What are your thoughts about scenicking the Big 8? Plain Jane or winter, summer, fall? There are some nice, not too expensive plow cars out there, and Athearn makes a beautiful rotary plow car that runs on its own motor, revolving the rotary.
If you do snow, stay away from anything edible, like flour: bugs love it. I've not tried baking soda, but that might work. If not, Woodland Scenics makes a nice snow that goes on easy, sticks well. You need to cover the layout when not in use, or it will soon resemble dirty snowbanks and the all the rest.
Back in the day, modelers used to use asbestos: cheap and abundant at any hardware store.
An industrial vista? I used to live in Pecos, Texas, and rail lines snaked all over the former industrial district, back in the day when it was a small, but thriving industrial hub. El Paso still has a few areas where cars, trucks, and trains compete for the right of way.