Layers Don't Work

[Vern]

Building a model railway route where the main terminus is over two lower levels of other lines, in tunnel.

To avoid issues with splines at the upper level dropping down and connecting to the lower level, decided to create the terminus on a separate layer. Main route layer locked and I dropped into the new Terminus layer. As an experiment, I just tried to attach a track to a piece already laid in the main layer and it still joined. Oh dear, so much for layers.

Mind you, previously I had already encountered the Basemap, on its own locked layer, still moving up and down when I increased the terrain height in the route layer..

Open to any suggestions how to overcome this.

 

[edh6]

Don't just lock the layer, make it invisible as well. I'm pretty sure this stops splines connecting. You might want to make a "tunnel" layer so you can make the tunnel splines invisible without making the whole route invisible.

 

[Vern]

Thanks Ed, I'll give that a try.

 

[pware]

This mirrors my experiences when layers were first introduced back in TS2004 or TS2006. The issue is that while layers work brilliantly for scenery assets, track marks and triggers (I am a great fan of layers) they were never designed for use with tracks and track objects such as signals, junctions, bridges, tunnels, active industries, passenger active stations, speed signs, etc. From my experiences since those early days, all the objects in that list should reside in the same layer - the topmost "route-layer".

Addendum: The basemap issue you mentioned with the terrain moving up and down even though the "basemap layer" was "locked" is based on the mistaken belief that the basemap is in a layer. The basemap, along with textures, among other things, does not reside in a layer. Refer to the Trainz Wiki Layers page at http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/How_to_Use_Layers

Addendum 2: This list is from the above link.

There are many features of Trainz Routes and Sessions that are NOT stored in layers. These include:-

landforms
textures
trackside camera positions and settings
weather conditions
time of day
session rules and driver commands
signal and junctions settings
rolling stock loads
industry settings
portal settings
passenger station settings
navigation points
interlocking tower settings

Landforms, textures and trackside cameras are saved as part of the Route while all the others are saved as part of a Session.

 

[stagecoach]

Use the shift key when you lay the track to stop attachment. Set spline point height and add the next piece of track. You could also lay track next to the lower track and set the height and move into place.

 

[Vern]

Use the shift key when you lay the track to stop attachment. Set spline point height and add the next piece of track. You could also lay track next to the lower track and set the height and move into place.

That works up until the point when you want to attach a track to a spline on the upper level but it keeps picking up and attaching to one at the lower level...