05-10-2012, 08:27 AM
Why not just hold on to those older buildings and put them back on the layout when the mood hits you? The LA Warehouse district, and other industries in more outlying places like the various tire plants, had buildings very much like the big one you took off. The "shoebox" style is more a function of when it was built than the region. I would also say that one piece of advice the late John Armstrong gave in one of his books is that on a layout, you can't afford to do things twice -- too little space (no matter how much you think you have) and too much to model. One aspect of a layout, for all but micro situations, is the idea of traveling from one place to another. I would strongly consider having one style of structures, scenery, and even era on one side of the layout, and another on the other. But in any case, part of your enjoyment of the hobby is shifting gears frequently, so I'd certainly consider keeping those in reserve (anyhow, I'd otherwise go to my Reisebuero um fahrkarten nach Stuttgart zu reservieren. . .)