Tutorial 1

We're going to create a simple 6x4ft layout. You'll learn about the following:

• Using English (Imperial) Units
• Setting the work area size
• Displaying the grid
• Laying sectional track
• Changing the view scale (zoom)
• Displaying rail part numbers
• Understanding tolerances
• Using heights

NOTE Please make sure you have the latest version of the software. (To check which version you have, select Help, About.)

Step 1 - Setting the measurement system

(If AnyRail is not running, start it now!)

• From the Tools menu, select Options:
  The Options window opens.

By default, all measurements in AnyRail are metric. However, you can change this...

• Click the Behavior tab, and select English fractional units.

Click OK to confirm. The Options window closes.

If you select fractional units, AnyRail shows all measurements using fractions, e.g. 20 ¾. If you select decimal units, the same value appears as 20.75. However, AnyRail accepts measurements in both formats, and rounds fractions to the nearest 1/32 of an inch.

Step 2 - Setting the work area size

• From the Tools menu, select Options and click the Table tab.

Note that all measurements are in inches now.

• Enter the Width "72" and Depth "48" and leave the Options window open.

Step 3 - Drawing a grid

(If you closed the Options window, please reopen it.)

• Click the View tab.
• Check the Grid checkbox, and set the Grid size to 12 inches (which is, of course, 1 ft).
• Click OK.

Your work area should look something like this:

Note that in the right lower corner, you can see the mouse position in inches.

So, you've already prepared your workspace. Not too hard, was it?

Now it's time to make like John Henry and lay some track!

Step 4 - Laying some track

To lay any track, we first need to open a track library. Let's use Atlas Code 100 track for this layout...

• From the Track Libraries menu, select H0/00 and click H0 Atlas Code 100.

We'll have a 90-degree turn in the top-right corner of the layout. As we've little space, let's use the 15" curve. Three make a quarter circle.

• Click part number 831 three times.

The three track pieces are 'thrown' onto the workspace.

There are two ways to add track from a library to the workspace:

• Click - Just click on the part in the library, and the piece appears in the workspace.
• Drag-and-drop - Most people know how to do this, but just in case… Position the mouse pointer on the part, press down on the left mouse button. Keeping the button down, drag the part into the workspace. Now release the button.

Try hovering the mouse over a piece of track in the library. The piece lights up and a tooltip displays useful information. Even more information appears in the status bar.

Now it's time to organize the pieces of track. Do this by dragging and dropping (just like you drag stuff around in any other Windows program).

• Fetch a second piece of track and drag its endpoint close to the piece you positioned in the previous step:

• Release the mouse button and the track snaps into place! A small circle at the endpoints indicates that the parts are connected:

• If the track connects the wrong way around, right-click the connection (the small circle) to bring up a popup menu that lets you disconnect the track:

Note that connections always use the nearest endpoints.

• Now, connect the third curved part yourself.

(If your quarter circle is in the wrong place, just drag and drop it - the connected parts all move together.)

Step 5 - Changing the view scale (zoom)

If you have a high resolution monitor, it might be a good idea to zoom in a bit on your work.

• Open the View/Scale menu, and select 1:6. If the work area doesn't fit in its window, scroll bars appear.
• Alternatively, you can use the mouse wheel while pressing the CTRL key on your keyboard.

When you print your plan, it will be printed exactly in the scale that you select here. You can even print 1:1 if you like!

Step 6 - Showing part numbers

It's useful to see the part numbers.

• Open the Options window, Drawing tab. Check Part number, and click OK.

The part numbers appear on the plan:

Step 7 - Adding track

Now use the part numbers to add track to the layout.

Overall view:

Left hand side of the plan:

Right hand side of the plan:

• Add the track as indicated above. The part under the 'bridge' is number 821.
• To fix an incorrect connection, right-click the piece of track and select Disconnect.
• If you add the wrong piece of track, right-click it and select Delete (see below).

To quickly delete track, you can also press the Delete key while you hover the mouse over the part.

Step 8 - Finalizing the track

Add track as shown below. There is no real difference between using turnouts and using regular track.

Overall plan:

Left hand side of the plan:

Right hand side of the plan:

If you look closely, you see that track doesn't fit 100% in the right lower corner where 823 and 150 should connect. We'll fix this in the next step.

Step 9 - Understanding tolerances

Sometimes - as in the above example - track doesn't quite fit. As computers tend to be precise, this leaves gaps in your track plan. Of course, this usually isn't a problem when you actually build the layout because the real track has a certain amount of wiggle room; "tolerance". Fortunately, you can tell AnyRail to take tolerance into account.

• Disconnect part 823, and drag it off to the side:

• From the Tools menu, select Options and open the Tolerances tab:

• Set the Distance to ¾ inch, and press OK.
• Now, move part 823 back into position. This time, the higher tolerance allows it to connect.

After 'cheating' like this, you'll usually want to return the tolerances to a lower value. The default values are good because they reveal problem areas in your design. However, high values tend to make it hard to connect the right pieces of track because AnyRail will identify possible endpoints everywhere!

• In the Tolerances tab, return the Distance to 1/8.

Step 10 - Setting heights

There's one more problem with the layout; in the upper middle, two tracks cross at the same height. To solve this, we need to set the height of the track.

• Right click the connection and select Set Height...:

The Set height window opens:

We want to create a nice slope to this point. 3 inches should be enough for a train to pass underneath.

• Select Create gradient to this point.
• Fill out the screen (Height, "3", Descent percentage "4"), and press OK:

These values are a bit 'on the edge'. Values of 3" and 4% should be fine for European standards, but they might not let US engines through. However, small layouts require compromises.

• Repeat the procedure at the other end of the bridge:

• To see the result of your actions, open the Options window again, and select the Drawing tab:

• Check Height on slopes, uncheck Part number and click OK.

The heights now replace part numbers on the layout.

Step 11 - Enjoy the result

If you followed this tutorial step by step, you should have the following layout:

Congratulations!

Of course, this tutorial covers only a fraction of AnyRail's capabilities. We'll add more tutorials from time-to-time, but you can also consult the manual that comes with the program.