Model Railroad

I have for a long time been, what the serious model railroader would call, an “armchair model railroader”. That is someone with big plans for a model railroad but somehow never builds the model.
My mini-vision was to model the 4 under/aboveground rapid transit systems (Red Line, Green Line, Blue Line, Orange Line) with the heavy rail commuter lines of the Boston MBTA in a coffee table. I really will do it if if I have any money after I retire.
Armchairs aside, somehow in one week I have got news of the worlds smallest model railroad and perhaps the world’s largest.
The smallest is a model in a model world.
The largest is the model layout where the basement is the bedrock. This is the real thing. Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway bought a big chunk of BNSF , Burlington Northern Sante Fe railroad system.
Think about a 1:1 model layout. No need to go down to the basement to see this one. If you live in the West, drive to the nearest grade crossing.
Thousands of miles of tracks. No need to dog-bone or fold an oval. These tracks are all with engineered minimum radius.
Think about it. Track, yard, tunnels. The whole she-bang. No plaster-of-Paris mountains. These mountains are real rock.
No need to schedule an “operations night”. Operations are 24×7.
I will sometimes pick up a copy of Model Railroader . Always good articles about how to build great scenes, how to scratch build a handcar, mix the right paint color for the Carolina Piedmont Railroad . Sometimes computer programs to assist with keeping trains on schedule and delivered to the right siding.
But I suspect Mr. Buffet will be looking for the balance sheet, expense and revenue summary, cash flow statement, sales projection. Stuff like that. He will be more interested in talking with the CEO, COO, and the CFO than the man or woman that drives the choo-choo.