Layouts - Which way do I go?

Armed with multiple layout books, massive web searches and a definite list of things we'd like to have (lots of activity, multiple trains running, a small town, some industry and opportunities for various scenery) I began the process of wading through no less than 6 false starts!!!  Finally, I decided that Atlas' N16 - Atlantic Longhaul Layout would basically work.  Here's their version from the Nine N Scale Layouts book:

I took the Atlas plan and started laying it out in XTrackCAD.  I immediately discovered that book layouts don't necessarily work out exactly in a CAD layout.  There were a few places that didn't look like they worked, including the double 90 degree crossings, but I also knew there was likely enough give in the track so I wouldn't have any serious problems.

Let me pause here and put in a plug for what I consider to be one of the best N Scale resources on the web - N Scale Net (NSN)  I have yet to come across any question that I couldn't find answered on this site.  Best of all - it's a free membership.  Do yourself a favor - JOIN!!!

So, after posting a few questions on NSN and making a few trial runs with real track, we ended up with the Yorktown M & S layout ready to go into construction: