Making a Signalbox Diagram using a computer

[Peter749]

I wish to make a Signalbox mimic digram for my layout using my computer and I wondered if anything was available to help the process.

Are there signals I can download as a graphic to place on the plan?

 

On DCC Concepts there are basic symbols to download but they are difficult to use.

https://www.dccconcepts.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/MIMIC-diagram-components.docx

 

Any suggestions on what to use

 

Thanks

 

Peter

[spamcan61]

What software are you planning to use to create the diagram, or is that undecided? 

[Peter749]

1 hour ago, spamcan61 said:

What software are you planning to use to create the diagram, or is that undecided? 

I'm not sure what is available

My computer is running Windows 10 and I have Excel and Word installed

The low level panel was constructed using Excel and just drawing lines then printed off

 

I wanted something better for the high level station area so it looked like a Mechanical Signalbox board

Some thing like these from the Control Panels thread

This by 28XX

 

 

This by BluenGreyAnorak

 

I don't intend to have any lights or switches on the panel - they will be below it.

 

Peter

[St Enodoc]

8 hours ago, Peter749 said:

I'm not sure what is available

My computer is running Windows 10 and I have Excel and Word installed

The low level panel was constructed using Excel and just drawing lines then printed off

 

I wanted something better for the high level station area so it looked like a Mechanical Signalbox board

Some thing like these from the Control Panels thread

This by 28XX

 

 

This by BluenGreyAnorak

 

I don't intend to have any lights or switches on the panel - they will be below it.

 

Peter

Peter, which "Control Panels thread" is that? Thanks.

[Harlequin]

Hi Peter,

 

I think you need a drawing program, like Xara Designer, Affinity Designer or Adobe Illustrator.

 

When combined with knowledge of the prototype diagrams and input from signalling experts it’s possible to make something reasonably authentic like this:

 

(Created for @Andy Keane’s Helston)

 

A signal box diagram is a slightly different beast from a mimic diagram, so you need to be clear which you are actually going for, but a drawing program is the most flexible way to make either.

Edited April 12, 2022 by Harlequin

[spamcan61]

I've just created this is in Excel using the DCC concepts Word shapes, so a free / reasonably easy solution is available if it's good enough, I added the text using usual 'Inert text box'

 

Edited September 17, 2021 by spamcan61
update schematic

[PaulRhB]

I draw mine in WORD and created my own symbols using word art, then screenshot them and cropped them to make each symbol a picture I could insert. I then used the ‘in front of text’ formatting so they could be moved around the screen freely. I also use the erase tool to remove the white background on each symbol so it doesn’t overlap other things. 
Creating the symbols takes a little time and I saved them all on a blank document so I can copy and paste from that in another tab. 
 

[Jeremy Cumberland]

If you are using Microsoft Office, then don't overlook PowerPoint. It is far better at aligning objects than Word (I don't think I have tried doing much of this sort of stuff in Excel).

 

A drawing program is better though.

[spamcan61]

Just now, Jeremy C said:

If you are using Microsoft Office, then don't overlook PowerPoint. It is far better at aligning objects than Word (I don't think I have tried doing much of this sort of stuff in Excel).

 

A drawing program is better though.

I agree PowerPoint is better, but the OP only mentioned Word and Excel, so I stuck to those. Word is a nightmare for pictures / drawings IMHO (Having used it for 25 years) 

 

A proper drawing program is OTT in my opinion if the drawing I did above is good enough standard. 

[LNERGE]

This is drawn entirely on computer.. My main partner in crime draws them for my 'modelling' projects

 

 

Edited September 17, 2021 by LNERGE

[Peter749]

8 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Peter, which "Control Panels thread" is that? Thanks.

 

[Peter749]

3 hours ago, spamcan61 said:

I've just created this is in Excel using the DCC concepts Word shapes, so a free / reasonably easy solution is available if it's good enough, I added the text using usual 'Inert text box'

 

I have tried that but I'm struggling

When I copy a black line across and place it in either Word or Excel and I try to shorten or lengthen it the line makes a step in the middle.

I wish to place a line at an angle but I cannot rotate it

 

My full version of Office is 2007 and it does have Power Point but I have hardly touched it.

 

Peter

[Peter749]

17 minutes ago, LNERGE said:

This is drawn entirely on computer..

 

 

What program do you use?

[LNERGE]

3 minutes ago, Peter749 said:

What program do you use?

My colleague advises it was drawn in photoshop.

[PaulRhB]

16 minutes ago, Peter749 said:

When I copy a black line across and place it in either Word or Excel and I try to shorten or lengthen it the line makes a step in the middle.

I wish to place a line at an angle but I cannot rotate it

In Word? Are you using the lines in the drawing tools under ‘insert’? They can be adjusted using the endpoints, dimension boxes under ‘format’ or the arrow keys to move them incrementally. 

[dhjgreen]

25 minutes ago, LNERGE said:

My colleague advises it was drawn in photoshop.

Quite expensive.  There is a free photo editing software called GIMP that does much of what Photoshop does.

[Peter749]

9 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

In Word? Are you using the lines in the drawing tools under ‘insert’? They can be adjusted using the endpoints, dimension boxes under ‘format’ or the arrow keys to move them incrementally. 

The graphics of the lines are on the DCC Word document and I copied them across to a new Word Document and just pasted them in place.

When I tried to edit them is where the problem occurred.

[Peter749]

3 hours ago, spamcan61 said:

A proper drawing program is OTT in my opinion if the drawing I did above is good enough standard. 

I think it is of a good enough standard for what I want - I did try to use those graphics from DCC but they did not work as I expected.

 

[Robert Stokes]

I made a signal box diagram by using Anyrail. I used the facility to draw rectangles for the tracks so that they were solid. I made crossovers using more rectangles turned slightly. There are home and distant signal symbols to add although theu are rather small. I then used the words facility to number the points and signals to match the numbers on my DCC Concepts signal levers.

[Peter749]

4 minutes ago, Robert Stokes said:

I made a signal box diagram by using Anyrail. I used the facility to draw rectangles for the tracks so that they were solid. I made crossovers using more rectangles turned slightly. There are home and distant signal symbols to add although theu are rather small. I then used the words facility to number the points and signals to match the numbers on my DCC Concepts signal levers.

That might be a very good idea Robert.

I had use Anyrail to create a Trackplan to make sure everything worked so I can do the entire station area and resize to fit.

 

Thanks for the idea

 

Peter

[Jeremy Cumberland]

29 minutes ago, Peter749 said:

When I copy a black line across and place it in either Word or Excel and I try to shorten or lengthen it the line makes a step in the middle.

I wish to place a line at an angle but I cannot rotate it

Echoing what PaulRhB says, you generally need to use what is now called "Shape Format" tools for lines and things to get them to look right. I cannot remember what they were called in Word 2007, but it is the range of tools that includes size and position.

 

 

It is difficult to draw anything freehand in Word and get it to look good. For horizontal lines, for example, you generally need to explicitly set the height to 0. For lines at a constant angle, you need to set height and width to appropriate values to get the angle that you want, but if want to create a style like Stourhampton South then you will probably be using rectangles and parallelograms to get the ends of the lines looking right, and I don't know that you can set the "width" for parallelograms by typing in a number; you need to guess by dragging the orange dot (if there is a way of setting this by typing in a number could someone please let me know how):

 

Remember that copy and paste (ctrl-c and ctrl-v) are particularly useful once you have got one shape looking right. It is easy enough to change colour and position.

 

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Peter749 said:

 

Thanks but the two examples you posted aren't there, hence my question.

[Harlequin]

Lots of programs have drawing abilities shoe-horned into them and can do simple tasks but to have complete freedom to draw what you want, with the ability to change it easily, to make it look good and not to have it squashed down to pixels you need a drawing program.

 

Affinity Designer is relatively cheap, non-subscription, made in the UK, works in both Mac and Windows and is award winning.

 

And I say that with some pain because I work on a competing program, Xara Designer.

 

Edited September 17, 2021 by Harlequin

[PaulRhB]

35 minutes ago, Peter749 said:

The graphics of the lines are on the DCC Word document and I copied them across to a new Word Document and just pasted them in place.

When I tried to edit them is where the problem occurred.

Ah they’ll be low resolution then. I’d use the drawing lines under ‘insert’ the toolbar allows you to set up to 6pt lines and by right clicking on them you can increase the line size to whatever you want. Like Jeremy I use a mix of ‘shapes’ and ‘lines’ from the drawing tools and some I create one large size, screenshot it and reduce it, and then flip it as required. I generally create those first then size the plain lines to match. 
This is the pic I created for a crossover and it can be chopped in half for sidings or the solid line just overlaid. 
(This is low res as taken from the small diagram file.)

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Peter749 said:

I have tried that but I'm struggling

When I copy a black line across and place it in either Word or Excel and I try to shorten or lengthen it the line makes a step in the middle.

I wish to place a line at an angle but I cannot rotate it

 

My full version of Office is 2007 and it does have Power Point but I have hardly touched it.

 

Peter

I've used Word in the past but a much earlier version. I haven't yet tried with the version that's part of MS 365.

 

Created about 15 years ago. The lever numbers were also done as Word tables.