ballast was laid over the sleeper tops for many decades after the early railways started.......one reason was to make it safer for horses, regularly used for shunting.
Also, consider ''baulk road'' trackage, whereby the rails [not true vignoles section, though] were laid on longitudinal baulks of timber, spaced at intervals with cross pieces......the classic example of this trackage being used by IK Brunel on his broad gauge great Western Railway.
Turnouts, or points, often were of the type known as ''stub points'', which did not have point blades as we commonly know them....but what was effectively an entire piece of moving trackwork.....imagine a peco point, hacksawed through entirely, at the place where the moving blades join the closure rails?....then instead of the point blades, and the remains of the stock rails, one simply has a moving piece of flex track, aligning with either of the cut-off ends of the stock rails [the frog end]....
Small turntables were commonly used, right up until the mid 1930's and beyond....for allowing wagons to access ackward building entry's, etc
However, up until around the 1880's,I believe, these small turntables were commonly used in stations, even at platforms and near running lines.
Peco used to make a plastic wagon turntable kit......
Much use was made of horses and capstans for shunting....hence the ballasting over the sleeper tops.......this 'over-ballasting' can be seen in photo's I have access to, right up until the 1890's.
There has been much rtr stuff from the likes of Bachmann in HO in the past.....although [UK prototypes[!}] there were the famous items of stock produced by Tri-ang years ago.......including the Rocket loco...but more importantly, the accompanying 4 wheel coaches, which I have seen ''kitbashed'' into may different variations......also I believe there were some kits to buld the ''chauldron-type'' mineral wagons......all these being 4 mm scale, of course.
plus, if memory hasn't failed me as usual.....there have been some whitemetal kits in the past, from folk such as K's [Keysers] for early locomotives...from the 1850's?
also....check out the Backwoods Miniatures range...do they not have a vertical boiler loco kit?
If choosing HO scale.....then I believe the German manufacturers like Preiser, etc also made some chaming,if expensive, horse-drawn vehicles.
NO MORRIS MINORS PLEASE!!
for archive and reading ,may I suggest seeking out some of those old LOCO PROFILE booklets? [from Profile Publications....long-since defunct]...these may be had via ebay or 2nd hand at shows....#s 7 and 11 cover the Rocket loco and Norris locos respectively......although you may find #15, which covers the Crewe-type locos equally useful for information.
Joining the HRMS [historical model railway sty] will find many like-minded early years modellers [no, not Brio enthusiasts!].....http://www.hmrs.org.uk/
