Templot Club Archive 2007-2020
|
|||
| author | remove search highlighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
posted: 9 Jul 2008 06:11 from: Chris Mitton click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Hi all Having not long since retired and decided to design and build a long-cherished "proper" layout (hand-built track, P4 and all that), I looked forward with some trepidation to digging out undergraduate maths from the bit of my brain that's been rusting for forty years.....until I discovered Templot and spent several happy days recently getting my head round it! I've managed to design a small terminus (OK, it works out twenty feet long...) that I think is buildable within my lifetime (!), with some of the complex pointwork beloved of the old GER, including several slips. Designing a double slip on a reverse curve was fun....I'm convinced on close examination it's got an almost imperceptible kink in one of the slip roads, but then so has platform 8 at New Street so what the hell..... The one that has stumped me is an apparently straightforward diamond crossing. I can see how the half-diamonds derived from turnouts are good for crossovers / ladders and their associated slips, but it strikes me that diamonds also arise naturally as the intersection of two tracks with no mathematical relationship, and the turnout derivation didn't seem to work for me. This was the case with the one I wanted - two intersecting sidings in the yard (so no elaborate transitions - in fact one road is curved and the other straight). To get the K-crossings more or less superimposed on the two lines wasn't too difficult, but the V-crossings have defeated me. Perhaps this is because of the sharp angle (in fact all four crossings have different angles because of the curvature). A long-winded combination of chopping up turnout templates, snaking, rotating, blanking and prolific swearing  got me to the attached box file - absolutely no timber-shoving yet! - but I'm sure there must be a better way.I suppose it's not too big a deal in practice - the timbers and check / wing rails can always be marked in manually, absolute accuracy isn't needed because the construction gauges will provide that. But has anyone got any better strategy? Regards Chris |
||
| Attachment: attach_315_482_diamond_group_08_07_09_0033_49.box 242 | |||
|
posted: 9 Jul 2008 07:54 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Chris Mitton wrote: The one that has stumped me is an apparently straightforward diamond crossing. I can see how the half-diamonds derived from turnouts are good for crossovers / ladders and their associated slips, but it strikes me that diamonds also arise naturally as the intersection of two tracks with no mathematical relationship, and the turnout derivation didn't seem to work for me. Hi Chris, At present Templot can produce only regular diamonds -- where the radius in both roads is the same and they are curved in the same direction, and all four crossing angles are therefore equal. What you are looking for is an irregular diamond -- one where the radius in the intersecting tracks is not the same, typically a curved track crossing a straight track. The code for them was written years ago, but it means a significant rewrite of the generator to integrate it into the current versions of Templot and it also needs a user interface. Ditto the gaunt turnouts which are needed to simplify tandems. I spend so much time on user support nowadays that finding time to rewrite the generator has defeated me. In fact I haven't been able to look at any coding at all for several weeks. Currently I am creating a video for Alan on simple curved crossovers, Paul is waiting for a reply on his CJF design, and I have a full email inbox. If you search for "irregular diamond" in the archives you will find many references. However, as you have provided your box file I can if you wish create an irregular diamond as a bgs file for adding to your background shapes. It won't be as normal templates which you can adjust in the usual way, but it will print out as part of your track plan design for construction. To see what I mean, see this topic . regards, Martin. |
||
|
posted: 9 Jul 2008 14:54 from: Chris Mitton click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Hi Martin Thanks for the offer but errrrr...02:54! I'd rather you survived to provide future development and support when it's needed! As I said, there is a workround until the appropriate coding gets into Templot, so as there's no urgency (I can't see me starting actual construction until the autumn) I'll hang fire for now. Thanks for all your efforts. Regards Chris |
||
|
posted: 10 Jul 2008 02:38 from: JFS
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Chris, Here is a double junction which includes the kind of diamond I think you are asking about - it can be done but it is a lot of hard work - but still much easier than cutting up bits of paper  let me know what you think. Regards, Howard |
||
| Attachment: attach_316_482_double_jct_short_08_04_28_1822_40.box 253 | |||
|
posted: 10 Jul 2008 02:43 from: JFS
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Chris, please ignore the .box file with my last post - it was the wrong one - I still have not got used to managing the box files! Here is the one I intended to upload... |
||
| Attachment: attach_317_482_Curved_Diamond.box 251 | |||
|
posted: 11 Jul 2008 05:29 from: Chris Mitton click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Thanks for this Howard - very helpful. You've obviously been a lot more ruthless chopping up bits than I was. I'll have a good look at your design this weekend and see if I can fathom how it all goes together - can I get back to you if I struggle? Regards Chris |
||
|
posted: 11 Jul 2008 05:47 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Chris Mitton wrote: Thanks for this Howard - very helpful. You've obviously been a lot more ruthless chopping up bits than I was.Hi Chris, Another one to try looking at the partial templates: irreg_double_junct.png  Download from (right-click): http://www.templot.com/samples/irreg_double_junct.box Some notes about this design at: topic 288 - message 1640 regards, Martin. |
||
| 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. |