220hotwheels

Brilliant. Many thanks for that. The drawing board awaits once again. The lack of a detailed manual is more than made up by you guidance, I just don't like to bother you or other members if I can avoid it. Many thanks Pete

Hi Goetz and @simonjackson1964 Perhaps I am overthinking setting waypoints, or perhaps I am simply missing the point of what constitutes a junction but thus far I have been unable to complete my circular route. The aim is to set a route for a bus from point A to B, C and then return to A. The route itself is quite involved and covers some distance. I can get from A to B to C and begin the return to A having only selected 4 track contacts (waypoints or junctions) I'm not sure. However as soon as I try to select another TC the route is lost and I am told there are too many junctions. What is just a little frustrating is the fact that of the so called 3 remaining "waypoints or junctions" to make up the so called 7 I would only need 2 to get back to my start point. Having completed the route up to point C I have then selected apply to see if that helps, which I assume saves the route but if I then try to continue from that point I simply delete all of the previous route. I am sure I would not be alone in saying that the most difficult part of learning this hobby is the lack of a detailed manual. That said I do fully understand the difficulties that producing such a document might entail. I recently bought a new Samsung smartphone, which came without any manual whatsoever. Much of the aspect of said phone are fairly straightforward to follow but to get the best out of it I decided to work through the manual, all 168 pages which I had to download. Having done so I have been able to learn much more about the phone and to remove all that I do not want whilst tweaking aspects that I do want. Anyway back to my current problem. I hate to take up anymore of your time but I would really appreciate an additional pointer in order to get me started on redoing much of my road functions. Sort out one round trip route and all others will follow in time. Kind regards Pete p.s. to Simon, your advice sounds most logical and as Goetz has already commented 'a smart approach'. I might be able to take advantage of it in a month or so !!!

Once again many thanks for that. The first option is clear and fully understood. The second might take me a little longer to fully understand but time is a great teacher so I'll sort out the first option as priority one and the second one in the fullness of time. Kind regards Pete

A most sensible approach, thank you. I have one further question if I may. The destination route is shown in green when the vehicle to follow that route is highlighted. When the vehicle is not highlighted the destination route does nor appear. I assume therefore that the initial control of the vehicle is within the E.M. I note that for the trains the orange route only appears when the actual route is chosen in the routes list but there is no such lists for vehicle and their destinations. Kind regards Pete

Hi Goetz Your description is not confusing at all. Many thanks for clarifying this point. Since posting my question I had begun to play around with the little target icon but in conjunction with the route also. I did eventually get to my destination but I think it was very much by chance rather than good management. I will now go back to the beginning and do it properly. One point that did keep coming up was an error message saying that there were, "too many junctions", I think that was it. No doubt I have been trying to do too much in one go so hopefully my next attempt will be somewhat more professional and successful. Many thanks Pete

Hi Having spent some time getting to grips with the new elements of scenery properties with V7 I have started to try to understand other elements and have begun with setting a simple road journey from point A to point B. Setting the actual route seemed straightforward enough and all seemed to be going well until I encountered a roundabout. As can be seem from the screenshot the route is clearly highlighted but as soon as a vehicle enters the roundabout it immediately heads for the first exit and ignores the given route. I have looked through some of the video's posted in an effort to see if I can find a solution but thus far all in vein. For my sins I regret I cannot speak German and whilst it is almost possible to follow the progress on the video the finer detail is somewhat lost as I cannot fully understand either the spoken word or follow too closely the drop down E.M elements. Anyway if I can solve one problem then it might just provide the solution to ongoing problems with these new routes and so if any of you very knowledgeable members can shed light on the solution to my immediate dilemma I would be very grateful. Kind regards Pete

Hi Neo Knuckles duly wrapped if I have jumped the gun but after only a very brief glace through V7 I have to say that it seems to have surpassed all expectations. Great improvement on V6, brilliant. I'm sure there are many like me who will put up with the fixes to follow element just to be able to explore the new version. Kind regards Pete

Hi to all my fellow enthusiasts. The long awaited V7 version is now available so for those interested in the upgrade here is a link that will get you started. https://community.3d-modellbahn.de/wiki/allgemein/%C3%BCbersicht-%C3%BCber-die-neuen-funktionen-v7-r33/ Enjoy. I'm sure I will, from a brief glance there are some amazing treats in store. I only hope those with larger layouts such as mine have been accommodated. Only time will tell as I work through all of the goodies. Pete

Hi Hubert Once again many thanks for at least considering this for a potential future build. I fully understand that it is not a priority but just a small seed for possible future consideration. Kind regards Pete

@hubert.visschedijk Hi hubert As promised I have put together a few photo's for you to consider. I fully understand there is no obligation on your part and even if you were to consider producing anything along these lines it is likely to be well into the future, so many, many thanks for even considering this request. Kind regards Pete

Hi Hubert Everything with me is usually by luck rather than good management, but hey if it works, no problem. Kind regards Pete

Hi Simon Many thanks for both of your replies. I assume Douglas will pick these up and comment further. This is not something that I am currently involved with but no doubt in the future I have this as a reference point. Kind regards Pete

Hi Hubert I'd wondered how that element worked having noticed such items in earlier posts. What do they say "A day without learning is a day lost" true, but with such good members as there are in MBS then not many days are lost. Many thanks for the pointer. I will get back to you with those photo's a.s.a.p. By the way I have added street lighting to your suspension bridge. It looks great. See attached. Your comment regarding the third track in the ferry. I hadn't noticed but now you have pointed this out I will have to reconsider that aspect. Kind regards Pete

Hi Douglas A very good friend of mine has seen your post and sent me a solution that he feels will solve your predicament. I'm not sure if this message is a duplication of one that I was compiling several minutes ago so if it is then my apologies but I could not find how to include an attachment in that one so it might simply have been deleted. Anyway attached is what my good friend feels should be OK. None of this is my work, I'm not cleaver enough (yet), perhaps in another 5 years!!! Hope it helps. Kind regards Pete Signal Speed distribution.mbp

Hi Hubert Yep I agree the Titanic is good. Perhaps because it is less modern than your containership the appeal is not as intense but I only include in my layouts those models that I find really appealing so I think a good result all round. Over the next few days I will sort out some pictures of the two items that I mention in earlier posts for your consideration, and yes I do appreciate if you were to consider making such items that it will not be a quick result. As they say "patience is a virtue". I might not be all that virtuous but I can be very patient. Your MS Aguamarin 11 ferry is excellent. I like the fact that you can load both vehicles and containers so it will stay in the layout no matter what. Kind regards Pete

Just a short postscript to the above. I realise that Ferry 2 is your design too, I'm using that in my layout as you know but compared to the look of Containership Ituana it does not have quite the same visual appeal. Perhaps my view is wrong to compare the two but in my humble opinion the detail in Ituana is greater than in Ferry 2. Having now dug myself into a very large hole I will jump in and operate the digger by remote !!! kind regards Pete

Hi Hubert It has only just dawned on me that you are the author of the containership Ituana. The number of times I have looked at that in the catalogue without it actually registering who had produced it. May I say that in my humble opinion it is the best model boat in the catalogue. The detail is spectacular, and the overall design is so realistic. Much like your Shell tanker. If I had a request for you to consider for the future it would be for you to apply your brilliant design ability to creating a similarly realistic small cruiser and ferry. Whilst the ones currently available are pretty good if you were able to produce something as perfect as Ituana for those models then I for one would be eternally grateful. I've looked at programs such as blender, gulped, decided that I definitely do not have the skill set to produce anything other than perhaps a box, hmmmm., and closed the program, got myself a brandy to pacify my inadequacy and move back to creating scenery which is more my style. Anyway all of the above is just a thought but I admire your skill never the less. Kind regards Pete

Hi Hubert Many thanks for that. I'll give it a try and yes I had renamed it as Fairmont suspension bridge. Kind regards Pete

Hi Douglas As I have said before All advice is most gratefully received. From comments that you have posted thus far I would have thought you to be pretty clued up on this intricate EM work!! After my last posting I decided to revisit the Wiki page and see if I can now make more sense of some of the advice. Despite knowing more than I did when I last looked I am still getting quite confused by some of the narrative largely because the screen shots provided are in German and therefore trying to match to the English equivalent that I use is proving to be less straight forward than it might be. I think this is why I basically went my own way, which yes it is very repetitive and also very time consuming. If I could get hold of a full English version of all of the screenshots that I can match to my own computer version then I might just get the hang of "proper EM work" a little faster. Who ever compiles the tutorials might take this difficulty on board for future versions. In the meantime I await with baited breath and a very keen interest for your suggested project advice. That you are taking the trouble to do this is very much appreciated. Many thanks Kind regards Pete

Hi Douglas I am please that you have found and been good enough to point out the error of my ways. In many comments that I have made on the forum I have described my methodology as rather akin to a Heath Robinson approach, relying a lot of Murphy's Law. Quite frankly as yet I really do not understand much to do with the use of variables, iteration, and as you so rightly reminded me earlier blocking signals. The problem for an old duffer like me is that if there's a simple way round a problem without having to use too much brain power to achieve a goal then that's the route I have taken. Not the most professional approach but as time goes on I try to gain just a bit more knowledge in order to move away from my rather ham fisted approach. Therefore ALL advice is greatly appreciated. To that end uploading my unfinished layout will hopefully provide me with some useful pointers from our more professional members like yourself. With that in mind I would welcome any suggestions that you might have but please ensure they are simple step by step instructions. Pretend you're dealing with an idiot!!! Kind regards Pete

Hi Douglas Yep fares here require mega bucks. The cheapest way to travel by train is to know when you plan to use it about two years in advance!! Personally I haven't used a train or bus in more years than I care to remember. Not that I don't like either but I like to choose my own time for everything and I enjoy driving. I'm a bit of a car freak, love my cars!! The only reason there are no passengers on the trains, busses etc is simply down to the basic fact that the more I add the slower ever thing is. And I've been a bit lazy. Your solution with the blocking signal is spot on. I really do welcome all suggestions for me to make improvements. The only problem is that at the moment I don't really understand them. I will have to make a concentrated effort to get to grips with them. As you say so much easier than constantly having to play about with timings and quite frankly much of my layout relies on timings. With regard to posting updates. I am now in the process of reproducing my own version of the suspension bridge using all catalogue approved bits and to a scale that won't damage the larger vehicles, ie scale 1 rather than scale 0.8, 0.9 If in time Hubert's version does not get beyond the draft stage then I will be able to make the swap until his version is OK'd but for now his version stays mine will be put in the cupboard. kind regards Pete

Hi Hubert I have just completed my scenery change to take account of your suspension bridge, rectified the program error that was affecting the vehicles on the Windall Village route and sorted out the timing problem with my VT 641 so that it doesn't run the risk of running into the back of the goods train, Douglas will be pleased, I think he imagined I might have the N.U.T. on my back for dangerous practices!!!! Having done all of that I decided to post the amended version online but whilst so doing it came up with a message saying that no draft elements can be uploaded so as I'm not prepared to remove your suspension bridge it would seem that I am rather stuck for now. The original errors will have to remain. No doubt many more will be spotted so perhaps the next upload will be even more precise. Kind regards Pete

Having just spent an hour or so redoing my suspension bridge at scale 0.9 I was still finding it problematic getting the trucks to more through on both sides without catching the rear view mirrors and so I have removed my attempt and introduced yours, I hope you don't mind. It does look right and I simply have to redo some of the lower road and scenery, no real problem. If only real life was that simple!! Kind regards Pete

I agree with your view regarding V7. Do you think it will allow for one vehicle to slow down, flash its lights and allow the other through before it? or am I now being just a bit silly! Kind regards Pete

Hi Hubert I couldn't agree more. The trouble with so many people today is that they seem to have lost that sense of humour and fun. All I say is "bring it on" life's too short not to enjoy a bit of healthy, good humoured banter. A smile on your face is worth so much more than any shrink might be able to do. Kind regards Pete