Haven't tried it on a Steam Deck, but it works just fine on PC. You certainly don't have to get VR for it. The low poly art is a slight annoyance, but I think that the game makes up for it by giving you a lot of freedom in actually building the layout.

I do wish there were more games like it though.

Rolling Line is the closest game I've seen to being a true model railroading simulator. You can build layouts with few restrictions and control trains in third person. The low-poly art style can make it seem like it's not very detailed, but it's possible to make some great layouts on Rolling Line. You do have to build some things manually though, not quite like Cities: Skylines or Transport Fever where you can simply draw out a track in five seconds.