New Haven Joe, I think you nailed it. This is a private home two level around the wall layout with yards spaced approximately 10 feet apart. Apparently this an informal club that rotates among several layouts in the city area over course of year. Which explains why they know just what to do and everything was so co ordinated. That said, enlightened me as to why I was not invited to join in.
Thank goodness I have my own "little" layout (which was a Reader Rails picture in run 286 page 18), where I can do some switching in small yards. I am mostly a train runner, not so much into making up trains and figuring out how to get this car in front of other for set out at destination (I invoke the five finger switching method).
Different strokes, different folks!
