Merging bits of a layout.

[01making]

Is it possible to select part of another layout and merge it with one I have made. I can merge the two fine but how about selecting part of the other one? is it pssible? Thanks

 

[stagecoach]

The only way is to open the other one and delete the boards you dont want. Then save it as a different name and merge this new map

 

[Ron_Smith]

I have on several occasions wanted to do this and the way I do it is to save the route you want to "disect" under a different name and then in Surveyor delete and edit the newly named route. Merge the edited version to the main map. Obviously if you do not wish to keep the merging route then just edit and merge.
If you only want a small section for merging it can be time consuming but this would depend on the size of the route - I don't know of any other way but somebody may have other ideas - if so then we all learn something new !!

 

[Midland]

I'm very reluctant to merge routes ESPECIALLY after I have laid track and placed industries. This is because of a bug in the Merge feature that disconnects industry track. If you drive a train over the faulty track it will derail. The only way round this is to manually reconnect all the industry tracks after merging and on a large route it is very easy to overlook a piece of disconnected track. There are a number of routes on the DLS where this has actually happened and it cannot be repaired and saved under its original name. In my own experience I find it less troublesome to build up a layout sequentially.



Cheers

Nix

 

[Lynxfan]

Another gotcha on merging is that the baseboards need to be close to the same height or you'll have to add boards to make up the transition.

 

[cbntmn]

Is there a way to "cut and paste" some trackwork to an original route? I want to ad three sizable yards to a large layout. I tried a merge, but like said above, the industry on the large route failed afterwards (kinda makes merge useless??)

Im not very good at layouts and track laying so i may be looking for an easy way out but was hoping there is a way to put this together.

 

[leeferr]

you can't cut and paste splines and trackwork are splines. Sorry

 

[cbntmn]

So is there a way to make the merge run? Can i take all the industry off of the yard i want to use and just merge the track?

I did a search on merging and some say it works and some say it doesnt. I tried and it killed my industry. I suprised this has not been fixed with the SP1

 

[neilsmith749]

I think you're talking about my route - What I would suggest is create the yard yourself. It may not look great at the beginning, but that's how we all learn. For me, trackwork is one of the most enjoyable things to do. Why not add your own baseboards and practise some tracklaying? It's a lot of fun!

Just my two cents!

n

 

[trackplate]

I want to ad three sizable yards to a large layout. I tried a merge, but like said above, the industry on the large route failed afterwards (kinda makes merge useless??)

Im not very good at layouts and track laying so i may be looking for an easy way out but was hoping there is a way to put this together.

Simply check and reconnect the track at every industry after the merge is the simple answer though this can be a little time consuming
Generally speaking I find if the track is set manually to the same spline height as the industry before connecting they don’t break so often
Regards Bob V

 

[HiBaller]

cbntmn: You can try this to merge those yards you want. Open up the route you want to put the new yard INTO and save it under a new name. Delete board(s) where you want the yard and save it. Open up the route with the yards you want and pare off ALL the boards EXCEPT for the boards holding the yard and save it under a new name.

You should now have two new routes; the route to merge the yard INTO and the yards themselves. Open up the first route and merge the route with the yards into it - positioning it over the "hole" left in the route and click the green check mark.

As noted before, you have to be sure that the board heights are close, or leave a larger hole than you need so you can insert height-difference boards.

With practice, it is easy to put pieces of routes together into a whole new route.

Bill

 

[cbntmn]

Thanks for the info. That is basically what i did except i didnt delete any squares i just added the yard next to a place on the route i wanted it. Is that the difference in making the merge work? will the industry actually work if you do it with deleting tiles from the first route?

Also one more thing i cant quite figure out. When i pull up the route i want to merge onto the existing route the tiles are running east to west. I really need then to run north/south. How do i turn the route? I think i pressed every darn button on the keyboard and couldnt get it to budge.

thanks

 

[HiBaller]

At best, the merge function can be a touch 'flakey'. What happens is that if the merging boards aren't VERY CLOSE to the same height, you get deep valleys between the boards. What you did should be ok though. Adding a board to the edges of a route is the easier of the two to do. Dropping a board into the middle of a route is a touch more difficult. Industries are problematic in that some of them will just not be connected to their tracks after a merge and the only solution is to go over your route in its entirety and check for derailments.

No, you cannot rotate a board, unfortunately. That has been a suggestion for some time. I have tried many times to write software to do just that. If I ever get it to work, the Forum will the be the first place to know it.

Bill

 

[cbntmn]

I think you're talking about my route - What I would suggest is create the yard yourself. It may not look great at the beginning, but that's how we all learn. For me, trackwork is one of the most enjoyable things to do. Why not add your own baseboards and practise some tracklaying? It's a lot of fun!

Just my two cents!

n

Neil,

I have a new respect for track laying. I tried it a little bit last night and got pretty frustrated. Using the flextrack is not doing well for me. Maybe i need to use the sectional track and try it.

I want to ad a medium sized yard near the far west portal entry. Then a large yard near the north GHOO portal entry, then a medium sized on near the car disposal area. Then i can run some long consists to both sides of the map and assemble some trains for local deliveries. All the tiles are basically in place and flat so i was hoping to merge someone elses creation over. There are some nice yards out there.

Ill give it another shot with some track laying tonight. If not I may commision you to put some in for me. You have an hourly rate there Picasso??

Thanks,

Mark

 

[cbntmn]

Simply check and reconnect the track at every industry after the merge is the simple answer though this can be a little time consuming
Generally speaking I find if the track is set manually to the same spline height as the industry before connecting they don’t break so often
Regards Bob V

I was afraid of that answer. Well there is probably 100 industries that i would have to do that with. I think i would be better off laying my own track for the yards.

 

[neilsmith749]

Haha

The most important thing you can do when using flextrack is the "straighten" command. That locks the track into a straight line.
I'll try to illustrate.

Say you want to make one track branch out into two - this is not really a common practice, as usually it would be one straight track and another branching off, but this is just for demonstration purposes.

Lay three tracks as illustrated below. (I know it looks like there's spaces in the B and C tracks, disregard those - also disregard the commas)

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,=======B=======
====A======
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,=======C=======


-now, join the spline at the right side of A-track to the left side of B-track.

-similarly, join the right side of A-track to left side of C-track.

Pretty ugly huh? Now, hit the straighten command <B>, and click on A,B,C tracks, and watch what happens.

You should now have some nice looking trackwork!

For me, when laying track it's always a matter of laying "straightened" track and then connecting it with non-straightened track to make the smoothe transitions. There are some other tips too, but baby steps first.

Hope that helps a bit.

n

 

[cbntmn]

Ill give it a shot. I know im doing something wrong. If my computer ends up in the front yard you will know I got a little frustrated.......

Oh well, that will give me the excuse to order that new system.

 

[cbntmn]

Speaking of new system.....

I think this is the one i want to get. Right at 2k with a 3 year warranty and lifetime 800 number support. Dealer on ebay. I cant even buy the parts on newegg this cheap:

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[01making]

sorry do sound dumb!, but how do certain delete baseboards on a layout. had a play around but cant figure it out =/

 

[neilsmith749]

sorry do sound dumb!, but how do certain delete baseboards on a layout. had a play around but cant figure it out =/

Hit <F1>, then go to the advanced tab. You should see the "delete baseboard" there. Keep in mind that once you delete a baseboard, it's gone! You may want to make a backup first!

n