Help with sound/smoke

[Tenwheeler01]

There are about double the height.  You need about 6" for clearances under the tree.

I did not have to bend up any branches this year.  I also put the track on top of snow blanks for the Christmas village.  So it was kind of spongy (not an issue for O-gauge).   

Now the way I looked at was "It's going under a tree so it's not a real model railroad". So I went with Semi-scale O-gauge.  In Semi-scale the cars are shortened to handle O27 and 031 curves which are even tighter then 036.  So semi-scale O passenger car is about the same length of a HO scale passenger car. And they look fine on a O36 curve.

Here was my list Pros:
You can accidentally kick a O-gauge car and not hurt it.
It runs handle being on sponge surfaces like carpet.
cars stayed couple under poor conditions.
Puffing smoke I can see.
Very easy to setup and operate.
look good with Christmas villages.   

Cons:
Not scale (but under a tree so is this a con?)
Add on cars to the train set are expensive.
O-gauge plug in accessories are expensive.

And just a note on O scale vs semi-scale.

Scale O-gauge locomotives and cars will not all run on 036 track.  Most require O42 or O72 which is not at all practical for under a tree.
   

[Tenwheeler01]

Another thought on scales.  Each scale has it place.  They all have pros and cons. 


N scale is great scale for module layouts like "T-Trak"  Which are just over 12" by 12" module you hook together to form a layout. Each module can have a different scene modeled on them. Also with N scale you can build a good size layout on standard hollow core door. If you want to run full scale passenger trains N scale is great for this.  A 13 car passenger train is 6 feet long in N scale over 12 feet long in HO. Cost less the HO and it has come a long way the past few years in available products. (In fact they are making stuff in N-scale that is not available in HO that I would like to have for my HO layout. And this is a very long list now.)  My current N scale layout is a door on a folder table and there is a lot of room on this layout Roundhouse, Passenger station, Coalmine , Two small yards.

Now I am not sure way but I have lease derails and coupler issues with my N scale layout then I do on the HO layout. So what I have learned was the reliable between modern N and HO is about the same.

I think I will be giving up a HO passenger service. I do not have a basement or a 40x60 foot shop to run HO scale passenger trains in scale. I am limited to a 12x13 room. So my next project I think will be a T-Trak layout for my N scale passenger trains to run on. This I can fit in a 12x13 room. And very easy moved around. 

So for limited space areas N scale is good option. But they are cat bit size

   





     

[0-6-0 steam mistress]

 Thank you to everyone that responded with all of the information. It's extremely helpful.