My Layout #1: "California Foothills"
This page will have links to pictures of my layout, which is still a work in progress. All the track work is done (so I can run trains, of course!), but the final landscaping is only about 50% done.

The theme is "California Foothills", and will be most representative of the WP main from Altamont to Niles. But the scenery compression is more like that seen in the Sierras, where space was often very tight.
Check back here every once in a while for pictures and updates. Some areas of the track diagram have links you can click on now to see details of the scenery.

Layout Diagram
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                   
                   
                   
                   
                Overall dimensions:

  4 ft x 8 ft
               
The layout's strongest inspirations are the Niles Canyon (used by the WP mainline) and Port Costa (on the SP main), both in California. I just like the name "Pleasanton" -- although there is a Pleasanton, and it was served by the WP, I'm not attempting to recreate Pleasanton, California in any way.
The layout features 4 throttles. I wanted to have both through-running (on the Red and Green mains) and detailed switching and operations activities in the same layout, even at the same time. That explains a lot of the layout design, also. At its busiest, trains would be running continuously on the red, green and yellow lines, with switching and moves on the blue rails. And they say model railroading is a sedate hobby!....
This is my first 3-dimensional and scenicked layout. It has been a tremendous learning experience. Many of the learnings center on the delay loop placed under the elevated city area. I still think this is a great idea -- with a special control system, this allows trains to hide, out of view, for periods of 1 - 10 minutes or more, in this manner simulating the frequency of trains on a busy prototype line. It also gives the impression the layout is much bigger than 4' x 8'. But building this loop in a fairly small layout required tight curves, with radii as small as 10", combined with grades of 2.5%. I haven't had much trouble pulling over this trackwork, since my longest trains are 20 cars and usually feature 2 or 3 locomotives. But some rolling stock will occasionally derail on those curves, and -- although I have access holes to the area -- it's not easy to "fish" a train out from under the city....
The layout plan may look quite busy, but the actual model doesn't feel that way. Through the use of multiple levels, buildings, trees and other types of view blocks, it combines a lot of interest into a small space without looking unrealistic.
All the construction of the layout is based on styrofoam. I've done a lot of wood work in the past -- not on for model railroads, but for home construction, etc. So I did not fear building the layout on wood -- but building it on stryrofoam just looked so much easier. Having gone through the actual construction, I am very pleased with the results and will use stryrofoam for all my future projects.
In case you can't figure out the layout diagram (above), here are some pictures of the trackwork on bare styrofoam that might help you connect the dots: