220hotwheels

Hi Tom Thanks for that. My thinking for Lockington Main is to present me with as many different scenarios to solve that may appear in Fairmont. Different tracks, different crossings and so on but without any clutter. As I solve one problem I can then introduce another whilst having to retain the overall operation capability. So onwards and upward with the crossing problem. I've copied and translated the crossing demo shown in the posts under demo and will look to apply that logic to my problem. As for Auto Updates. I already have that "ticked" permanently so assume I will always have the latest available. Cheers Pete

Hi Tom Apologies for bothering you again, if I become a nuisance then please let me know. I would appreciate you taking a look at my efforts with both train and barrier control and pointing out the error of my ways, in particular with the crossing barrier control which I have really struggled to come to term with. The only way that I have been able to get the vehicles to start again once stopped is by introducing a time delay. This isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination because if two trains trip the barrier at the same time then my vehicle simply ignores the barrier instruction and ends up going through the trains. I've tried so many variations, clearly not the right ones, to try to achieve perfection but have now hit the proverbial brick wall and need further guidance. Kindest regards Pete Lockington Main.mbp

Hi Tom Oops. Just goes to show how much I need to learn. I think the phrase that springs to mind is, 'I wondered what that section did'. In my ignorance I simply thought that it allowed the choice of either route 'O', route 1 or route 2, not that it had any bearing on the makeup of each road section. Now that I know I can add further revision work to my schedule. As they say a day without learning is a day lost. With 3D Train Studio there are certainly no days lost!! I will also look at the use of the virtual road. Now that you have pointed this out it makes perfect sense. This particular phrase seems to be a normal one for me now but it is so appropriate. "Many thanks once again". Cheers Pete

Hi Tom I have followed your advice to simplify both rail and road tracks and get rid of flexibend elements as you know in the Fairmont layout. Whilst I have not finished this yet I have noticed that no vehicle seems to want to run on any road that has been altered in this way. I came across this phenomena whilst playing around with my demo track, Lockington, in trying to sort out how to stop a vehicle at a crossing only when the barrier is down. I'm not quite there yet but getting closer. I have therefore had to use flexibend roads to solve this problem on that particular layout. Clearly there is no doubt something that I am overlooking but so far I cannot figure out what it is. On the demo layout I have now got 8 trains running on four different tracks with 8 different crossing barriers and a control mechanism in place to ensure none run into one another. Still a bit of fine tuning to undertake but I'm getting there. After that I plan to introduce alternative tracks to feed into others so that I can try to get to grips with different timings. Without your guidance I would still be floundering in the "dark ages", so to speak so once again many thanks for all your guidance. Cheers Pete

Thanks Tom. More ideas to play about with. This is definitely my best way to learn, in at the deep but with the help of an expert to keep me on the straight and narrow. Many thanks once again Cheers Pete

Hi Tom Your advice, as always, is invaluable. It's taken me a while to digest it all but it does make a lot of sense. In trying to get both sets of points working properly in line with your setting in the Fairmont layout it was necessary to take some of my efforts back to basics and yes by doing so I realised where I had gone wrong initially and duplicated the operation between barriers 1 and 2. I've now got both barriers working properly as each train on their respective tracks approach and leave so progress has been made. So that I am sure I have the process right I will now look to set up a similar situation on the opposite side of the oval with a different station and set of crossings. Fingers crossed that I don't foul up again but as the saying goes, 'practice makes perfect' Thanks again Tom. My folder with all of your advice grows weekly. By the time I become proficient at this hobby I will be able to write a book with all of your advice. Royalties to be shared 50/50 !!! Cheers Pete

Hi Timba Many thanks for that. I had assumed that as I had set the "Trains Crossing" variable to > than 0 then selecting + 1 and - 1 for the actual operation would work fine but having selected = to 1 and = to 0 in each of the variables for open and close barriers respectively they do now close and open so many thanks for that. Very much appreciated. Kind regards Pete

Hi Tom As you suggested I have set up a demo layout Lockington. Size wise I appreciate that it is quite large again but my intention initially is to set up three stations along the outer track so that I can experiment with multi trains, barriers, speeds etc. Once I have got to grips with that I can then move on by setting up an inner two tracks to learn about points, crossings etc. At least that's the plan. I thought all was going well following your examples and whilst the two trains seem to run reasonably I cannot for the life of me get the crossings to operate unless I place an instruction line in the EM for each track, which is not how you have sorted it's operation in Fairmont. I have compared your instructions and mine over and over and cannot see just where I am going wrong. Could I therefore trouble you once more to point out the errors of my ways please. Cheers Pete Lockington demo.mbp

Hi Tom Thanks for that. It should eliminate my error from before and stop my poor firemen from over exercising!! Cheers Pete

Hi Tom I believe I might have covered part of the above in an earlier reply but I too am using Windows 10 professional on both of my machines. Both have Intel i7 processors, the laptop one is less than a year old with 16Gb Ram and the desktop is only 4 months old running 48GB Ram so I don't find it too slow to load Fairmont. The laptop takes around 45 seconds and the desktop about 30 seconds. Where I have to be careful is when I am moving quickly around the layout to make sure that I don't catch something that I shouldn't. Cheers Pete

Hi Guys I've had some more time to go through your earlier advice together with the work that Tom has done for me in setting me on the right path. It is now so clear that my approach has been more than just a little off the mark. Having taken your advice Andy and looked at the list of items used I was staggered by the amount of repetition. That said when I start to trim I will need to be careful not to diminish the overall effect that I had always wanted to create, When all is said and done elements such as trees provide an extremely important dimension in trying for near realism. In the same way telegraph poles, street lights etc have all yet to be added. I've just read your recent advice Goetz and have no imminent intentions to complicate matters by introducing these into the demo layout EM at present. Rest assured that I plan to keep it all very simple and get to grips with the basics as you outlined in your example. Hi Tom. I've also had the time to take a closer look at your revised EM for tracks 3 & 4, they are brilliant and show me just how wrong my approach has been. I will follow your advice to keep Fairmont principally for the landscaping aspect for now which will encapsulate a thinning of certain elements as well as additional work on the remaining tracks and roads. My demo layout, currently two ovals providing two parallel tracks is called Lockington. When I am happy that I have got to grips with all of the advice given I will send it to you for further comment if that is OK with you. Cheers Pete

Hi Guys I hope you can all pick up this reply rather than me thanking each of you separately. I have briefly read through each of your suggestions and will print them off for future reference. What you advise makes absolute sense. All I have to do now is get my head round it all over the next few weeks. I have already set up a test layout and will add some extra details such as crossings etc so that I can fully get to grips with the various aspects of EM. I also take your point Andy about reducing the polygon aspect. I didn't really consider this much before trying simply to achieve a realistic looking layout from the aesthetics point of view. Over time I will trim things down. Tom has already given me invaluable guidance on that front the result of which has reduced the overall file size down from around 3GB to 2.7, 2.8GB and I still have quite a lot of track and roads to streamline so am hopeful that I will get back to 2.6GB in the future. So Tom, Goetz and Andy I cannot thank you enough for your guidance. With luck in another years time I might just have a fully working layout. Cheers Pete

Many thanks for that Tom. I had obviously noticed said crossings problem and knew that it need to be addressed at some point as indeed have numerous other elements but I was working on the principal of "all in good time" as my knowledge and understanding grew. That at least is my excuse!! Cheers Pete

Hi Andy Glad you like the layout. As you can see from some of the other posts the general advice is pretty much the same so I plan to finally follow said advice and set up a simple test layout to play around with EM. Cheers Pete

Hi Tom It would seem that everyone has pretty much the same advice. Lose the Fairmont layout for now and set up a simple track layout for the purpose of getting to grips with EM. This I will now do. The biggest challenge in getting to grips with this problem, for me anyway, is understanding how things work. It's easy to work through the various screens and select different elements to see what they do but without fully understanding some of the more basic principals of the loco management operation you just keep fumbling in the dark so to speak. I have gone through the online manual many times and this just gets me more confused. Perhaps it's the translation that does not help which is why I opted for the "jump in with two feet" approach. Anyway your advice to date has been invaluable so many thanks for that. Cheers Pete