''selective compression' is another model railway trick, when attempting to copy the prototype.
However, how faithfully one follows what is on the ground, in one's chosen scale , really depends on whether one is intent on building a ''model of a railway'', or a 'model railway'?
what Greg H has alluded to above is selective compression..ie reduction of certain dimensions so that the 'effect' is not lost.
It is perfectly feasible to copy the prototype's track formations , using the likes of Peco, etc...without having to slavishly follow alignments, or detail.
Thus one can emulate particular operating circumstances at a given location...without the hindrance of finding loads of extra space for what may be considered, 'wasted' detail...ie platform lengths.
Other features could be considered as 'surplus' to ''operating' requirements....deleting additional platforms, for example....or reducing the overall number of goods or carriage sidings, so that whilst capacity may be lost, basic operational detail isn't.
An alternative, if intent on producing a 'model of a railway', is to obtain large scale maps of the chosen location, then use a software program like ''Templot', which can superimpose directly onto a scaled map, the correct track and P&C work for that location......although here we are stepping into the realms of handmade trackwork.
Another way at doing things might be, having chosen one's prototype station, to obtain an operating timetable for one's chosen timescale........having worked out what trains are needed, and where/when.....then take a look at the prototype trackplan and decide what is the minimum you could get away with to run that timetable?
