3D-View: D&RGW in 11'x15' Fastrack and On30

Looks great Ken. 

Thanks Dave!   Added a bit more scenic detail in the mountain area toward the bottom.

A bit more scenic editing: with a wooden trestle toward the center over the canyon.

Really nice, Ken.....I love the ideas that your designs generate!

Peter

Thanks, Peter, it is interesting to see how these ideas play out.   Fastrack has a pretty decent selection of pieces to work with (no flextrack of course), but I wish Lionel would add a #5 or #6 turnout, and O-84 1/3 section (7.5 degrees). 

For this design, I had to ensure that there was sufficient vertical clearance for the hidden track in the tunnels.  So I placed the hidden track so that it would NOT be directly beneath the lines running above.   Then, I only had to make sure there was sufficient vertical clearance where the lines crossed (including the spur at the bottom which crosses over the mainline beneath).   I added elevation and grade markers to this image:

The latest versions of AnyRail are doing a better job with 3D.   Seems to be a few places where it picks up errors, and I will need to do my surfaces a bit different to pick up the canyon with the river running through the mountains.   I may work with this some more, but at least its getting usable.   I would be nice if the 3D picked-up the different colors of my terrain surfaces, that would be a big help.

I really like this design!

On30/O 3R designs are an interest of mine.  My own layout--though much more compact--makes use of similar elements.  I wish I had the room for something more like this one, for the routes are much more interesting than mine. 

I am eager to see this design translated into reality.  I would use Atlas O or Grargraves/Ross instead of FT because I prefer their look, but that's in NO way a criticism of the design.

This looks really cool.

I'd love to get into O narrow gauge but coming from O standard gauge I expect steam engines to make smoke (and, of course, sound).  I've never seen an On30 model engine that has a smoke unit.  Has anybody ever seen that?  There are HO models that have smoke units so I don't see why one couldn't put a smoke unit in an On30 locomotive (should have even more room, right?).  But I've never seen it done.  Otherwise I'd gladly get a Bachmann On30 to start out.

That is the one thing I have a problem with too is you can't texture on the 3D model. One thing I was thinking about experimenting on with making slopes or elevations was using smaller track like N-Scale to grade hills to make those types of slopes and such.

@Ken-Oscale I'm blown away by the 3D rendering.  Have you ever used a different design software besides AnyRail?  Which one in your opinion does the best job showing mountains and other 3D terrain features?  Thanks again for sharing your work!

BC1989:   I agree with you, On30 can be found with sound and DCC, and if smoke can fit in HO, why not On30?   Seems like a market/business opportunity for someone!   If I could have a wish, I would wish for Lionel to introduce On30 with LionChief+ sound/smoke/speed-control/bluetooth.   Perhaps they could partner with Bachmann to keep development costs down.   

Bachmann's On30 line is beautiful, well-detailed, and very smooth running!   My previous layout had a small On30 line in the mountains, and my enthusiasm persuaded my brother in Denver to change from N-gauge to On30.  He now has done a couple layouts in On30, including one on display and operating for the public at the "Big-Time" adult amusement/play center in Denver (adult-size activities including adult-size "Big-Wheel" trikes, trampolines and etc.).

I would have thought On30 would be a natural fit with O-gauge rather than Lionel's re-entrance into HO. --Ken

Hi Ted, I have worked with, in addition to AnyRail, Scarm and Atlas Right-Track.   Scarm does a better job with 3D, although the learning curve is steep.  I think the AnyRail user interface is clearer and more intuitive, but that could be a subjective bias, and others may disagree.

I worked on the grades and minimum vertical clearance in this revision.   Grades are now consistent at either 4% or 3%, which makes it easy to build smooth and consistent grades with Woodland Scenics risers and inclines.   The crest is now at 8.25" on the Fastrack mainline, just north of the curved trestle, which should give a nice scenic view.  Minimum vertical clearance is now 6", which will be just fine for this layout of traditional and Lionchief type locos.

I have considered making the On30 an "up and over" rather than figure-8, but the grades will be quite steep.   I may work on it to see.

So I tried the On30 as an "up and over" rather than figure-8, and the slope turned out to be 4.2%, reasonable for On30 trains and locomotives, so I did this new version.   The On30 crest is at 17", for a vertical clearance of 5" from the lowest point at 12".  A greater height is possible, as is a flat stretch at both the underpass and overpass, and still have a grade of around 5%.

If the cowpokes need a place to "settle their differences", there is a coral encircled by a white fence in Colorado Springs, conveniently located between the saloon and Lionel's cattle pen accessories.

Ken,

How about an ore transfer facility to transfer ore from the On30 line to the standard gauge line for transport to a smelter?  This would be a gravity-feed holding bin that dumps into your standard gauge ore cars.

I was thinking that a Plasticville coaling tower could be cut down and modified to receive ore at the top.

Jan

Excellent idea Jan!   So here is a first try, with the ore trans-load toward the bottom.   Next I will make an attempt at a small ore smelter operation in Colorado Springs.

Here is a pair of structures perhaps suggestive of an 1890 smelter, in the lower Colorado Springs area.

I realized there was an opportunity for another trestle open to the top-aisle, making one of those great trestle views what we see so often, with a second trestle on the narrow-gauge above.

Here, I moved the top side cross-over toward the curve at the left, so as to eliminate the reverse-curve in the cross-over.

Here, I thought to add a grade along the two parallel loops on the right-hand section, to give the area a bit more scenic interest with a height difference of 1" and 2" around the right-side edge:  creating a kind of "bowl" from the yard outward toward the right.   Its hard to see with a small color difference around the edge, but you can see the grade and elevation markers.   

I would appreciate any feedback as to whether this is worth doing in the resulting layout.

A few adjustments and benchwork trimming.   I like to use 2" foam on an open framework, which allows the benchwork to be trimmed to follow the track quite easily.

Here, I worked in Menard's beautiful lighted and detailed station, with a platform.

Hey Ken, do you use layers when you are working with anyrail, or do you just add surfaces? I myself have only done surfaces as I've only done a bit of tinkering around the past months. I really want to do something imagination stirring, so was curious what you do.

Dave, I use both layers and surfaces.   The surfaces to represent the different levels of terrain, piling one atop the other to build mountains.  And layers are a great way to be able to remove and replace entire portions of the layout to see and manipulate the items at lower layers.

It takes a while to remember to think in terms of layers, I am always forgetting to change layers when I change from working on one aspect to another, but even so, its a great tool/concept.

For me, Anyrail is a great system to get good looking plans and complex track plans designed in a modest amount of time with any track system.   Often, getting the Fastrack fixed sections to align and join is a real time-consuming pain, requiring lots of time in experimentation and adjusting track and curve diameter here and there and combinations of small track sections, in order to close the shape.   I set my limit at a small 3/32" tolerance across even a long section of track (and zero degrees of curvature deviation - this has to be perfect in my plans), even when a larger "gap" would be fine across the length of a long runs of say 10' of track.  And then more time going over the layouts to optimize the curvature and alignments.   This is a result/aspect of using Fastrack that requires tight tolerances in order to close nicely. 

Other sectional track systems with rail joiners have much more play, and with flex track, even more flexibility, and go together more quickly.  But I stay with the same tight tolerances that I use with Fastrack, as I am a bit of a perfectionist.   But flextrack helps a lot.   Or even using custom cut sections of straight track, and occasionally I cut curved sections in half or thirds, but that is a multi-step process.

--Ken

Okay, that is a big help Ken. I haven't got too much into layers being that I've only tinkered a couple ideas out. And you're right with track not meeting, that is always FUN and takes a while even days sometimes as you may have to rip up everything leading up to that point.

One thing I do when I have made some track sections with switches or so odd stuff going on, I'll get the measuring tool out so I have numbers to compare. I find that very handy as it mostly cuts down on reassembly of track that had to be torn up. With a quick measure, I can just add up the opposing track sections and be able to close the gap(most times I've used that method anyway).

I'll have to see what I can come up with. May take a few days to get something out, but see what comes since I've got all day.

Ken, how do you get the colors for the ground looking like ground? I only seem to get solid colors, not anything that looks like turf. Am I missing something when I make a surface?

Dave, there is an option for working with surfaces, to load an image.   I have created some images of different colors and textures, that I can use to "load" a surface.  Creating those loadable images is whole nother set of issues.

Ah. Thanks, see what I can do with that.

Hi Ken,

I too am using AnyRail and Fastrack.  I also just purchased a Lionel Extended Truss Bridge (6-82110).  This bridge is not currently in the AnyRail library, that I know of. How did you model the bridge in the program?  Is that an exportable/sharable library piece?

thanks, Tim

Nice job, as always, Ken......

By the way, I purchased a digital copy of your layout book.....and, it's great! I have come to realize that many of the features of my new layout are clearly "Ken-derived" or "Ken-inspired" from your generous outpouring of layout plans......your plans always have me thinking....

Peter

@Profuse posted:

Hi Ken,

I too am using AnyRail and Fastrack.  I also just purchased a Lionel Extended Truss Bridge (6-82110).  This bridge is not currently in the AnyRail library, that I know of. How did you model the bridge in the program?  Is that an exportable/sharable library piece?

thanks, Tim

A single bridge with the piers (which are required) is 39" total length according to the Lionel website. I use a 30" straight with a 4.5" straight on each side to represent the bridge and the piers when planning and it worked perfectly on my layout when I put it together.

Looks like fun Ken!

You’ve got the Joint Line, Big Ten Curve, C&S Junction and the Narrow Gauge up to Georgetown and beyond. Cool

I am biased by location, and dreaming along similar lines.  Charge on!