TrackVision - The Open Railway Project

TrackVision - The Open Railway Project

Welcome to the TrackVision ecosystem! This is a comprehensive, custom-designed model railway project built from the ground up for makers. It features a unique, non-standard scale engineered specifically to make the most out of 3D printing and smart electronics.

Because this is a completely custom scale, you might need to adapt things if you want to integrate them into standard model railway layouts. To give you ultimate creative freedom, all models include fully open-source STEP, 3MF, and F3D files.

⚠ Important Note: This project is highly detailed and involves custom tolerances and assemblies. It is not intended for beginners in 3D printing.

(The real-life photos in the gallery showcase an earlier physical prototype. The included 3D files feature the newest, updated, and improved designs!)

What is Included?

This is a massive, growing ecosystem. In this initial release, you get:

• Infrastructure: A modular historical station building, platform system, straight tracks, and curved roof arches.

• Scenery & Details: Benches, trash cans, railings, and custom track-side infrastructure.

• Functional Props: Hollow street lamps and railway signals ready for LEDs.

• Extras: A custom railway-themed puzzle game.
  

🚀 Coming Soon: A highly detailed, custom-designed Siemens Taurus locomotive packed with smart electronics and mechanical bogies. It will be released very soon as a separate, dedicated model!

The Assembly Model (How to build it)

To make the build process as clear as possible, I have included a full Assembly Model in both STEP and F3D formats.Please open this file in your CAD viewer or Fusion 360 to see exactly how all the parts fit together.

The entire ecosystem (buildings, platforms, and arches) is designed as a modular puzzle kit, with specific joints for different sections:

• The Platforms: Connected using "butterfly" joints that slide in smoothly from the bottom. The platforms also feature designated holes for magnets.

• The Historical Station: The main parts slide into one another and are locked in place using 4x2 mm magnets.
  

  • Pro-Tip: The station towers have integrated hollow channels designed for wiring. Print the tower domes using transparent filament so you can light them up from the inside!
    

• The Curved Arches (Roof): These connect using sliding pins. If your diorama is stationary, you can glue the entire arch structure together. If you need it to be portable, glue it into two separate halves so they can simply slide apart for transport.

• Tracks: The rails snap together using custom-modeled, 3D-printed connectors.

• Scenery & Accessories:
  

  • Benches and trash cans each take a single magnet on the bottom. Thanks to the corresponding magnets in the platform, they snap right into place and won't fall over, while other parts just slide in.

  • Street lamps and railway signals are designed as simple slide-in/press-fit models.

  • Railings are the only scenery parts that require superglue to be secured.

Hardware & Electronics

As a general rule: Magnets go into all the small round holes.

• 4x2 mm Neodymium Magnets: Used primarily for the historical building connectors and smaller scenery items (benches, trash cans).

• 5x5 mm Neodymium Magnets: Used to anchor the massive curved arches. Insert these into the bottom support beams of the arches and the corresponding slots in the platforms to act as a lock against falling out.

• Future Expansion Holes: You will notice empty holes on the inner roof of the arches. Leave these empty for now. They are designed for future magnetic accessories (like hanging signs) and mounting an overhead catenary line (trakčné vedenie) directly above the tracks.

• LEDs (Optional): Street lamps are designed for 3mm white LEDs (pre-wired recommended). Railway signals are designed for WS2812B LED strips (144 LEDs/m high-density version).

• Glue: CA glue (superglue).

Print Settings & Materials

• Material: PLA and PETG are perfect. None of the parts are under extreme mechanical stress, so you can use whatever material you prefer or have on hand.

• Layer Height: 0.2 mm is recommended for almost everything to save time. You can drop to a lower layer height for the smaller, fine details (like lamps or benches).

• Infill: Maximum 10%. These parts are large, and anything higher than 10% is a waste of filament and time.

• Supports: Minimal supports are required. I leave the support generation up to you, as it highly depends on your specific printer's bridging and overhang capabilities.

Support TrackVision

By clicking the link below, you can voluntarily support the project. Your contribution directly helps fuel new hardware, prototyping, and future designs. Thank you!

buymeacoffee.com

Need Help? Contact Me!

I am a student, and I am relatively new to this, continuously learning and improving the designs alongside the project!

If you want to see more about the project, follow the development, or if you run into any issues, please reach out. I reply quickly, so if anything is unclear, please contact me first before you start a massive 30-hour print.

• Instagram: @the.trackvision

• Website: trackvision.sk

Happy printing and building!
Mižufko