Thanks again!
Jon,
If you look at the last couple of posts in the "tips 'n tricks" thread, it'll give you an idea of how I rough up styrene to represent wood...
I agree with you though, nothing looks more like wood than wood, & if I was working in HO, I'd probably be more inclined to use real wood. But I've got lots of styrene on hand, & a lot of the scale lumber is too large to use in N scale.