Hi! New to the hobby, MR, and this forum! (Whew). I'm getting lots of ideas I see in issues I see in MR archives. I apologize if this has been addressed previously, but is there a "how to" guide to interpret some of the conventions used in the diagrams? For example, I see numbers like 0", 2", 6". Are they elevations? Also, I assume there are different bridge/trestle symbols, etc,. Any help in decoding this info for this newcomer would be greatly appreciated!
If I remember right. Such an explanation does exist. Somewhere. Been a long time since I saw it. I have only known one symbol for bridge. One for station etc.
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
The numbers are usually elevation - it switches between " off the floor and " off the lowest point of the trackwork, depending on the layout. Other symbology is more fluid over time, and I'd always recommend reading the article the trackplan is in to get a full understanding of what is being represented.
Thanks!
AFAIK there never has been separate symbols for different types of bridges or stations. Generally, they try to portray what is there - what you would see looking down from above. With stations they might have an arrow going to it saying "station", and the outline of the actual model.
As noted, numbers with inch marks (") refer to elevation, either measured from the floor or from a lowpoint in the trackage (0"). Dashed lines mean tracks going under the scenery, like through a tunnel. Water of course is blue. Figures (often based on real Kalmbach folks) are spread around the track plan in the scale of the drawing to help give perspective of the size of the layout.
Check what scale the plan is in, as the elevations will change with different scales. For example, where you might see a 4" difference in elevations between a track passing over another one in HO would give clearance for the lower track to pass under the upper track, it would not be enough clearance in O gauge.