As a child I was fascinated with the unexpected ways little used RR tracks would pop up in some of the most surprising locations. I remember looking out the car window for the flat line and row of trees on the horizon indicating the presence of an old rail line which sometimes turned out to be an old canal embankment.
Switches, track alignment, loading docks, small stations and tight configurations always impressed me. As kids we would play with unlocked turnouts in small country yards.
So for me my Utopia is in the many scenes of multiple branch lines meandering through series of tunnels and cuts, across the country side around obstacles and serving small communities.
Although branch lines did not have that many tunnels I needed them to help make distinction between different branch lines which by necessity run somewhat adjacent to one another.
Due to the premium I place on RR design and facilities, homes and stores are a very minor concern to me.
