I will have to try from the vignette stand point to see what I can do. I have e light designs to do a layout book. Maybe a different take or combination will produce the answer
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
I embraced the spaghetti bowl. After running trains and switching, my goal is to make a variety of vingettes for photography. I try to match prototype scenes well enough that people will recognize them. I am able to squeeze in lots of prototype scenes in a small space by obscuring sight lines with structures or scenery. Two completely different scenes may be next to each other or even share some elements, but you'd never notice from the photos - at least I hope not. You only see the spaghetti if you view the whole layout at once. https://nscale4by8.github.io/nscale4x8/plan/plan.html
As I fill in more scenery, more scenes are maturing to the point that I want to photograph them.
https://nscale4by8.github.io/nscale4x8/
I have been working on designing a new layout. Trying for a smaller HO layout than the 14x 14 I have now. I have done big, Time for smaller. and more well thought out. I keep having an issue. the designs end up bigger. As I work in the target list, it goes beyound the size of smaller. I have been pairing down that list. Trying to design in less track. avoiding the spaghetti bowl. which inevitably appears too. For those that made the same move larger to smaller, how did you avoid these problems?
shane