Chip,
True, I underesitmated your operations but, as you say, you did make some compromises to have both scenery and operations. Your two level layout helped to really increase the normal 4x8 space as well. Nevertheless, your layout is much more biased toward scenery than most 4x8's, which is the point I was trying to make. It's which way a person wants the balance to tip that will really influence the track plan and decide what's the best 4x8 for them, including what compromises they need to make to reach their goal.
True, I underesitmated your operations but, as you say, you did make some compromises to have both scenery and operations. Your two level layout helped to really increase the normal 4x8 space as well. Nevertheless, your layout is much more biased toward scenery than most 4x8's, which is the point I was trying to make. It's which way a person wants the balance to tip that will really influence the track plan and decide what's the best 4x8 for them, including what compromises they need to make to reach their goal.