Like you Mark I have just watched all the videos and I couldn't agree more with your comments. I have been using AnyRail for about a year and there are always little things you pick up. Thank you David. Take care and keep safe.

Mark, Thank you. It's nice to know that they are easy to follow. I try to include info for those who are new to CAD and those who have used it for a while. Thanks again, Dave

John, Thank you. I appreciate the nice comments. I have a few more in the works and then I will be asking for ideas for future ones. That means I may have to learn how to use the functions I currently ignore but that is the fun of playing around with a program. Was lucky enough to get both Covid shots so I see more railfanning in my future. Take care, Dave

Michael, Thank You! Honestly, I didn't really understand how easements were constructed other than letting the flex track do the work until I worked on these two videos. I thank Bob Fuller for his ideas and that is what got me started on them. Dave

Gerald, thank you. I am hoping to add a few more in a couple of months. Unfortunately, I haven't used the program for a while so I think I will have to watch my own videos to get back up to speed, not only for making new videos but I have some changes I want to make to my own trackplan. Dave

Hi, Yeah, I like just using the 'smooth flex' feature for easements too but I have run into a situation on my design where I needed to have a fixed radius curve. Glad the videos are helpful and thanks for the nice comments. Dave

Derek, There are cat hairs everywhere in my house. I do wish AnyRail would include an easier method of doing easements. Something like, select this piece of track and this one and add an easement of this minimum radius with one click. Maybe if enough of us ask on the forum it will be included in a future release. But of course by that time you will have designed your railroad and not be using the program anymore. Dave

Taz, I tried to make a helix to go between two levels when I first got AnyRail and I thought I was going to do a double deck railroad. I had a heck of a time trying to design it and gave up and went to a single level just to make the construction easy on myself. I plan to go and learn about doing a helix for going between levels soon and I'll do a video if I figure out anything useful. Dave

Taz, Just curious, when you say two images on one on top of the other are you talking about a trackplan that you printed out and are adding components to using AnyRail or the actual track plan levels that you have drawn with AnyRail. If it is images you're talking about, you could place them on individual layers and then use the transparency control on the top image to allow you to see the bottom image. You could then turn the image layers on and off as needed when you are adding track. I go over how to change the transparency in Video 42 somewhere around 13 minutes in or so. Right off, that's the only way I could think to work on two levels of image track plan and probably what I would try first. Dave

@@steampoweredradio2981 I am wondering how to do the different layers, so as to show where one track ends to go upper, or lower layer, so as to allow me to print out that individual layer separate, if possible, and have it match up with the layer it is coming from.... Does that make sense? I'm trying to create a 2 layer design, where I can interface both together, after printing them out, so they match the track coming from the bottom or top layer. Doesn't have to be a helix, although, I STILL want to get good at them also. I am looking into the ways you can set up a helix, so the entrance and exit tracks are not just 90*, but, any angle out or in to the helix, making the track interface smooth as possible to the rest of the layout. I hope this is making sense to you. I am not sure otherwise how to describe it. Maybe show you on a portion of a drawing, cut from the design as a jpeg, or PDF file.

@@tazcurrier2193 Taz, If I understand what you want to do, I would make another layer that contains just the track that does the transition. This can be however many pieces of track you want on either side of the transition. You'll then be able to turn off the other layers leaving only the transition section when you want to print it out. I did this on my design where I had a transition between the main line tracks and the hidden staging yards. Video 16 "Layers Are Our Friends" goes over layer creation, how to hide them, etc in some detail. Dave

@@steampoweredradio2981 Thank you, Dave! I will re watch that video!! Keep these coming if you can. I have learned much from them!!! Blessings always!!! Taz...

Donald, True. But as I understand the smooth flex function, it creates a spiral curve which is what an easement is. If you look at the info on the smooth flex curve it will tell you the minimum radius which I assume is at the end of the spiral. It usually comes up a 1/16' or so less in radius E.G. 23 7/16" instead of 24". If you overlay a easement constructed manually and one made using just smooth flex they appear almost identical, maybe off by that 1/16" that I cited. There does appear to be a difference in the curve made by smooth flex if you don't use close to equal distances on the tangent tracks, as I noted in my response to Bob, but to my untrained eye it still looks like a good easement. I think if you use the smooth flex method you really wouldn't have to play with the control points and it might be too difficult to get the track to do what you want doing that. I will have to try it. Like I said, it's really up to the designer to decide which method to use and both seem to work fine. David at anyrail mentioned that the easement tool was designed to work with end radius of 30° because a lot of modelers use sectional track on the curve and flex leading in. David also said you could, as an example, make a 90° curve out of two 45° easements which I go over in the video. Maybe this is a question for the forum folks? Let me know what method works best for you in your design. I'm curious. Dave

@@steampoweredradio2981 Tell David at AnyRail that a good feature would be to make the smooth flex minimum radius editable, or at least a setting.

@@donaldshroyer8633 Honestly, you have as much pull as I do in making suggestions. I would recommend going to the forum and there is a section there where you can ask for items you wish to be included in future releases. I have a list but just have never gone and posted them there. Dave

Bob, you're a trouble maker. I never thought about that. I just went and tried it and cut one tangent track far from where they crossed and one close to it. I then dragged the two pieces separately and I ended up with the same, what looks to be a spiral. One side had more of an easement than the other but they both looked like an easement leading into the curve. In one of my earlier videos I referred to making an easement this way and I called it a faux easement. But boy, it does seem to work that way. I would recommend that, if you use this method, try to cut the two pieces of flex close to the same length. I think in our little discussion with David he mentioned that the smooth flex function did indeed create a spiral curve.

In my view if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then by George it’s a duck. The point being going to extra effort with little extra to show for the effort just doesn’t make sense to me. I pick the tool any day of the week and spend more time on other stuff.

Mats, try this link to my website steampoweredradio.com/other%20stuff/anyrail%20video%20prints.html Let me know if it works. Click on the button that says 'AnyRail Easement File' Dave

@@steampoweredradio2981 Thank you so much Dave, found it and it works:) love your series, learned alot from them, keep it up!

Hi, Always willing to learn about the program. If you have a easier way to do easements, let me know and I will incorporate them into a updated video and give you credit if you want. Or, do a video yourself. I go into detail because easements are very mysterious things to a lot of people, myself included, and I wanted to show what makes up an easement and how you can design them according to charts and other info on-line. I don't know how far you got into the video but after I show how to use the easement tool with a specified circular radius curve, I then show how I do most of my easements using a guess where to cut and then connect the track and then just use Smooth Flex to get a nice curve. It's a lot easier but there are people out there who would like to build up the easements with a specified radius and for them I want to give as much info as I can about how the easement tool in AnyRail works. I try to show all of the ways you can do something and then pick what's best for you and your situation. The more you know about a program, the more fun you can have trying different ideas. Thanks for watching! Dave