After building many layouts over the last 59 years, and designing many, many more, I am STILL hoping to someday do the "Perfect" layout.  But I won't be disappointed if it never happens.  I just look around at CP, CN, and others - they are still taking up and putting down track, still trying to make their layouts perfect.  Compromise and change are the only two constants in the world of railroading, either model or full size.

Having said that, I do admire anyone who thinks things through first and acts second.  And I have tried to avoid problems by anticipating them.  But I have found that my layouts tend to evolve.  My H0 Lorraine Valley & James River Railway is not the railroad it started out to be in October 1984.  When I moved it in 1986, it featured one train at a time operation on a fully sceniced 4 x 10 foot layout.  Since then, it has expanded to fill two rooms and progressed to walkaround control, then block control, then computer assisted block control and finally to DCC.  It has grown from being able to amuse one guy running one train in one town to providing fun for half a dozen guys each running a train in a town or from town to town to town.  After 25 years you would think it should be perfect.  Sorry, there are still things to add (or delete) and changes to be made.  I have spent a lot of time trying to get to perfect.  Frankly, I don't expect I will ever get there.  But I have had a whole lot of fun along the way.

Jim