TPBO

[FCIN]

Oh... did want to throw this in...

For me, I don't think I will be doing all the time-consuming stuff like pumping up the brakes, waiting for the train crew to walk the tracks to the switches, all that. I'm mostly interested in the train movements, so I will compress all the items above when operating. I suppose I want to throw out all the mundane aspects and keep the fun stuff. May be less realistic, but nothing wrong with that.

Well with a 180 foot long layout, I'd suspect it takes a while to operate without needing to throw in much of the little extras!

About all I'll do on a regular basis, will be to have a crossing or two that you'd have to stop and flag, derails on some of the tracks that would have to actually be opened and probably a gate that would have to be opened at one facility and of course just waiting for a couple of seconds before you move after coupling/uncoupling. Other than that and just taking your time seems to work just fine. Just having to following the switch list and figuring the most efficient moves to make takes time in and of itself.

A bakery? It could take in boxcars of ingredients and ship out what it bakes, It could take in HFCS for the sweets it produces and it could take in Hoppers of flour.

That's a possibility, but not sure what they'd be receiving in box cars other than maybe packaging materials (I'm thinking in the modern era here). Probably wouldn't ship out much in box cars either, but is possible. Big drawback here for me is that unless they are producing their own flour from bulk wheat, etc., flour is shipped in AirSlide or other type pneumatic/pressure differential discharge covered hoppers and I don't have any!!

Maybe I need to look at the ingredients of some Frito-Lay products and see what they make that might fit with my car fleet...