I was messing with Anyrail today trying to figure out the total footage of track i am working with. It asked me to update AnyRail so I did and the newest version is quite cool. It now has a 3D view which looks like it will be fun to play with. This maybe enough to push me over the edge to purchase the full version.
I like the program anyways for layout design and although I haven’ really explored it yet look like it is even better now.
Devon
Once you start laying track … If you ever do … It’s so different than design … You might even change some things once you SEE your design!
PS I think this AnyRail is for Butt modelers!
Sean,
I have every expectation that what I modeled in AnyRail and what will actually get laid down will be different. In fact I know this for certain because there are almost no small sidings in my track plan that I will add on the fly. But what AnyRail did do for me was help me conceptualize and understand what can be done, if only basically, within my space. It helped me “see” it. It also helped me see just how much track I would need. I would not have come close on a guess for how much track I am putting down. Wouldn’t have thought it was possible. Things like grade and grade separated crossings were ease to understand.
So while I know what I put down will be different and even change over time. I bet I build it very close. It also let me “build” my railroad several times as my ideas developed to see what would work and what wouldn’t.
Its a great planning tool. Its not the end all, but those of us planners its a fun tool. And it is for butt modelers. I have sat on my butt a lot working with it.
Careful Devon. You have a ways to go, to a bonafide Butt Modeler like me.
You gave me the title, and I wear it with pride. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)
I just want to emulate my hero, not take his title of “King Butt Modeler”
Oh now I am a King Butt Modeler? I have been called a big a$$ before, but not in such a creative way. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)LOL
No harm, no foul.
Like Eisenhower said, or maybe it was Sun Tsu, no plan survives first contact.
I’ve developed all manner of plans, none of which I’ve used. Its kind of like a Chinese restaurant, one from column A, two from column B. Some of this, some of that.
Make your plan, save it, start with a clean slate, make another, then another, then another. When it comes time to finally lay track, you’ll have a vast library of ideas to draw from. That’s my take on it. Your mileage may vary.
Well I will be curious in the end to see what actually happens. I tend to be of the “plan the work and work the plan” clan. But I can also see me saying “well let’s bend this over there”. But in my space I am pretty limited to what I can achieve.
I think I have decided to follow my plan exactly just to spite you guys and prove you wrong
Devon, I had a plan and I followed it pretty closely. The lower reverse loop had to be “adjusted” to 9.5 foot diameter due to space restrictions. But the rest of it was pretty much what I had planned. Then, yes, then I got larger rolling stock, and the S curve needed to be replaced. That required a reworking of the one end of the upper reverse loop, and a slight raising of the railroad.
So you could end up following your plan as drawn, but, chances are some adjustments will be made, for one reason or another.
But, then again, if you never actually build a railroad…
Oh I do expect adjustments. That’s a given I think.
Devon Sinsley said:
Oh I do expect adjustments. That’s a given I think.
That’s why you build that library.
Steve, now you have him building a library, when he should be building a railroad. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)What’s next, a school? A ferry dock? I know, a lighthouse, so you can find your way. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
If you build it, they will come.
Devon,
I used “DannyRail” to design my RR. I let the lay of the land dictate my layout. I really never had a had a drawn plan. I built the RR to fit in our garden working around obstacles and over our Koi pond. The garden was our first priority with the RR as an enhancement. Take a ride in HD. Good luck with your plan.
I have a ‘vision’ of where I’m going, but I am limited by what track I have. That’s ok, keeps me from spaghettying my acre of paradise!
John
