout I notice a couple of things. I think the first thing I noticed is that it is probably too big for the space you have available. I think you may need that space for products, unless the store front you are renting is bigger than it appears from the pictures. The second thing that comes to mind is to take a lesson from museums featuring model trains. The Model Railroad Museum in San Diego is an exception to the rule because they have crews doing operation on weekends so they use all of the sidings they have built during those times, but generally your in store layout will have trains on it and just be left running. The switches will probably not be used much. Most train museum layouts consist of variations on an oval theme. They may wind and meander a bit, but the trains will disappear into tunnels and reappear again but they will just run in circles through scenery. I think for the Thomas trains, I would make a small "coffee table" sized layout with the track pieces put together and srewed to the table and then let the kids play with the trains. Put it near the back of the store so that you can keep an eye on it to foil thieves, but expect that some of the Thomas trains will disappear and need to be replaced.
