Height of rail over supporting board

[Keith Drury]

One tip, and one plea for an amended AnyRail feature.  Plus a HELP file query.

MEASURE HEIGHT FOR SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FOR TRACK
My layout will be supported on boards.  But these boards are at different heights, with sloped boards between boards at constant, but differing heights.  The track has to deal with these slopes, but without exceeding the maximum slope I have set (2.4%).  Using AnyRail's excellent height setting/locking, plus the 'smooth slope' feature, I have designed the track to deal with these height changes. 

I see now that the rails cannot be fixed to the sloped boards, which are too steep.  I want to know how high the supports between steep board and more gently sloping track will need to be, so I can design appropriate structures.  E.g if track is 10mm above sloping board, some simple packing will do.  If track is 30mm above board, it's a hefty embankment.  If track is 80mm above board, need to think of an elevated support, e.g. a bridge.

AnyRail has another excellent feature: SHOW | vertical clearance.  Where rails cross, this does the job perfectly.  But it doesn't work with vertical clearance over support boards drawn as surfaces because you can't set a height for them.  The method I have found to get around this is to draw height positions on the boards (contour lines - which are straight lines).  Then take a straight, unattached piece of track (BASE) and lay it along these lines.  Set the height of BASE track to the height represented by the contour.  Read off the vertical clearance.  Result: the height needed for the support structure.  Move BASE to another contour, reset its height, and so on.

TOO MUCH CLEARANCE DATA
That's the tip;  now for the request for a modified AnyRail feature.  My use of AnyRail separates the total track layout into several Layers.  The above method shows the vertical clearance between BASE and every other track near it.  Even if you hide layers, it still shows the clearances to hidden track.  My layout is complex, so while trying to measure up for one layer's track, I get lots of unwanted clearance numbers.  Could a SHOW setting be added to offer to limit the vertical clearances shown to those relating only to the track on the Layer displayed?  (BASE is put in the displayed layer.)

HELP FILE QUERY
My copy of AnyRail (v 6.50.2) offers under the SHOW tab Show group 6th column only Slope Percentage; Height; Vertical Clearance.  The HELP file (https://www.anyrail.com/AR6Docs/en/showtab/)  item lists additionally Height on Slopes; Height on Plains.  I'd quite like that feature: how/where is it available?

[David]

In the next update, clearance will only be displayed for visible track. That should probably mostly solve the issue.

The 'Height on slopes'/'Height on plains' was replaced by just 'Height'. The manual should be updated.

[Keith Drury]

That's great.  Thanks, David, as ever   

[Keith Drury]

Ah.  v 6.21.0  now much less clutter, so clearer to use.  Thanks, David