If you want more great ideas, check out John Drye's CommeNtary "Three by Six; the new Four by Eight?" in the Mar/Apr 2010 MRH.  John's fresh perspective shows the advantages of N Scale - operations and a great scenery to track ratio in a small space.

Jeff

Yes when you look at the track plans and the possibilities.   

But when I  start looking at my  collection of HO engines, rolling stock, decoders, sound,  buildings, track, turnouts.  I  sort of fizzle out; not again.  I find those who make the jump are braver than i.

I see it as  more railroad in the same space.  That also  means MORE engines, MORE rolling stock,  MORE turnouts, MORE track, MORE buildings, MORE scenery.  Seems to me it is a MORE expensive when I sit down and  look at it.  Also seems to me it moves in the wrong direction, MORE maintenance.

Marc Fournier, Quebec

Also, DCC decoders cost more for N.

In HO, you can find fleet decoders for as little as $13 or so if you buy in quantity.

In N, most decoders need to be installed either by replacing the loco circuit board wholesale, or by milling the frame / buying a pre-milled frame.

You're looking at circa $30 for an N circuit board replacement decoder, or $25 for an N scale fleet decoder.

For a large layout, that extra $10-$15 per loco adds up.

And if you're into loco sound, good sound in N is more of a novelty, while it's commonplace now in HO.

Well, Joe, let me say " I don't agree" :) but I model in N scale from the 70s, so I know I'm not an impartial judge! And.... as my language don't have the subtle details I have in mind, let me copy here a post on another forum where I agree at 101% ( I think no Copyrigths on such ideas? ):

If you have lots of room and money and you're modeling a class 1 major railroad, then by all means, model it in N-scale. Big scenes, lots of separation between stops, that wonderful 1/160th scenery to track ratio...
If you're modeling a narrow gauge railroad and have lots of room and money, then by all means, model it in Nn3. I have a good friend who is modeling virtually all of the Rio Grande Southern in his basement, handlaying all of his track and turnouts using code 30 "ribbon rail" and scratchbuilding all of his structures, many of his engines and cars, and modeling scale scenes too. Yeah, he's insane, but he is also really inspiring to me and his work is mind-boggling.
If you don't have a lot of space and not a lot of money, and you want to model a major railroad, then by all means, go N-scale. Big engines in N-scale are quite a bit less expensive than any other scale, with a good selection of modern, transition, and steam era locomotives and rolling stock. You can catch the "flavor" of big railroading much more easily in N-scale than any other scale.
If you like lots of details, you can do most of the detailing that's possible in HO-scale in N-scale. Actually, I'd say "all" of the detailing (with a little more effort) that you can do in HO. About the only thing that's limiting are
the only two sizes of rail that are available (discounting ribbon rail). HO will allow you to do slightly more detailed and accurate trackwork. BUT, you might be amazed at what's available for N-scale.
However, if you want to paint your figures with mustaches, polka-dot dresses, lipstick, etc., then (although it's theoretically possible in N-scale or HO) I'd go with S or O scale. Not because the details won't be visible, but because of the limitations of smallness. Preiser figures (the unpainted ones) have nearly all the same details on them as do the larger scale figures...but the paint you'll use to color them is proportionally much thicker in N-scale, so, it's more work to paint them up and not hide all that teeny (but still there) detail.
As you can see, I'm of the opinion that N-scale is best for just about every style of model railroading, and the level of detail you can apply in N-scale is very impressive indeed (it just takes a little more effort)...even though you might have to wear magnifiers to see everything. Eventually, you'll be wearing Optivisors no matter what scale you model as your eyes age, so it really is a moot point.
Bob Gilmore - Happily Counting Rivets in Eden, UT

As per "cost" of decoders , check at Linchfield for example and you can see that a good quality decoder cost the same in N or HO. What You're rigth is the more difficult to fit it, and specially a sound one with speacker, baffle and capacitor, in an N scale diesel.... but I run steam and have plenty of space in the tenders (well, not so much but ... enough?)

Enjoy the Hobby in any scale... It MUST BE a pleasure!

Cheers