I’ve been thinking for a while that I’ll be lucky if I’m able to include all nine scenes on a medium-sized layout. I previously identified the Terminal and West End scenes as most important to model, and I figured I’d just go as far east as I can from there. In recent months, however, I’ve been thinking that McKeesport is just as important as the other two, because it’d be a significant station at the opposite end of the modeled portion, and it has great urban modeling potential, with retail storefronts, big lighted signs and streetcars along both sides of 5th Avenue, all in close proximity to the passenger station, since the B&O tracks cut through the middle of downtown. With that in mind, I’m now thinking the absolute smallest version I’d be happy with would include the scenes of West End, Terminal, South Side and McKeesport. I include South Side in the list because of the way the prototype mainline disappears into a tunnel under the J&L steel mill, which would make a great way for the modeled mainline to disappear before emerging in the next scene, whatever that ends …