Mighty Joe!
What do you have against a barn full of trains?? With multiple floors added, drop cielings to help keep the place warm and a massive helix to access the levels, you could do the Trans Siberia in any scale!
A few years ago, I nearly purchased a place with a LARGE finished, heated barn just for a railroad, but I had a lapse of sanity and decided it was too far from work. Now there's an interesting forum topic - Pikes in outbuildings. Heating, security, etc.
I still contend "N" is too small, at least for me it is. Mighty Joe, I have to ask.....Do you have to wear glasses? I have always believed that effective "N" scalers require better vision and eye-hand coordination. How else can you align decals on anything that small? Vision and motor skills should be a major consideration when selecting a scale. For example; If you have trouble locating a Kadee spring on the carpet, or any difficulty in mounting a Kadee spring on an "HO" coupler, what makes one think they will not have a greater multitude of similar problems when adapting to an even smaller scale? I'm convinced that "Z" was invented by some poor fool who made a living by smuggling trains from Europe to North America in his underwear. Go smaller, bigger profit!
Joe, you mentioned N-Trak. I have a big problem with the modular concept as it has unfortunately evolved. Three tracks? First, for my taste, the tracks are too far apart for anything even remotely resembling a convincing appearance. Secondly, most lines I've seen in my travels are one, two or four tracks. What's this three track business? A long passing siding on one side? Very few places do you see a line that's three tracks, except for the downsized Horseshoe Curve. You want to do The Water Level Route? Do you and your local N-Trakers make your modules with four tracks? That's what The Water Level Route was years ago before it was downsized.
Sparky hits the nail right on the head. Greater variety and investment value in "HO". Most "N" scalers have the same common lack of space problem. I don't think that space should let anyone be deterred from modelling in any scale. True, with N-Trak you can make a long run with your friends, or even larger if you load your offerings into a vehicle and head out for a convention. Yes, these modules can easily be stored the on a rack in the garage. But benchwork is benchwork. Any scale can be run on it, and the more visible the detail, the more appealing it is to people. You know, there doesn't have to be a lot of nitty gritty over detailing as George Sellios suffers from. What's there just should be well done, and of some interest.
Detail, detail, detail. When non-modellers see my layout, they all say the same thing; "Oh, I never noticed that before. Everytime I visit, even though I've seen this scene before, I notice something different."
The funny thing is, I don't think I have a lot of detail, and I always believe there's room for improvement - In everything. I add more here and there, but I'm always careful unlike some of us about overkill.
Unless you're a true artist with a lot of time and patience, "N" is a buggar to detail. Yes, you can achieve a long train gliding through a sweeping panoramic vista in "N", but there should be more to the experience for the visitor than getting an idea of what it would be like to be the Jolly Green Giant.
"N-Trak modules are too low. If you raise those module heights to four feet to utilize the "forced perspective" technique as with most "HO" scalers these days, the viewer would probably find the same "N" view less interesting and toylike.
Whatever scale any of you end up with, it will be the correct choice, provided YOU are happy with the outcome. I suppose the bottom line to success in any scale is the viewers reaction, the operators pleasure and most of all, the effort put into each scene to create a convincing animated diorama.