Selective Compression

Selective Compression is one answer to this question. This basically involves compression of certain parts of the railroad that are perhaps less interesting than other parts, ...

Selective Compression - The process of retaining a structure's basic design elements, while reducing its overall size.

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Selective Compression
When a larger building is modeled in a "short' form, by removing repetitive elements within a model to capture the original character in a smaller footprint.
Semaphore ...

Selective Compression - A modeling technique that gives the impression that there are more buildings in a scene than are really possible.

In modeling the Lehigh Line, I tried to keep the integrity of the route intact, even though I had to use selective compression in order to fit it into my plans.

Model Railroad Planning - Model Railroad Planning Essentials
Management Models - What are Management Models
Selective Compression - Selective Compression in Model Railroad Planning ...

Selective compression is needed with trees. A 100 foot spruce would be 4 feet high in large scale and 12 inches across near the bottom. We can't afford this much realism indoors. The max that survives the eye is about 20 inches tall.

However, most engaged in a practice of selective compression in order to make the trains fit in a smaller space, causing the actual scale to vary, and numerous manufacturers produced 1:64 scale trains—the proper size for S gauge— ...

See also: Special, Track, Layout, Train, Point