Templot Club Archive 2007-2020                             

topic: 239Basic commands - terminus design
author remove search highlighting
 
posted: 16 Nov 2007 13:23

from:

Gordon S
 
 

click the date to link to this post
click member name to view archived images
view images in gallery view images as slides
Hi Martin, at long last I am making the transition from WinRail and started to take my first steps last night, just by your recommendation of using the F7 key...:D

Some very simple questions that will allow me to move further.  Apologies for the simplicity for those more experienced.

1. Simple plain track.  At present I am generating a template and then converting to plain track.  Is this correct?  If so is there a quicker way? I'm sure I'm going a long way round using Template, quick set, selecting a B7, Template, convert to plain track, F7 to add and then F3 to lengthen.

2. Parallel tracks. I have generated a length of plain track, guessed the curve and length and added (20) a length of plain track.  This is not truly parallel to (23).  How would I achieve this?

3. You very kindly generated a 1:7 slip for me and I have the file but can't see how to import the file and hold it as a template that can be selected.  The slip seems to be in several component parts and I can't seem to select it as one template.  Sholuld the components be grouped together to form one template?

My progress to date is small, but was like climbing a mountain last night and I went to bed a very happy man to even generate this small part of my large plan....

Grateful for any guidance you can give.  Apologies for what might be seen as stupid questions.:)

 
Attachment: attach_131_239_Terminus.box 220

posted: 16 Nov 2007 15:27

from:

Gordon S
 
 

click the date to link to this post
click member name to view archived images
view images in gallery view images as slides
Found the plain track template on the drop down list...doh!

Made some more progress, really by trial and error, but gaining a little confidence each move. I'm sure the plan will need considerable rework but at least I'm off first base.

Updated file attached.
Attachment: attach_133_239_Terminus.box 240

posted: 16 Nov 2007 16:54

from:

Jim Guthrie
 
United Kingdom

click the date to link to this post
click member name to view archived images
view images in gallery view images as slides
Gordon S wrote:
Found the plain track template on the drop down list...doh!

Made some more progress, really by trial and error, but gaining a little confidence each move. I'm sure the plan will need considerable rework but at least I'm off first base.

Updated file attached.
Gordon,

For easy double track,  look for 'Make Double Track TS' or 'Make Double Track MS'.  This copies the selected track to a parallel position and at a distance set by 'Adjacent Track Centres'.    I'm working on 0.91b and these menu options appear under 'Tools',  but I think I remember that Martin did a bit of shuffling around with menus and they might appear in other places in earlier versions.  but I think I remember these commands being in all versions since 0.74.

Jim.
Last edited on 16 Nov 2007 16:55 by Jim Guthrie
posted: 16 Nov 2007 17:17

from:

Peter Ayre
 
 

click the date to link to this post
click member name to view archived images
view images in gallery view images as slides
Gordon S wrote:

1. Simple plain track.  At present I am generating a template and then converting to plain track.  Is this correct?  If so is there a quicker way? I'm sure I'm going a long way round using Template, quick set, selecting a B7, Template, convert to plain track, F7 to add and then F3 to lengthen.


Gordon,

Find a similar template (plain track, turnout, etc) and use copy to current template, then use F7 to drag and drop, adjust as necessary then Control V it.

HTH

Peter

posted: 16 Nov 2007 17:25

from:

Gordon S
 
 

click the date to link to this post
click member name to view archived images
view images in gallery view images as slides
Thanks for your guidance guys, much appreciated.  Managed to work the double track issue, Peter many thanks.  You might regret letting me know you are there as I have a few more questions.

Is there an easy way of joining between two points, say numbers 99 and 101 to the right of the attached plan?

I see the information panel on Martin's double slip is appearing but I can't see the double slip anywhere on the screen.  Once I can start to use the double slip I will be able to move on.  Right now I'm stuck.

Is there also a way of grouping several templates together and then moving them as a block?  Right now I'm having to move them one at a time and then rejoin them all in a new position.  I have tried grouping them but when I try and move them using F7, it only moves one part on it's own.

As always, many thanks.

Attachment: attach_134_239_Terminus_4.box 218
Last edited on 16 Nov 2007 17:26 by Gordon S
posted: 16 Nov 2007 17:41

from:

Peter Ayre
 
 

click the date to link to this post
click member name to view archived images
view images in gallery view images as slides
Gordon S wrote:
Thanks for your guidance guys, much appreciated.  Managed to work the double track issue, Peter many thanks.  You might regret letting me know you are there as I have a few more questions.

Is there an easy way of joining between two points, say numbers 99 and 101 to the right of the attached plan?

I see the information panel on Martin's double slip is appearing but I can't see the double slip anywhere on the screen.  Once I can start to use the double slip I will be able to move on.  Right now I'm stuck.

Is there also a way of grouping several templates together and then moving them as a block?  Right now I'm having to move them one at a time and then rejoin them all in a new position.  I have tried grouping them but when I try and move them using F7, it only moves one part on it's own.

As always, many thanks.

Gordon,

With the group thing, highlight the piece of track you want, in the menu that appears click add to group (toggle) it should behighlighted red, do that with all templates you need to shift and then from the pulldown menu (group) use group move, group rotate, etc. If you are using group move snap to nearest track.

I use this function if I have a nice piece of track work in another plan. I combine both plans and group move the items I need.

I have the double slip in its own box file and combine and group move it. If you need several double slips, just reload several times. It saves having to build it from individual parts.

No doubt there is a better way to do all this but I find that by keeping the plans in several sections a large plan is then very manageable.

HTH

Peter

posted: 16 Nov 2007 18:34

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

click the date to link to this post
click member name to view archived images
view images in gallery view images as slides
Gordon S wrote:
I see the information panel on Martin's double slip is appearing but I can't see the double slip anywhere on the screen. Once I can start to use the double slip I will be able to move on. Right now I'm stuck.

Is there also a way of grouping several templates together and then moving them as a block?  Right now I'm having to move them one at a time and then rejoin them all in a new position. I have tried grouping them but when I try and move them using F7, it only moves one part on it's own. as always, many thanks.
Hi Gordon,

This is where the transition from the CAD mind-set of say WinRail to the more fluid Templot mind-set trips people up. Ideally, you don't "use" an existing double-slip, you create a new one on the fly, in skeleton diamond-crossing form. That way it matches into any existing curving and crossing angles. This one here might be a 1:7 double-slip on 12ft radius and that one there might be a 1:7.5 double-slip on 14ft radius.

When you want a double-slip, use the tools > make diamond-crossing or tools > make ladder crossover menu functions, and carry on with the design. That gets you the basic diamond-crossing, all nicely curved and aligned, with just a couple of clicks. Then carry on with F4 to extend the tracks, split them off, insert another turnout, whatever. Then at a later date, preferably when you are sure that you aren't going to change the design, you can come back to the diamond-crossing, add in the slip roads, and print out the double-slip construction template -- unique to this specific location in the track plan.

Of course, if you prefer to copy or use an existing double-slip you can, but unless it's dead straight like the one I prepared for you, it's unlikely to fit anywhere else.

To use the one I prepared, first put it all in a group by clicking the group-selection fence tool-button at the top of the pad (black square below a dotted corner symbol, it goes green when clicked) and then draw a rectangle round the double-slip. To keep the original one for use again later, click group > duplicate group to make a copy underneath it before you do anything else.

Now to move it manually (without snapping) you can use SHIFT+CTRL+F7 (instead of F7, which moves only the current/control template). Or to snap it onto existing track you need to use the notch-linking functions, which you can read about at:

http://www.templot.com/martweb/gs_geometry.htm#linking

This is a very powerful function for large and complex groups of templates, but it's not really needed just to get a double-slip into your track plan. For that it's much easier just to create it as you go, as outlined in my first two paragraphs.

I'm a bit tied up today and I have several dozen emails to deal with, but I will try to create a few clips of scruff video to illustrate these points later. There is a video in the list showing the notch-linking functions in use -- see linking to the notch.

regards,

Martin.

posted: 17 Nov 2007 13:31

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

click the date to link to this post
click member name to view archived images
view images in gallery view images as slides
Gordon S wrote:
2. Parallel tracks. I have generated a length of plain track, guessed the curve and length and added (20) a length of plain track. This is not truly parallel to (23). How would I achieve this?

gordon_platform.pnggordon_platform.png

Hi Gordon,

To get tracks parallel you use the tools > make double-track menu items. Plain track is handed just like a turnout -- to see which side you want the new track, it's helpful temporarily to switch on the timber numbering. The numbers are always on the main-side (MS) of the template.

Before making double-track, you should always first check that you have set the required centre-to-centre track spacing. In your example the spacing was approximately 85mm.

Using a fixed curve (22) in your plan above, attached as it is directly to straight track, the result looks a bit "train-setty". :( We can get a much better effect by using a transition curve, like this :) :

parallel_platform.pngparallel_platform.png

Now obviously the prototype doesn't use a full mathematical transition curve in a low-speed terminal platform. On the other hand, nor does the prototype use such a very sharp curve. We can disguise the sharpness of the curve by using a transition curve in the model, and doing so also makes it possible for Templot to create the required curve automatically.

To do that, you use the make transition function, which creates a new transition curve template on an alignment which matches both the current/control template and the selected background template.

If two templates share a common alignment, it does not matter if there is a slight overlap or gap at the boundary between them -- not everything in Templot needs to be precisely snapped together. By zooming in and manually adjusting the length of the new transition template, it can replace the two starting templates, which can then be deleted.

Here's a scruff video showing all that and how I created the above transition curve:

new video:  parallel platform using transition curve  (5 mins, 5MB)

(Press the spacebar to start the playback.)

regards,

Martin.



Templot Club > Forums > Templot talk > Basic commands - terminus design
about Templot Club

Templot Companion - User Guide - A-Z Index Templot Explained for beginners Please click: important information for new members and first-time visitors.
indexing link for search engines

back to top of page


Please read this important note about copyright: Unless stated otherwise, all the files submitted to this web site are copyright and the property of the respective contributor. You are welcome to use them for your own personal non-commercial purposes, and in your messages on this web site. If you want to publish any of this material elsewhere or use it commercially, you must first obtain the owner's permission to do so.
The small print: All material submitted to this web site is the responsibility of the respective contributor. By submitting material to this web site you acknowledge that you accept full responsibility for the material submitted. The owner of this web site is not responsible for any content displayed here other than his own contributions. The owner of this web site may edit, modify or remove any content at any time without giving notice or reason. Problems with this web site? Contact webmaster@templot.com.   This web site uses cookies: click for information.  
© 2020  

Powered by UltraBB - © 2009 Data 1 Systems