My plan is to break the mold entirely and go in a new direction.
Frankly, I think the Eastern coal trains, grain trains and switching yards are equally "too well known", and therefore boring. We need new blood.
I asked the same question several times after noting the same thing on another thread. Like you, I received no response.
I guess the answer to your question is :no:, no one is "minding the store".
Probably why it's so dead here most of the time.
Stil showing this as a current post, although it is now one week old, and no reply from the system admin. About what I expected.
Time hack: 04/27/09 1123 MST
Google has a tone of information and images. Just specify what you're looking for.
There are also hundreds of mountain mining layouts in the modeling mags over the years, particularly in the Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette.