Templot Plug Track Developments

[Hayfield1]

Chris

Thank you and it just goes to show either modelers ignorance of how Templot works or they no little about track building

We did have a chat about whether to demonstrate a straight turnout, or a curved turnout, it was my choice to keep it simple in a format most modelers would understand, had I displayer a turnout with a negative curve, they would be stating the opposite

The thing is that firstly printing plug track using FDM printing was about 4 weeks old, COT track probably 2 to 3 weeks, plus I only had the Neptune printer for 10 days prior to the show

As those who keep track on Templot plug track know only turnouts are supported at the moment, Martin is working on obtuse crossings at the moment, but this is work in progress and relates to both Plug and COT track, not to say we are still experimenting with FDM printing of chairs

Many things in track building cause strong opinions, some still feel that joints will fail unless they are soldered !! I have spent quite a lot of time mending failed solder joints on rivet built joints, not to say the results of corrosion with steel rivets !!

I must say in the early years, I was unsure about the longevity of non soldered common crossings. There was and to a lesser extent some displeasure with Templot and apparently how difficult it is to use, which in its basic form is completely untrue.

For most now Templot is the gold standard for accurate track plans, the plug track development is an interesting project which is developing, the big news is that in the larger scales (7mm +) producing chairs has become much simpler, in that we can now FDM print chairs.

On their own (individually) FDM chairs like injection moulded chairs are fragile, and like injection moulded chairs they must be threaded carefully, the odd one may break (like injection moulded chairs) but can easily be stuck back. But like injection moulded chairs they gain their strength in numbers

The B7 turnout survived 2 days of being handled at the show intact, nothing broke !!!

Yes its only turnouts at the moment, but that goes for plug track as well.

John

 

[simond]

In common with reports from many folks, I found Templot to be massively confusing and counter-intuitive when I first started playing with it - it was a Christmas present from Madame, I can’t recall which year, but maybe 2004 or 5?

Martin had noted that this was typical for those used to CAD and so I assumed it was something I had to learn to use, the way it was meant to be used. I guess you’ll not get far trying to drive a car if you’re only trained to drive a steam engine.

I’ve used it off and on in the intervening years, and wouldn’t try to make track any other way, though it seems to be a learning curve every time I come back to it. I think that’s me, not Templot!

I’d still use Peco outdoors (as drop-in replacement is easy) or for fiddle yards etc.

 

[simond]

John, I did build an experimental length of plain track using my own resin 3DP chairs and laser cut sleepers. They were based on the dims that Martin shared with me. Works fine as might be expected.

I did intend to share the STLs on here and @adrian did set up the site to allow it but the file sizes are large and I have not managed to do so yet. I will get a round tuit….

 

[martin_wynne]

It did however make me smile at lunch on Saturday sitting next to some chaps from another layout. There were several there who were opinioning that this new fangled printed track was only ok standard straight turnouts (B6 etc). Anything else was far too complex.

@Pencarrow @Hayfield1

Hi Chris,

This is true for folks who expect to just switch, click a button, and there is your track.

And for them it's likely to remain true. But Templot is not intended for them and never was. There are turnout kits and other computer programs to meet their needs.

Templot is a tool for track-builders who know what they are doing. I created it originally for my own use, and I'm now happy to share it with anyone interested. But the assumption remains that you know what you are doing.

It's not quite true to say that at this experimental stage it can do only turnouts in 3D. What it can do already in 3D are REA switches in sizes A to F, straight switches in sizes 9ft, 12ft and 15ft, REA V-crossings in sizes from 1:3 to 1:20, and plain track panels with REA ordinary chairs and joint chairs.

So sure you can create turnouts, straight or curved, or on a transition curve. But using just those components you could also create say a 3D-printed tandem turnout if you arrange a design which doesn't need any half-bolted chairs (coming soon). Or a one-piece curved crossover with long timbers at the centre:




That's a 1:8 crossover in 0-MF. Notice that you also get the proper spacing blocks between the rails in the V-crossings.

Notice also the old-style cast "A" chairs. Suitable for yards and sidings. The modern slab & bracket "A" chairs are coming soon. Likewise the K-crossing chairs for diamonds and slips, and slide chairs for switch-diamonds.

But it all takes time. Templot is however now an open-source project, so any help with future developments is very welcome:

GitHub - Martin-Wynne/Templot5: Open-source version of Templot

cheers,

Martin.