Track Guide and Yard Templates

Hi All

I have been away from trainz for a while, Trainz 2004 was what I was using back then. I am now using Trainz 2012. Although I do have Trainz 2010ee as well.

I have a proplem with the track guides I am trying to use. They are by Beadyboy and are the RH 90d 1 quarter mile Rad Template <kuid:37522:9977> and the 1000m straight <kuid2:37522:9998:1>. Although he made others I would like to use as well, they all have the same problem. When using them in surveyor, the disappear as you move down their length. In the 1000m straight, when you get between the 2nd and 3rd sections the guide suddenly disappears, it's the somewhat the same with the the raduis guides.

These worked great for me in Trainz 2004, however not in Trainz 2012.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Mike (Easy1956)

Yard guides and templates severely restrict your tracklaying choices ... I have offered to many, tutorials on making yard throats ... Use Skype as an Instant Messaging tool to contact me.

I use beadyboy's cs_yard_template_1 all the time with good results. Like Cascade said, it does have limited usefulness on irregular terrain.

Thanks for your reply.
I have not used Skype before, so it may take a little bit to get back to you on that.

You should know however, I do not use these tools and guides for all my track laying work, however they do allow me to do nice straights and smooth curves quickly. So although we can do math with paper and pen, a calculator can speed things up quite a bit. And that is what these tools do for me, speed up the work on some parts of my routes. These leaves me more time for the more complicated parts.

Searching these forum threads using beadyboy as a keyword, I did notice a thread where Philskene showed pictures of his work using the very same tools. Altough I was surprised, it's clear that people like Phil who produce a lot of quality layouts need tools to get through the easy bits quickly.

Thanks agian for your timly reply

Mike (easy1956)

Not to advertise Skype (which is free) but when I am running Trainz windowed in surveyor or driver, I can double task, and communicate via Skype IM ... it is so easy to install and use !

Did you figure the problem out about the guides disappering. I am having the same problem on my laptop but on my computer i didnt. But my computer was stolen so all i have left is my laptop. And it gets annoying when i try to lay track and i use the mile section and it always disappears.

I sometimes use FT Switch's in complex yard throats, then later on replace them with single track.

There is a mathematical/geometrical way to lay switch's ... and that is a technique that is very hard and entailed to explain.

There is a tutorial on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3HD6lZC3XA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_6riUboIic

Even the best laid yard throats sometimes get kinks, and I use a straightened section of "MB Ties Only-No Ballast" track as a straight edge, laid @ 0.02m above the track underneath ... then I just slide the switch spline points back into proper placement.

Most switch's have a straight lead in, and a straight lead out, and one curved leg ... oftentimes a double set of spline points is needed on a switch lead in, a slightly overlapping, figure 8 pattern (which is straightened) :

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_007-18_zps3c869161.jpg
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_003-15.jpg
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_001-43.jpg
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_001-22.jpg

My problem is the Straight Guides disappearing when im trying to lay straight track.

I could teach you how to lay switch's without guides ... only MB Quad track is needed ... get on free Skype

its not the switches i am talking about. it is the guides for straight sections and curves that are disappearing. I want to lay straight sections and curves then work on the switches but i cant put a guide longer then 1/4 mile or it disappears when i go to lay track.

There's such a thing as a template for creating yards? I never knew that. I really stink when it comes to content creation and creating routes, so that may come in handy.

I have the same problem.

Finally learned to ignore it.