If you don't have space for a model railroad, read this book.

 

 Mat Chibbaro. Model Railroading in Small Spaces. (1998) The perfect book for someone living in a modern condo or apartment. Chibbaro covers everything. His Christmas Tree layout can be stored in a closet and taken out for occasional play with one’s children. A couple of N-scale layouts can be built into tables or bartops, under glass. The top of a row of storage cabinets is space for a switching layout. And so on.
     Chibbaro provides step by step instructions, beginning with the Christmas layout. Every project builds on skills learned in the previous one. He’s built every layout he describes, so we learn from his mistakes as well. The illustrations are good enough that an experienced builder hardly needs the text.
     Out of print, but worth a few dollars if you can find a copy. ***