I've heard the criticism, also, about the Timesaver being too much of a puzzle and not enough of a realistic layout.
IMO, the siding length stipulation is what makes it the puzzle, and makes switching moves unnecessarily complicated and unrealistic.
Industries often had less than ideal locations for their spur tracks. Many times cars would have to be moved temporarily from an active loading dock to service other industries farther down the spur. But, every effort was made to make things as easy as space would allow for switching crews.
Someday, I, too, want to build something roughly patterned after the Timesaver, but with a few changes in siding lengths, switch placements, etc. to make operations easier and more realistic. 
Jim
