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I used to be prone to laying tracks as close as possible, cramming as much yard into my 24" deep shelf as possible. Nowadays, though, I think it is fooli***o do so, because it misses an opportunity to enjoy trains in their surroundings, and it can also make it difficult for full-scale humans to play with their trains. <br /> <br />Of course, different prototype railroads had different standards in different regions, so you'd want to research your specific railroad. But, as a rule of thumb, I space my N-scale tracks about 2" apart minimum, maybe closer where it isn't a mainline. By spreading them farther, though, you can model things like access roads between the tracks, an abandoned siding, drainage ditches filled with weeds, etc. And I think you'll find that giving up more real estate to the "rest of the world" will make the trains seem that much more real, because it will be more similar to how we encounter them in real life. Look at photos of real trains and you'll see a lot of stuff in the foreground, such as the weeds and dirt roads I mentioned. It's never just the trains and track.
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