Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
I don't have that issue, but I think that the "Layout Doctor" was primarily Bill Schopp (along with Bill Livingston and Al Westerfield from time-to-time). But as far as I knew, the Layout Doctor series was only in Railroad Model Craftsman, not in MR. But I could be wrong, I certainly wasn't reading the magazines back in those days -- maybe he used the "Layout Doctor" pen-name in both magazines. Or maybe someone else used the name in MR.
Many of the "Layout Doctor" designs from RMC in that era are overly optimistic about what will actually fit, IMHO. Custom hand-laid turnouts are often required, radii are often pretty tight, access is often a problem, and track-to-track spacing is sometimes challenging. There's been a lot of thought given to layout design in the intervening four or five decades, so there might be better choices.
ByronModel RR Blog
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
I recall the "Layout Doctor's" designs as suffering from problems which could usually be solved by increasing length and width by about 20%. Unfotunately, the reach-in distances aren't so easily corrected, nor is the tendency for the good Doctor's designs to resemble a plate of spaghetti.
Many of the layout designs from a half-century ago have been superceded by more recent design developments (like staging, which was almost unknown in published plans back then.) John Armstrong was a voice in the wilderness when he advocated 'once through each scene' design - now it's the norm.
Just my , other opinions will differ.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet