Part Numbers

[The Track Planner]

David,

After seeing the recent comments regarding my wish for "sub-layers", it reminded me of another wish list item I had mentioned (here on the forum) awhile back, but if I remember correctly, I didn't get any feedback.

When I complete a track plan, one of the items the client receives is a black and white print scaled to 1:12 (one inch equals one foot). On the plan I show the benchwork outline and track centerlines only, with all relevant track information, e.g., part numbers, radii, elevations, slopes percentages, etc. This gives the client the necessary information needed to start laying track.

The part number is important for turnout identification, as it saves me having to color code each turnout to match a color coded legend list. Currently, the issue is when you click on the "Show" tab and click in the "Part Number" box you turn on the part number for every piece of track on the design. If I have designed the track plan using flex track, having every piece of flex-track, e.g., section labeled is really unnecessary. It would be great if I had a choice of whether to include flex-track part numbers or just show turnout part numbers.

Here's a real world example of why, I feel, this would be an improvement. Recently, I designed a three level track plan for a client, I used Peco code 83 turnout templates and Peco code 83 flextrack templates. When I sent the 1:12 print to the client, he noticed that the part numbers for all of the flex track where Peco code 83. I had forgotten, he wanted to use Micro-Engineering flex track. The client wanted me to change ALL the flex track (on three levels) to Micro-Engineering, which as everyone who uses AnyRail knows would have taken hours to make the change. If I had had the option to turn-off the labeling for the flex track and only have the turnout labels tuned on, the client would not have even known which manufacturers flex track I used. I would have been able simply supply the client with an inventory of how many 36" long pieces of flex track he would need to purchase to complete the plan as designed.

I realize this was my stupidity for having forgotten which manufacturers flex track the client was using. In this case, it really didn't make any difference which manufacture's product I used, since both Peco & Micro-Engineering flex track come in 36" lengths. Having the ability to not show the part number on the flex track would have easily solved the problem.

Hopefully, this is something that can be added to AnyRail in a future update.

Thanks, Bill - The Track Planner