Choices, Choices

 My first step was to sit down and outline what I wanted, needed, and had best avoid - in no particular order.

• I'll avoid bits. People, fine details, & trees among other things, were all bite-sized and out of the question.
• Structures should be sturdy enough to easily support 10kg of cat.
• Something besides my default setting... A biome other than "Temperate Broadleaf Forest" would be a nice change.
• Stick to a 4'x8' area with the possibility of expanding 'in the future'.
• Allow for continuous running.
• Realistic operation.
• Include at least one photogenic vignette.
  
• Generally prototypical (with some latitude).
• A railroad I haven't modeled before.

After throwing several ideas around, I settled on 'Temperate Steppe' through which will run a Santa Fe branch line. Zeroing in on a theme, I decided to model something reminiscent of Pritchett on the Manter Subdivision operations in Baca County Colorado, circa 1960.

The town of Pritchett was reached by an extension of the Manter Sub beyond it's Western terminus at Springfield, CO. The ~14 mile line from Springfield to Pritchett was operated under "Rule 93", meaning over-simply that the extension was considered part of the Springfield yard limits. My track diagram looks nothing like the real world...

 

 

Welcome to Tribble, Colorado. There are four locations for industries with "B" also including the depot. The continuous loop is a contrivance of simply joining spurs A & D. Here is what things will look like in the real world...

Like Pritchett, Tribble's raison d'être is grain. While grain sidings are normally double ended, I plan to locate a row of 'Prairie Skyscrapers' at 'D' to serve as a backdrop in this oppressively flat world. A 'Blue Flag' at the asterisk will add realism to our fakery. "East" is the fiddle yard.

I love a challenge.