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[quote user="BNSF UP and others modeler"]"some reworking on the other stuff mentioned in the article to make it fit my CRITERIA and SPACE".[/quote] Basically all you are saying is you like the overall concept.  A turnback loop in HO will need to be at the absolute minimum 48" across (for the benchwork) with the equipment you want to run, and will likely need to be larger. A helix with a tighter radius is highly inadvisable for a couple of reasons.   Top of the list is that as the radius gets tighter, both the actual grade and effective grade due to curvature goes up.  Trains want to run in a straight line.  Turning adds friction.  More friction = more drag.  More drag equals fewer cars that can be pulled.  Somewhere I have a helix calculator that someone ginned up awhile back, but if memory serves, a 22" radius helix puts you in the 5-6% grade+ range.   Intermodal is not probably workable in your space.  89' flat cars and 53' well cars like big curves, not little ones.  You might beable to modeler's license a bit a get away with smaller intermodal cars, Front Runners might be workable, but I would guess that your track work will need to be bulletproof (the prototype had trouble with the things derailing).   I would suggest either getting a compass and several sheets of graph paper or using a CAD (CTSS notwithstanding) program to draw your space to scale, then put scale minimum radius circles into your space and drag them around a bit.  Af Since youve stated you want continous run, locating where the turnbacks will exist is probably going to be the most limiting thing.  We are not knocking your space, don't take it personally.  Everyone (and I mean everyone) has to make some sort of concession to their available space when compared to what they want to model.   What we are trying to do is help you understand what actually will fit in your space and get you as close as possible to your stated goals. This is my compromise to space. Here is what I want to model: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Terminal_Company#/media/File:PortlandTerminalCompanyMap.png">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Terminal_Company#/media/File:PortlandTerminalCompanyMap.png</a> I have a 13 foot (nominal) x 23 foot space.  (I say nominal because its not a rectangle, and one end is wider than the other).  What fits in HO starts where it says yard 2 and runs to the bridge across the water to the right.     This is the track plan that really drove home the concept for me that everything I wanted would never fit in my space: <a href="http://mrr.trains.com/how-to/track-plan-database/2017/03/ho-scale-union-pacific-daneburg-subdivison">http://mrr.trains.com/how-to/track-plan-database/2017/03/ho-scale-union-pacific-daneburg-subdivison</a>
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