How would you operate this layout

[Snowbound]

I inhereted my Dad's Marklin stuff & have this layout:

It is HO scale & I don't really have any intention of expanding it. It's not even modeled & I may or may not keep it & model it. But I'd like to be able to operate trains on this layout & get a feel for model train operations. Any thoughts on how I might do that? I was thinking maybe use the outer main loop as a sort of semi-staging where I would sit at the bottom area of the layout & fiddle with trains on the outer main. I could then run them as way freights around a loop & a half into the yard area & set out & pick up cars at industries. What else could I do? With none of this being modeled, it's all imaginary, but that's ok.
Snowbound

 

[Tileguy]

Snowbound, i made some mods in Paint.Using this here is one idea you may consider.At least it may give you a jumping off point
Colored area's
Blue-Lg industry(one that needs a variety of car types and commodities and will ship out at least box cars of merchandise.Paper mill s are just one good example of this with flats of pulpwood,tanks of kaolin and chemicals,Gons of wood chips,Boxcars of misc materials,Boxcars for shipping)
Green-Fuel dealer,feed mill perhaps,This gives you a place for tank cars,Gons,hoppers,boxcars,LP tanks??
Black-Freight House LCL or truck transfer.Lots of boxcars,even reefers if cold storage is provided. COnsider this your own private UPS of the rails
White-Team track - from centerbeam flats,depressed centers,stake cars,stock cars,anything could potentially show up here.
Grey-This will be used for a runaround for doing all your switching/sorting
Pink-This could be your interchange track.cars that are spotted here can be picked up, brought to your runaround area and sorted into your trains switch list.deliveries to the area can be dropped of in this area. you can fiddle this interchange track removing delivered cars and substituting new cars to be delivered.

A typical day may start off with the morning switch picking up cars from the interchange track,these will be brought to the yard for sorting(your runaround track)the industries will then be switched with empties being picked up along with freight to be brought to the interchange track.cars that were brought to the yard and classified earlier by the yardmaster can now be forwarded to thier destinations.(lets call this the afternoon local or the 3 oclock tramp ,whatever fits your fancy).
There ya go, a day on your railroad.
Now, i would add to this car cards, waybills etc to add to the fun.Also, name everything.Put names to your sidings,your runaround,your cutoffs, name everything.This halps add to the sense of place.
Now, if you get tired of this,Perhaps we can take a look down the road at what we can do to help improve operations or add enough to it for a buddy or 2 to operate with you.

 

[Snowbound]

WOW Thanks, Tileguy! That's realy helpful. Since none of it is modeled, I will probably place a couple little cardboard boxes with "Paper Mill" or whatever written on it. Or maybe "Papiermühle" since it's Marklin & all the writing on the cars is in German I don't remember having a lot of tank cars... I haven't gone through all the cars yet, but I do remember my dad was way into old German beer cars so I may want a "Brauerei" as well. That really gives me something to work with, thanks again.
Snowbound

 

[Tileguy]

No problem, i'm glad you found it helpful/
Anything for a brother pike fisherman

 

[jetrock]

Another possibility would be to use the stub tracks as a little "classification yard" with the blue track as a yard lead or enginehouse track.

a nice basic little layout. There are lots of European-pattern models out there that look great on a Marklin layout.