Hi Sir_Prize!
Your plan has some similarities to the one I'm working on for my HO layout, although mine is a point to point configuration on shelves ranging from 12" to 24" wide.
The room I'm building in is divided virtually in half by a utility closet at one end. This closet contains the main electrical box for the house, & therefore, must remain accessible.
At first, I viewed this closet as a major obstruction, but have come to realize that it has potential as a staging area, & as a representation of distance between areas modeled on the layout. It also got me to think of the layout as a series of seperate scenes, or dioramas, & actually building it that way, instead of the traditional layout that is basically one big chunk.
The first diorama is the town of Salt Lick, which features an interchange, turntable & depot, a sawmill, & a small town that has grown up around them. Leaving town, the RR begins to climb, & enters the next diorama (these are divided by backdrops), simply a high trestle crossing a rocky gorge. Then the train must travel a 7' unscenicked shelf through the utility closet, & then enters the next diorama, a series of switchbacks that gets the RR to the top of Devil's Mountain. The next diorama is a logging area, & then the train enters the final diorama, the town of Campton, where there are engine facilities, freight & passenger depot, & another turntable.
Seperating scenes like this implies distance where there really isn't any. (in your case, Ohio to Florida)
By the way, my RR is set entirely in Kentucky, in the Red River Gorge area of Menifee, Powell, & Wolfe Counties, circa 1931.
Go ahead & link those sectrions together. It doesn't matter how far apart they are. Use Woodie's suggestion about keeping the trains out of sight when traveling between sections. That could add a whole new dimention to your RR.
Good Luck!