Plan by Shortliner

Comments:
Matt - one advantage is that ALL the required trackage is within theswitching area - it doesn't need a "tacked on" fiddle yard, as all theinbound/ outbound cars start/finish on the interchange track at thefront, bringing in 3 cars distributing them and then collecting 3outbound cars and putting them on the interchange (especially if youdecide to put them in a specific order) will keep you busy for anhour+. Also you need to use the runround to get the loco on the rightend of the cars to position. Usingground throws for the switches, a bamboo skewer for uncoupling, andallowing for pumping up the air, adds to the time that a switchingsession lasts.

and

If you treat the cars on the interchange at the start of the session,when you come "on shift" (although they were really the ones you leftthere at the end of your previous "shift")they were dropped off"overnight" by a Westbound mainline freight train. Your job is todeliver them and make up an Eastbound set which will be picked upwhilst you are at beans. Once the Eastbound cars are on the interchangetrack you can go eat, so run the loco back down to near Foxy Ladysworks, and go refuel yourself and the crew at Ma Blakeys Eatin' house,and have a cup of coffee. When you're finiished, you'll find that theEastbound mainline freight has dropped some cars off for you todeliver,(you can pull those you put on the interchange and replace withothers if you like to see different cars on the layout) and then youposition the cars for the Westbound overnight, and book off shift. Asimple layout with a huge amount of operating potential.
If you havespare room, you could extend the layout left by about 15",run theteamtrack into the Foxy Lady building, put in a road crossing the trackto the left of Foxy Lady and ACME, and add a short length of track tothe centre track where you leave the engine while you go for chow. Youcould bring it down to your 7" width by having all the industries alongthe back as photoflats on the backscene