Hi Coach,
The responses you have received have all been very good advice.
Here is a photo of my farming area where I have a train of flat cars loaded with farm tractors on a siding. The closest tractors are Ertl 1/43 scale (larger than O 1/48) and they are models of larger real tractors. The next cars contain models of smaller real tractors, still in 1/43. There is an Ertl 1/64 machine shed by these cars. The last two cars contain 1/64 scale tractors near a 1/64 scale Ertl elevator set. The farm on the backdrop horizon is probably close to N scale. The total depth of the scene is about 5 feet. I think it looks quite believable in person.
This next photo shows my O scale passenger station in the foreground with a city skyline in the background. The city is obviously a fraction of O scale. That entire scene from the locomotive to the backdrop is only about 18 inches. Separating the two areas with the retaining wall makes it look a lot better.
Main Street USA in Walt Disney World has the third story of their buildings at 80% the height as the first story. This is about the equivalent of 1/48 to 1/64 in our world. I have found that you can get by with a lot more compression than you might first think. Hopefully your viewers will be concentrating on your cool trains.
TJ
