Kato? ... Dare I cross to the dark side?

I think we can agree my posts have been left a little thin on the ground... for a while at least.  This is because life got in the way.  Loss of a job.  Employment under a real sociopath.  Loss of a sibling.  And starting up my own business and focusing on that.  Occasionally I have pulled out my rolling stock and set up some temporary track work on the dining table and before long it has to go away again.  I'm sure we've all been there.  Even the wonderful Jerry of Quinntopia fame is on hiatus (sadly for all of us fans).

I have for some reason started to develop a quiet admiration of the Kato system.  Now let me say first of all I was never attracted to it off the bat.  I was laying track and traditional ballast when I was still a teen (okay that's at least 21 years ago now).  Like many people my initial reaction would be "Eww! ... You cannot be serious?!?!"  But, I have observed many people have taken to it, and the Quinntopia layout was a wonderful example.  But, there are people still who take great pride in weathering and ballasting Kato track in to a life like form.  This raises the counter productive question of then why they bother?

I'm torn in not wanting a fake look that I could have surpassed 20 years ago myself with my amateur skills, opposed to utilising a quality track work that would not be inhibited by my lack of skill (and time) in other areas.  There are other areas I need to completely learn on, such as wiring and basic signalling.

I am looking to build an 8ft by 4ft (give or take) layout, that can be perhaps built on 2 or 3 sections for easy dismantling.  I have fallen for this design from the Kato track plans online.

Richfield & Fond du Lac Railroad

This layout offers everything I desire:

• Ability to run several decent length consists
• The ability to modify the bottom to incorporate a decent multi platform station able to properly take five to six passenger cars
• Ability to move some of the scenic loop track north to expand on the stabling / fiddle yard

My focus is passenger trains with some odd freight focus.  I have always wanted a reasonable run through station and not a line ending terminus.  This is because this is representational of my life growing up around the trains where I live in my environment.  We have a mix of suburban commuter sets and regional inter-city trains passing by.  I enjoy nothing more than the sight of a train arriving, departing, or, speeding through a station on an express pass by.

If anyone can still see this I would love to hear your (experienced) feedback on Kato Unitrack.  The good, the bad and the ugly.