Hi Jay- I also just found your thread courtesy of Mark's comments. I like the idea of an around the wall plan. I think we all get too focused on the 4x8's of our youth and don't think bigger picture like Tom T does. There was a member on here who was building a great around the room switching layout. He passed away unfortunately last year but if you search for his posts (@paul 2), you will see some very creative and realistic work. He often posted on "what did you do on your layout". Here's one area he had shared. The main is along the edge, with an industry filling the corner.
Lift out or swing bridges still allow space for big curves while giving easy access to the center of the layout. Anything deeper than 3' is out of easy reach. Consider giving up the center peninsula and go with a wider center isle. Here's another plan I had saved from somewhere.
Long passing sidings are very common in real railroads. They give you the ability to have multiple trains on one track at the ready to run simply by flipping a couple of switches.
Looks like you have a great space to work with, you're a lucky guy. Try out the freeware version of SCARM and play around with it. It's relatively easy to learn and they have a full library of track mfr's to work with. A simulator can be added once you own a license. Take the time now, even if it means taking the bench apart and modifying it. Better to figure it out now then after you build more and are not happy with the results.
Bob
