I'm back. John, have you been in my mind or have some kind of surveillance into my past? 
Your information about the Western Maryland, the Blackwater Canyon and the action around it is something I researched many years ago. Long before I worked at Mt. Storm Power Station not far from Davis in the early '90s, I had come upon the WM and liked it. Once we moved to Keyser, WV and I started working on the mountain, I did quite a bit of investigation. So much so, that once we moved back to Pennsylvania in '96, I planned an HO layout based on a lot of what you have shared. I got some benchwork up and a little track, bought some HO Western Maryland engines and freight cars, and ran them on the first track. Alas, we decided to buy a smaller house, and with our family's growing activities, I never went any further. Then in this house without a layout, I started looking at O scale, bought a building kit and liked the larger size. Then I bought a Bachmann On30 shay and a three-pack of log cars. I liked it. However, I kept realizing I liked the B&O, and the N&W, and our local Bessemer & Lake Erie, and, and...
It was about that time, I picked up an O Gauge Railroading magazine in a grocery store of all places. I had never seen the magazine before probably even as a 12-year old I shied away from "toy trains". Scale modeling was my thing. I was impressed, I saw the article on Dave Minarik's layout in his Mercer Junction Train Shoppe, just 45 minute drive from home, which I visited a week or two later, and the rest is how I ended up here.
I initially had thoughts of having an On30 logging line along with O gauge 3-rail, but as I got so interested in Premier and current Lionel offerings, interest in the On30 waned and I sold it to buy 3-rail.
So, I wrote all that to say, you have opened a concept for a layout that I have already researched pretty thoroughly, but need to refresh my memory. I am with you on basing the operations on something like the Blackwater Grade, Davis, etc. I can picture Davis in my mind, and where I saw where the trains went is if I had taken photographs. I have plenty of smaller engines and cars. The only things long are the Premier N&W J and 4 Lionel Powhatan Arrow cars and the Cincinatian with 5 cars. I never intended to buy anything that big, but I had seen the J under steam back in the early '90s, chased it on the old Southern route from Alexandria to Charlotesville. I loved that train. While living in Keyser, I also researched the old 17-mile grade to Oakland, Maryland, and met an old timer who modeled B&O in HO. He lived a block from the old B&O tracks, and said he used to watch the Cincinatian. He had an early brass model of the train in Ho and ran it for me. That along with reading about it, made it special. In both cases, I just happened on fantastic deals on the O gauge models I bought.
I need to rebuild the Ceiling Central RR in the corners, which I am not happy with. I just need to make them a little wider to handle the broader curves for the two passenger train. Everyone is correct, they don't fit into a concept for the main layout in the new room. I could run them through the door into the ceiling area of the new room, or leave them just in the small family room. Either would work.
Now on to the operating accessories. Guess what? The temporary Christmas layout is built on the top of a 4x8 x2" sheet of foam, sitting on top of a heavy duty folding banquet table; the kind of table churches and fire halls like to buy. Just what you mentioned. My wife already suggested I keep tat layout, reconfigure it as I want. I could keep it as a Christmas layout for now, and since no grandchildren are on the way, I would have time to make sure all the accessories are in operating order. I could then set that up anywhere for kids on something lower or even the floor. I might like to put a log unloader, sawmill or something on the main room for fun.
I see it is 1:00 again. Well at my next chance, I want to respond to Dave, Jim, and others.
Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure!! 
