Tony,

If you mean "the reefer goes to the grocery warehouse" and "the
tank cars go to the oil dealer" and .... etc. Then I agree with you.
But the same car, including the same number ... day after day (or
Op session after Op session) ... ??? Doesn't that fly in the face
of the very purpose of railroading and how it works?

But - should the Antioch local look similar enough that when
you look at the yard you can pick it out? Yes, I agree to that.

As to the power and caboose - yes, on the real RR the equipment
for a particular job, especially for a local, was pretty stable/repetitive.
But some times can't we toss in a different switcher or caboose ...
just to make the Op -seem- different?

Ops can be like dating (a different girl every night), or it can be
like courting (where you look forward to the same girl every
night), or it can be like a mature marriage (where sometimes
you do stuff "just to change it up" ... which doesn't mean I'm
saying you need to go out with someone other than your
wife ... but maybe you shouldn't go to the same restaurant
every Friday night for 50 years ... ;-) ...).

The layout owners are lucky - they get to decide. The operators
are ALSO lucky - they get to play the hand they are dealt.
- Jim