I think for a 0-4-0 and a short train you could get away with 9" radius or smaller. Try it. I'd stick with the HOn3 and do a shelf layout - maybe with a plexiglass cover or doors. How about in a side table?
I'm seeing another post calling out minimum 15"r and larger for N scale. That could sink my idea, as it would start looking like a dining table. What type radius is needed for the smaller locos, like 10 wheelers or atlantics n pacifics?
I will admit I am a HO and HOn3 fan, which can take up a mountain of room. My wife asked if I could put some sort of layout in the living room, but it would have very strict parameters. It would have to be small, protected from animals and easy to keep clean of , well , everything. After a few minutes of thought I came up with N scale in a 24x 60 coffee table. It would need to have a glass top and sides for viewing and probably storage/ staging under behind wood. The case would have to look nice, which shouldn't be a problem, be self contained with very minimal to no 0-5-0 work, and protected from the occassional spilled beverage. For the N-scalers out there, is this fairly doable in this area and have it look ok? I figured it would be similar to a 4x10 HO layout, but I'm afraid the smaller scale would make everything appear to be jumbled together. It would need to be more into the round n round operation with a couple turnout routes. A bit of operations would be great if it could be done without any hands involved. I imagine total elevation would have to stay around 8-10" as well. Thoughts n Ideas???