outdoor electric trains NOT battery rf controlled

[nachoman]

I am a little confused - you are talking HO outdoors? The "G" scale people do it all the time. The heft of the G scale trains apparently resolves many of the electrical issues. For HO, there may be more than just electrical issues. First, it does not take much to derail an HO train. A simple twig that fell across the rails could be a disaster. Second, the plastic ties or rolling stock bodies may not be suitable for outside. I had a small display layout that sat in the summer sunlight for only about an hour. All the turnout ties warped enough that all the turnouts needed replacing, and a locomotive boiler cracked and distorted because of the sun.