I can't find thread for the request on a 5 by 9 layout so I will post my suggestion here. The layout I found is a 5 by 8 layout, but it is easy to modify as you just add one foot of straight or curved track as required to add on the extra foot. In this layout there is lots of interesting ops with a "wye", industrial sidings and even a spot for a yard/staging. Now the bad news: this layout is in an out of print book called "Track Planning Ideas from Model Railroader - 58 Track Plans from Past Issues." (Second printing 1983). If you have old copies of MR you will find it in one of those issues. You can do a search at the MR site for this layout to discover which issue of MR it was in, but since the book went to first printing in 1981, the layout is probably in a late 1970's MR. If all else fails, I'll mail it to you if you email me with your address. The title of the layout is: "Thinking Big in Small Spaces - The Pleasant Hill & Sunnyvale RR: A lot of layout in a 5 by 8 space." The author is Don Mitchell.
