SCARM - Layout design software with 3D ? All users Topic

[sub39h]

Hi sorry to be demanding, but I just remembered a couple of minor irritations that would be nice to have fixed. The first is when you are selecting a parallel start point, it would be useful if you could hit enter to place the start point. At the moment you just get an error noise.

 

Secondly, when you are using the toolbox, if you select something but then accidentally move your mouse off the toolbox it deselects it, so if you click on a box to write some numbers, and move your mouse off the box the numbers don't get entered.

 

Thanks

[Barnaby]

Hello I'm looking for some help.

I'm sure I read somewhere that you could, in my case IMPORT an Anyrail plan and show it in 3-d.  All I can now find says not so.  Anyone confirm which is correct.

 

Many thanks

Edited March 17, 2014 by Barnaby

[RAF96]

 

 

Hi Rob

 

There was a new release out yesterday, which includes a new roads feature.  With this you can now add complex roads networks over and under track using the normal tunnel and bridge track tools.  You can also customise the roads with various road markings and also apply gradients.  See http://www.scarm.info/blog/general/scarm-v-0-9-24-released/ for more info.

 

That is exactly what I am looking for. The roads feature is an absolute bonus.

Many thanks for the quick turnaround on this request.

Rob

 

 

I've tried the road facility but I'm having problems getting tidy road ends at say edge of the baseboard as well as struggling with the intersections.

Also i'm can't get the road tunnel under rail tracks to work as well as the previous screen grab illustration - see my screen grab attached.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/59063-capture/

No doubt all these things will be well covered in the forthcoming tutorials.

Rob

 

Edited March 17, 2014 by RAFHAAA96

[Mixy]

Hello all

 

@Rob: I am starting with the tutorials about using of the roads - see the first article here: The Roads in SCARM – Part 1 – Basic Usage. You will probably need to select the road parts that you want to be in a tunnel and press the "Tunnel" mode button.

 

@Barnaby: There is no way for automatic import of track plans from other programs, but you can export your track plan from Anyrail as image and import that image in SCARM using "View" > "Background Image" menu command. Then you could easily trace the route using the tracks in SCARM and quickly rebuild the track plan. I will probably write more about this subject in the blog.

 

@sub39h: You're right about the parallel start point dialog - I will correct this. However, when using of the Toolbox for flex tracks and moving the mouse away, SCARM thinks that you continues to shape the track manually. That's why the Toolbox window is loosing the focus. I should work more to solve this issue as I am also suffering of it sometimes...

 

Mixy

[Barnaby]

Thanks Mixy

And I see if I grab the corner I can re-size it to fit the chosen base board size, all good stuff.

 

Regards .

[RAF96]

Thanks Mixy - the 1st tutorial is a big help. I also need to revise exact use of flexy track.

Rob

[Mixy]

Many of you were asking about custom or double tunnel portals in SCARM layouts and track plans, so I prepared the following article:

Custom Tunnel Portals in SCARM

 

 

Hope it will be useful

Mixy

Edited April 10, 2014 by Mixy

[Mixy]

Two more tutorials about road crossings were published in the blog. See all here:

The roads in SCARM - All tutorials

The articles are showing how to assemble the crossings, IS adapters and IS approaches in order to get various intersections and combinations, like the one below:

 

The images are showing right side driving surface markings, but left driving is supported as well.

More about the roads in SCARM is coming

Mixy

Edited April 24, 2014 by Mixy

[sub39h]

Hi Mixy,

 

I noticed something interesting recently and was wondering if there was a way to fix it. When zoomed out, the length of short sections of straight flexi track is displayed on the track, but when you zoom in (and there is more space on the track to display a length) it disappears. Usually one zooms in to get a better appreciation of the detail (including the length of small bits of flexi) so it would be useful to display the length when zoomed in more so than when zoomed out and the text is hard to read because of being so small. Please find some photos below highlighting my point.

 

Thanks for your continued hard work.

[Mixy]

Yes, this is happening sometimes. When zooming in, it is possible that the length of the text in pixels to became large than the length of the track section itself. In this case, SCARM does not show the text label for the track length.

When zoom out, the text label may become smaller and able to fit into the track section and SCARM shows it.

 

This is related to the track length, the font (may be selected in the Settings) and zoom factor, so it is not possible to be controlled in all cases.

[beve]

Hi, Mixy,

I am a little confused between facebook, forums and other pages dedicated to Scarm. I would like to submit a few pictures or files, but I don't know :
1 - what is the best site to do it

2 - if it is or not interesting for Scarm users (I live very well with the truth : it is not what we are looking for )

So, feel free to  tell me.

 

Bruno V

[beve]

Hi, MIxy,

Did you already see this sort of structure in Scarm ?

If I am lucky and find enough time, I strive to obtain an arch from this first try. But perhaps ther is an easier way to do so ?

[Mixy]

Hi Bruno,

 

I was not at home for several days, but now I am back online

I received your files both by e-mail and on Facebook and will schedule them for publishing in the blog in the following weeks.

All SCARM projects and files are welcome, but if you want to share them immediately with the other users, you can post them also here or in the other forums. Note that the .scarm extension is not recognized on most platforms, so it is good to use ZIP or other compressing software, before uploading SCARM projects.

 

Mixy

[beve]

Hi, Mixy,

Thanks for your answers . I've just seen the other on my E-mail. I'll follow your advice for the zip files. Here is another picture of upside-down roofs in columns for  a bridge. Not exactly what I wanted to do, but it is a beginning. Your soft ware is really pleasant and complete. Thanks for your work. And do not forget to sleep...  ;-)

[beve]

Hi, everybody, including Mixy (of course),

 

Here is another try of bridges, cantilever style. It is for the idea only, because I have not done them on scale (the sides are too narrow and not enough high for HO gauge).

 

Hope you like the view it gives. If so, I'll remake with HO gauge in mind ;-)

 

Bruno V.

[Mixy]

Thank you, Bruno

 

Here I want to present another two interesting articles from the blog. They are:

 

How To Make a Roundhouse in SCARM - if you want to represent a realistic roundhouse in the track plan and 3D viewer.

How To Speed-Up SCARM - if you are editing a large layout and SCARM is working slowly.

 

Hope these will be of help

 

Mixy

[Jaggzuk]

Hi, everybody, including Mixy (of course),

 

Here is another try of bridges, cantilever style. It is for the idea only, because I have not done them on scale (the sides are too narrow and not enough high for HO gauge).

 

Hope you like the view it gives. If so, I'll remake with HO gauge in mind ;-)

 

Bruno V.

 

Great looking bridges there, especially like the under track lattice girder version.

[dgilbert2]

I used SCARM to make the best use of the space I had. Really good piece of software and accurate too when I laid down the real thing! I maybe have too much track now

 

[Mixy]

The plan looks cool If you can, post some pictures from the real layout building

 

Here are the blog posts for May: www.scarm.info/blog/2014/05.

 

And the only post for June: How To Make Circles / Cylinders in SCARM.

 

 

The last can be quite useful if you want to represent nearly perfect standing cylinders for silos, water tanks, etc.

 

Mixy

Edited July 5, 2014 by Mixy

[L&Y]

 

What if I went O Gauge????? Just a doodle based on a Freezer plan of St Ives. Though i would move it north. Just about fits. Plan drawn using peco O gauge bullhead track. Or do I go industrial???  Size is 12' X 8'  and goes around a chimney breast. Train length about 4'. Would need short coaches so pre grouping??? min rad is 4'.

[Mixy]

That looks good

 

And here are the blog posts for July: www.scarm.info/blog/2014/07.

 

The next update of SCARM is almost ready and will come soon, I hope

 

Mixy

[jsp3970]

I have been playing with SCARM now for a bit and have what maybe a silly question.

 

After selecting a track library I can't remove it from the side menu after using it, as a result my side menu is starting to get a little cluttered.

 

How does one clear the other track libraries from the side menu?

[Mixy]

These are new in v.0.9.24 and are called Favorite libraries. You can control them form "Tools" > "Settings" > "Tracks Panel" > "Favorite libraries". If you want to turn them off, set "Slots" = 0 (zero).

 

I will also make an article in the blog about that.

 

Mixy

[dgilbert2]

Thanks

 

These are new in v.0.9.24 and are called Favorite libraries. You can control them form "Tools" > "Settings" > "Tracks Panel" > "Favorite libraries". If you want to turn them off, set "Slots" = 0 (zero).

I will also make an article in the blog about that.

Mixy

Thanks, bugged me too. Switched mine off (sorry).

[Saxton101]

I find the best way is to simply drag a piece of flexitrack (or fixed radius bend) onto the board and adjust that to get the correct angle then drag your point to connect onto it.

 

Here is my proposed layout in Scarm.  I should hopefully be doing the noisy work this weekend - building the baseboards - to let me tinker in the evenings once the kids are in bed.

 

Cambride.jpg

 

It's inspired by the south half of Cambridge station set 1948-56.  It has the two bay platforms of the ex LNWR Bletchley lines and one part of the main platform (all half length).  In this alternate reality Cambridge will be transformed into a terminus with suburban trains from Kings X and Liverpool St plus the Oxford trains and an express service from Liverpool St.  Lob in a few goods trains and it becomes quite a hectic timetable.  I have crunched a 1947 LNER timetable I found on the net to give an idea of the running order for trains.  A full weekday will be 58 arrivals and departures without the goods so more than enough to keep me busy.  If I get running rights over more of the room I can extend it to create a loop to allow through trains to Ely, Yarmouth and Peterborough.

 

I have intentionally not provided run-arounds so a station pilot will be very busy.  In essence it is a shunting layout with coaches being the main things being shunted.  It is nearly all Honby set track and flexi as that is what I have.  All the wiring is pretty much confined to one board.  All points will be hand of god and the odd stall will be remedied likewise.  Construction will be 9 mm ply with 2 by 1 bracing underneath.  Existing chest of drawers will fit under and between the legs.  The fiddle yard will be by cassettes of various lengths. The express will be four coaches with a buffet (MK1s or the forthcoming Bachmann Thompsons), suburbans will be three coaches (I have some Mark 1s but may invest in some more variety - eg ex LNER Gresleys) and the lowly line to Oxford two ex LMS coaches.

 

Motive power will be a mix of tanks (N2s and L1s for the King X suburbans), 4-4-0s (for the Liverpool St suburbans - probably have to be a stand in as no ready to run Holden D16s available) and B1s and B17s on the express with perhaps the odd appearance of an A4 (as I really like them).  Also a couple of midland 2MT and 4MT for the Oxford line so a nice mix of motive power.

 

The goods and loco facilities are obviously woefully small so the theory is the main ones are off scene and these are sub sheds.  Carriage storage will be on the lowest road.  Parcels can be shunted into the siding above the station.  Also scope for cutting out the buffet car for servicing on this siding.

 

It should hopefully keep me modelling for some time as I intend to try scratch building the station buildings, road bridge and the low relief warehouses and a flour mill.  If I feel really brave I may try to build a D15 from a kit.  But I should also be able to play trains relatively quickly since there is not that much track.  If I succeed in getting the baseboards built I will hopefully start a Layout topic for it.

How did you get loco and coaches on the 3D layout ?