Congratulations on getting it to work. I tried a while back, but everything just looked weird or dumb, although I do tend to be quite hard on my own pics.
Anyway, I like number 2 the best. The highways and tracks really give it a train set feel.
i think its possible with the lensbaby, but it doesnt work as well... i believe the lensbaby uses a focal point, and what you would want more, is a focal line. Photoshop makes it easy though, if you know what you're doing