3 LINK said:
The chap hitting the computer screen, looks like me trying to understand Templot !!
Hi Martyn and welcome aborad!
Templot can be a bit like that, but eventually you get the hang of it. I found I needed to work through the tutorial 3 times, the first time for orientation, the second time for understanding, and the third time for consolidation of knowledge.
And then I upgraded and loads of functions had changed - and loads had been added and I was well impressed, to be honest.
The key with Templot is to get your head around pegs. Consider a piece of plain track on a plan. It starts at a certain point on the plan, and heads off in a certain direction. It could be curved, straight, or both or have two curves and transitions between them. The reference point for this is the peg position of 0, as it is the datum. All the information about this template (length, direction, curvature, rail lengths, sleeper sizes and spacings) can be thought of as being stored with reference to the peg. However, to join other track segments to this would be difficult if we could only do it at the datum point, so we can join at the other end, too, but all the information is still stored with the template. If we decide to move the peg to the end position, then the information about the template moves with it to the new peg position, and is recast with reference to that point. You can join templates peg-to-peg and also put a notch (marker point) under a peg, which "remembers" position and direction, and other templates can be pegged onto this.
If you insert a turnout into the piece of plain track, then there is a bit more information to add, such as where on the template does the turnout begin, what is the angle of the crossing, the length of the switch, the handedness and so on, but it is simply more information, and as a consequence, many more potential positions for the peg, but providing you start off with the 5 key positions, you can work on from there. The five key peg positions for plain turnouts are:
0 - datum
1 - where the turnout actually starts
5 - intersection point on a crossover
6 - turnout route "exit" peg
9 - overall length.
There are others, such as 3 (where the centre lines cross as if it was diamond crossing) and 4 (point of the vee) but these should be enough to get you going.
Other than that, it is mostly a case of not being fazed by the myriad of options!
Hope that helps!