Subject:
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Re: Getting diagonal track to line up properly?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Fri, 8 Nov 2002 17:40:30 GMT
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Viewed:
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2702 times
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Brian,
In lugnet.trains, Larry Pieniazek writes:
> See the resources in the header of the newsgroup, in particular the .tdl
> layouts available at the train depot. Doodle your design in Track Designer
> to see if it works first and you'll reduce your frustration.
Couldn't agree more!!!
> Try this in Track Designer
>
> go straight a while... then do one track piece LESS than 3/4 of a circle. Go
> one straight. Now go 3 curves in the other direction. Now go straight. You
> are 16 studs on center, or very very close, and your track ends are at the
> same exact point as the track coming in, or very very close.
What Larry has done here works because of the fundamental idea described for
the compact cross-over at the bottom of this page:
http://www.ngltc.org/train_depot/geometry.htm
If you have two opposite curves joined together you can replace them with a
straight as long as you "compress" the layout everywhere else by one
straight along the angle where the two curves met. I know I'm not being too
clear here but its hard to say in words. Here's the original "pure"
construction that underlies Larry's dog-bone:
go straight a while... then do 1/4 circle. Go one straight. Go 1/2 circle.
Now go 1/4 circle in the other direction. Now you have the "pure" 16 studs
on center but your dog-bone looks "chunkier". To get back to Larry's nice
and smooth creation, replace the two opposite-joining curves with a straight
and then remove the straight you added after the first 1/4 circle. This is
the same idea as replacing the two opposite curves in a cross-over with a
straight and then moving the points closer together by one straight. This
is a basic technique I try to use to make my layouts look smoother. I'll
start with a "pure" chunky layout and then try to find ways to replace
opposite-joining curves with straights. Track designer is an essential tool
for this kind of thing!
Also, for some ideas you can check out these track layouts of mine on
brickshelf:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=263408
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=263409
It's two similar variations on the same idea. I'd been trying to come up
with layouts that fit on my kitchen table that are more interesting than
simple ovals and chunky cross-overs. I'm particularly proud of this one
because it uses "pure" construction but doesn't look like it from first
glance (in my opinion, at least). I didn't even need to use the above
mentioned technique for this one.
I did use the compact cross-over in this other one to get this "folded"
figure-eight to fit on my table. Notice the odd spurs I'm stuck with in
order to funnel the track into the cross-track. Not too pretty, but it is
the longest loop I've found for my table, in terms of time that elapses
until the train returns to where it started.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=263410
Good Luck, Hope this helps...
-Paul
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: Getting diagonal track to line up properly?
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| Thanks for the great follow up, Paul. (...) I wanted to comment on this one in particular because it's particularly devious! It REALLY stretches what's possible and shows a good understanding of the compact crossover geometry relationships. Nice (...) (21 years ago, 8-Nov-02, to lugnet.trains)
| | | Re: Getting diagonal track to line up properly?
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| (...) Really clever! I purchased an HO sample layout book, and spent some time with Track Designer trying to convert them into similar versions with Lego track. The 30-degree crossovers were the hardest to figure out how to emulate. These sorts of (...) (21 years ago, 8-Nov-02, to lugnet.trains)
| | | Re: Getting diagonal track to line up properly?
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| (...) Since a couple people commented on this one I figured I'd mention that over the weekend I came up with a "folded-figure-eight" that avoids the use of points on the inner loop but still fits on my table: (URL) it requires one more curved track (...) (21 years ago, 11-Nov-02, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Getting diagonal track to line up properly?
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| (...) See the resources in the header of the newsgroup, in particular the .tdl layouts available at the train depot. Doodle your design in Track Designer to see if it works first and you'll reduce your frustration. Now to your particular question, (...) (21 years ago, 8-Nov-02, to lugnet.trains)
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