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Well, when you're talking small N-scale layouts and a coal-mining theme, you're talking my language! While in college studying architecture, I constructed a 3.5' x 5.5' layout which featured two independent (or linked) mainline loops, a 15-car capacity coal mine, a return loop, a hidden passing siding, seven different bridges, and a large Point-of-Rocks Maryland style junction depot, with a few small industry spurs thrown in. To get to that point, I had to spend the better part of the two months prior to the 6-month co-op assignment, just drafting plan after plan after plan. I came up with many viable options, but fell in love with that one for all its operational potential. I've tried just one pass at a layout according to the dimensions you give (and the photos), and I've managed to come up with something that comfortably reflects a scene of Reading low by the stream and Pennsy higher up, with plenty of bridges and tunnels and two coal mines, an area for the mine town and a depot on the lower "Reading" main, plus a return loop which doubles as a staging or fiddle track. The only thing is that it is one long loop, rather than two distinct ones, but this is in keeping with your well-intentioned preference for 13-5/8" radius minimum. I have planned it so that in a couple of locations you can use some really broad radius curves, though I don't know exactly what UniTrack components to use; mine is only a pencil sketch. Let me try to describe the concept: Essentially, imagine taking the around-the-perimeter loop that you have, and elevating the front part of it high enough to clear the lower track, i.e. about 2" or 2.5". Then, imagine reaching back and grabbing the lower rear main and tugging it forward, creating a broad convex sweep up into the center foreground. At the same time, you pu***he high front line towards the back, forming a broad concavity. On the right end, I would locate the 27" diameter loop (with its ascending grade) as far forward as possible, so that it has tangent points essentially where you've shown that bridge cutting across the corner in your photo, and the other tangent close to the middle of the 24" table depth. Doing so allows the lower line to be of a much smoother radius, and affords long enough straight tangents between all the curves in order to place a switch or two. Immediately after descending the right side loop and ending up about 1 foot out from the back wall, add a turnout and begin a passing siding; you should be able to get about 4 feet of clear passing siding along this lower main line. This siding will join back to the main at the rear on the left side, but here I would suggest using a crossover so that the passing siding actually continues on to become the hidden staging and return loop track. Beyond this crossover, the return loop track would descend on a tiighter radius, while the mainline will rise on its 13-5/8" radius; at the front edge of the layout, where your photos show the left dogbone curving back into the straight front benchwork edge, there should be enough vertical clearance gained to duck the staging/return track under the high main. Then, the return track can asecnd again to get back up to where it will join the double-track lower main. This creates a busy-looking junction on the lower line, a great place to put a depot. There are opprtunities for sidings here, perhaps just a generic team track will do. Getting back to the main line, it continues to climb and curve until it is running at a 45 degree angle to the rear wall, the reverses its curvature to start to form the concave high line. It will bridge over the low line, and at the same time I'd suggest making the bridge long enough to also bridge over the creek you'll be placing aside the lower main line (to its rear). On the left side of this bridge, throw in a switch and create your first coal mine, located essentially in the center of the left-side loops. On the right side of this brisge, you'll add another switch somewhere in amongst the broad radius curvature, which will begin a short branch line which will need to rise just a bit higher, to reach a second coal mine located above the right-side loop. The mine town should be built in the scenic real estate located to the rear of the branch line switch, and perhaps alongside the rising branchline trackage; you may build most of this as flats against a backdrop. The high main will continue on, but start to descend after this branch line switch. It will bridge over the lower main again and join up with the tangent to the right side loop, just where you've got your bridge showing in the photos, although the lower main is about 8 inches in from the 24" table edge at the point that they cross. Thus, if you want a bridge that starts basically where your bridge does now, it will end up being a nice long one. To make this make sense, you can take the creek that meanders alongside the lower main under that main (via a culvert or ballasted-deck bridge, since the tracks are curved) just in front of and parallel to the higher main. Once the stream has crossed from the back side to the front side of the lower main, you can have it snake in under the higher line to justify that long bridge. Both the left and right-side loops should be in tunnels, especially the right side because of the mine located right above it. On the left side, you'll need access to the crossover which joins the return track to the main, but beyond this you could either have a two track tunnel portal or just a high enough hill as a view block (which I would prefer). The return track needs to get underground in order to pass beneath the rising main in a plausible manner, so there needs to be a mountain in the rear left corner in any case. Negative points about this design: the staging track is not level, though it slopes downward from either direction to a low point near its middle. Runaway cuts of cars will thus collect at the hidden tunnel portion. To deal with this, an access panel in the front layout fascia can make for easy access, though vertical clearance is still tight. Another negative: almost no level track anywhere, aside from the coal mine spurs themselves. If you carefully layou all of this out, you may get 3% grades to work, but more likely you'll end up iwith 4% grades in places. However, with a 48" passing siding length, you'll be running trains of about ten to a dozen cars at most, with two diesels pulling, so steep grades shouldn't be too much of a problem. Yet another negative: I am unsure of the limitations of UniTrack geometry, so there may be aspects which need revision to conform with what is available. And another negative: some of the bridges need to be on curved track lines, which may require scratchbuilding or kitbashing of available bridge models, especially ones which are part of the UniTrack lineup. Now, I'm one of those modellers who consider this to be a good thing; my little layout I mentioned at first is largely a showcase of customized bridges. And one final note: all these critical gradients mean that you'll have to build a subroadbed which is elevated above the benchwork you've already created. This is actually how I have built my layouts, first creating a level solid surface and then cutting out foam board to elevate the track to varying heights above this. I prefer using 1/2" foamcore which I can cut out with my X-acto, then elevating it with scrap blocks of foamcore, and finally filling under it with expanding foam insulation (weight it down with encyclopedias to prevent warping due to the expanding foam). The table height you have would be the stream bed elevation, in essence. Sorry I can't provide a graphic with this, but see if you can get this to work. It has scenic integrity and is based on your vignette description, and can be operated either as continuous-run loop or as an out-and-back mine turn, serving two distinct coal mines.
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