# Help with AnyRail



## Joe Davis (Dec 13, 2016)

Can anybody give me some help with the AnyRail software? I tried to register for their forum but could not answer the verification questions (I am not Dutch or Swedish) 

Thanks


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

AnyRail's makers are Dutch. But you don't need to be Dutch, or any other European nationality to register. I had to go back and look at the questions. You could easily Google the answers... which is the whole point. A bot can't Google. DB stands for Deutsches Bundesbahn (German Federal Route), not Danish. 1:87 is HO scale, and the ICE runs in Germany.

What do you need help with? I've been using the software for about a decade, since version 3.1. The two most important steps are 1) Read the manual, and 2) draw your track first, then worry about a surface.
What else?


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## Joe Davis (Dec 13, 2016)

Duh, didn't even think about Google. I should have done that.

I have my layout but am trying to add things that are not in the library like Atlas bumpers (518). Also I am trying to import some buildings, engine shed's, etc that are not in the Walther's Cornerstone list. Tried importing USER OBJECTS but it just gives me a list of 1882 items. I don't see where to download (or buy) them.

Thanks


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The folks at Anyrail are very accommodating, I've sent in numerous requests for additions to libraries and they've been accommodated pretty quickly.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Joe Davis said:


> Duh, didn't even think about Google. I should have done that.
> 
> I have my layout but am trying to add things that are not in the library like Atlas bumpers (518). Also I am trying to import some buildings, engine shed's, etc that are not in the Walther's Cornerstone list. Tried importing USER OBJECTS but it just gives me a list of 1882 items. I don't see where to download (or buy) them.
> 
> Thanks


If it's a piece of track, it needs to be added by the AnyRail design team. They don't let users monkey with that part of the software. Shoot them an e-mail and ask them to add it. That said, I'm not sure that they would add those. It isn't really a piece of track, but a little clip on device. Stuff like that, they just assume you know that it's going to be there. Kind of like switch machines. In the most useful scales for viewing and designing, those little gizmos will barely show up, and would interfere with track endpoints.

User objects are usually structures that people have uploaded to the site. Some of them are better than others. They are all free -- you just have to hit the correct library page (User Objects?). You add them just like you would any other item. Click the item, then where you want it. Drag into position or rotate if necessary.

You can spend a lot of time in Anyrail making things look just so, setting heights to get a good 3D view, and so on. But the point of the software is to design the track plan. Rather than polishing the cannonball with all the little details, get a good footprint for your item, so you know it fits, and move on to building it!


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

If you need a structure you can't find, see if you can find the dimensions of the finished kit. The Walthers website often has them. Then just draw a box or two to represent the shape. Use the ruler, gridlines (set to 1" intervals) and grouping function to draw your structure's footprint.


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## Joe Davis (Dec 13, 2016)

I didn't realize it automatically downloaded the USER OBJECTS to my library so I just found them.

Like I said I am learning as I go but so far it has not been too hard. My son has a copy on his computer and is working on designs himself.

Thanks again


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Joe Davis said:


> I didn't realize it automatically downloaded the USER OBJECTS to my library so I just found them.
> 
> Like I said I am learning as I go but so far it has not been too hard. My son has a copy on his computer and is working on designs himself.
> 
> Thanks again


As long as you have some experience with drawing things on a computer, it is very intuitive.

As i said before, be a little careful of user objects. Most are very good, some are flat out wrong. Almost as if they are designed in O but tagged as HO. I always double check, just to be sure.

And be careful letting the little one use Anyrail. Before you know it, he's going to want to actually BUILD one of his creations. Don't ask me how i know this!!


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## Joe Davis (Dec 13, 2016)

CTValleyRR said:


> And be careful letting the little one use Anyrail. Before you know it, he's going to want to actually BUILD one of his creations. Don't ask me how i know this!!


I hear ya. But my little one is now almost 23 and in his 5 year of college (architecture design). He is the one who has wanted to dump the ez track and go with Atlas. Where does the time go?


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