Prototype modeling - how far can you take it?

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I guess I'd call the G&D a Freelanced model railroad despite the prototypical approaches and operations. Proto-freelance suggests to me that the railroad modeled is an actual prototype line but the complexities of modeling it exactly make the layout more of an impression of the railroad. My layout has a Penn Central theme but the communities and industries it serves are fictional...hence proto-freelanced, no?

Yes, your road is proto-freelanced.