My grandson and I run two standard gauge trains on the basement floor. We usually setup the layout in November and keep it going for a few months. We run a 1926 10E set with 300 series passenger cars. That was our first SG set. We also run a 390e steam engine with 500 series freight cars. We have only one circle of SG track, so we alternate.
You don't have to mortgage the house to do SG, but you do need some room. That's why we use the floor. You don't have to choose between tin and plastic. You can run both. We even throw in some 9 Volt Lego too and N gauge.
Enjoy.
