This video was just posted by the OperationsSig - I know it's not really a Layout Engineering Report - but it's close
Model Railroad Planning editor Tony Koester reports progress in many aspects of his HO railroad, which depicts part of the Nickel Plate Road’s St. Louis line in the fall of 1954, thanks in no small part to the help of dedicated crew members and friends. Interlocking plants of various degrees of sophistication are being or have been installed; key structures have been added; the steam and diesel fleet has grown; “blue box” cars have been retired; and a telephone system using actual NKP scissors phones has been installed. Looking ahead, he's now designing an O fine-scale model railroad for an enclosed porch.