Dear Friends,

I have just bought a Noch Tessin baseboard and, although I have loads of spare track, need to buy a few extra items. In order to help me sort out how I am going to assemble it I entered the track items listed in the instruction sheet into AnyRail only to find that it does not work! Failing putting track down on the board I have no idea what I need as both the inner and outer loops did not line up.

I've managed to get the inner circuit to line up to within 3mm by using different track pieces by the bridge but there is a massive error in the outer circuit. We daughter and I) have cross checked but just cannot see where it all goes wrong.

Has anyone here built one of these sets and, if so, can you offer any help here? Matters are not helped by the paperwork all being in German but I might be able to find and English translation on their website.

With best wishes to all,
Chris.

Thanks George.

Actually, that plan comes with the board. However, if you draw it out as per the sheet, it doesn't work. For instance at 300% on my screen the two curves on the top left measure 8520: 6cm, 8530: 6.8cm. However, the curves on the top right are 8530: 7.3cm and 8520: 7.6mm. This is clearly absolute rubbish. I've appended the track plan as realised with AnyRail; the gap on the right is NOT 25mm!

All the best,
Chris.

Hi all,
Flex track,.....

Dr D

Hi Guys.
First, thank you for responding to my query. Secondly, sorry to have ignored you. Fact is that I had no notifications of your responses and only just found them when I did a Google search for 'Tessin'.

For various reasons I have done nothing on Tessin since my last message. However, having gone to bed early, I pulled out my notebook and did some web editing. The outcome is an embryonic webpage for Tessin, and it has two images where I have a) superimposed a strict AnyRail plan above onto the Noch (leaflet) plan and b) superimposed the above plan onto a photo of the baseboard. My modifications have helped but 'not a lot!' So, that's it; that's all I have done. Any further comments would be welcomed and this time I hope that I will get notifications.

All the best,
Chris.

Hi Chris,

I had a similar type of problem, but with the track plans included with a Marklin starter set and track packs. When I made additional drawings of the plans, the geometry of the Marklin plans did not make sense. Yet when I came to actually physically build the plan, all the track managed to line up. I guess the sectional track has a certain tolerance that Marklin has taken into account but other software does not (I used Xtrack).

All the best,
C.

First, thank you Frank. I saw your first message after a search for Tessin!) not long after you posted it and intended to respond. However, I run an orchestra as well as being a member of it and various problems with it and going on a course, and practising sort of pushed Tessin into the pending tray. Also, thank you Carim and, again, Frank for your followups.

A couple of points. The first is that I will not use Märklin's extending track after I had problems with one on my Breitenfurt Ost layout during an exhibition. It started derailing trains however slowly they passed over it. Only the locos coped.

Second, I have found AnyRail to be an extremely accurate application. The company added Märklin Z track at my request, and I used it to design the Breitenfurt Ost track plan ( http://trains.manvell.or...ges/Trackplan-latest.jpg ) with no errors, tho' occasional track cutting was required to accomodate some of my quirky geometry. But that is reflected in the track plan. Turning to Tessin, using AnyRail I created a plan sticking rigidly (I hope) to Noch's specification and superimposed on Noch's diagram to get the first image on my webpage http://trains.manvell.or...z-scale/Tessin/index.htm . The thought of straining the track to make it fit is a bit scary; I prefer no straining if at all possible (and AnyRail won't allow it).

The second image shows my first attempt at making the track fit. There are still problems, but it is much nearer to the board and the next stage would be to try to see if it can be made to fit with a little tweaking. I suspect that the best solution will be to use flexible track and adjust it to lie centrally in the track bed.

I haven't given up on Tessin. I need a new layout to exhibit and plan for it to be child operated. Breitenfurt has outlived the local expo circuit and those further away don't seem to be interested.

Finally, here is an interesting variation on a Noch Tessin board.

Thanks for your comments, zscalehobo.
I haven't gone any further with Tessin and need to purchase some track to be able to get it up and running. In the meantime, I am concentrating on my music though at least I have handed over running the orchestra to a new committee.

Obviously, many people have got the layout up and running using Noch's instructions so I will try it but will leave it open as to whether I tweak it a bit. I will not, however, use the expanding tracks, preferring to cut down a longer length of track to the appropriate length. The expanding track on track 1 of Breitenfurt Ost worked fine for about four years and the, half way through an exhibition, for no apparent reason, it started derailing trains (passenger and freight). It was as if the gauge had narrowed by 0.25 to 0.5 mm. The result was to leave me with just one clockwise loop and no access from the mainline to the branch (not that the latter was really a problem). Since replacing it with a cut length of track I have had no further problems.

Hopefully, I will return to Tessin as soon as I can get a case built for it.

So, once again, thanks to all who have responded to my complaint about this layout.
Best wishes to all,
Chris.