v1.1.0[G]
TTMRL is a comprehensive management tool for your model railway library. Fully customisable drop down menus via the Metadata Management section allow you to make the app exactly how you want it and delete items you don’t want.
IMPORTANT - Backup data regularly and copy to another storage drive. Devices can malfunction so save your data and settings for peace of mind.
The app is organized into seven tabs: Rolling Stock, Layouts, Tech, Notes, Parts, Toolkit, and Config. Click on the icon in bottom nav bar or swipe between tabs.
Start with the Config Screen before adding any items - this will save time later.
Config:
0. User Guide – a brief introduction to the app and basic settings.
1. Key To Symbols – At-A-Glance what the icons and flags mean on list items. Some of the colours will change (Assigned technical documents, Assigned notes and Assigned Layouts) if you change the respective colours (see 2 below).
2. App Visuals – Choose colours for the different item types and select overall app theme (System, Light, Dark). To Change the item type colour click on the chip. This opens colour selector where you can pick a colour from the picker or enter a Hex value. Give it a name and save it to the prepopulated list of Railway Colours (all of which are editable). You can select one of the images that will display on the Splash Screen and at the top of the tabs (this does not change the App icon on the device).
3. Widget Visuals – Customise the widget colours, columns and action buttons.
4. General Settings – Select default scale for adding items – especially useful if you only have one scale. Select Country for Currency symbol. Select default Metric or Imperial - You can still use either measurement on-the-fly in Toolkit items. Ask for PDF app everytime you open a PDF document. Select font size (Normal or Large). Show / Hide User Guide for when you have read it. You can also opt out of NFC integration if you don't wish to use tags.
5. Weight Rules – If you use weight calculations and don’t wish to use NMRA or NEM rules then you can enter your own for each scale. Specifiy a base weight, add weight / mm (above and below a threshold length) and weight / axle. This can be different for carriages and freight. Add a tolerance if you wish. On the rolling stock page you will see if your item is within tolerance and how much weight needs to be added / subtracted if it is out of tolerance (OOT). You can also turn off the weight calculations if you do not wish to use them (rakes will still show as assigned to locos but not weight calculated).
6. This is where the customisation happens – Click on one of the options to open the tab. Then you can add to (press the +), edit (press on the text) or delete (press the bin icon). You can do this for 9 menus: Loco Classes, Carriage / Freight Class Codes, Tech Item Types, Wheel Configuarations, Traffic Options, Control Statuses, DCC Decoder Types, Manufacturers and Eras. The New and Amended items will save to the next backup. Deleted items will not save so if you want to re-add them, just create a new one. If you change a metadata chip then all items that use that chip will also update. This save you changing every single item. Update the metadata before adding items as this will make life easier to start with, especially if you are adding a lot of items. Metadata items will show alphabetically in their respective dropdowns.
7. Valuation Details & Reports – In this section you can show / hide valuation flags for rolling stock. It will also show you the total value for your inventory and estimated cost for your wishlist items. You can generate a PDF report detailing all values which may be useful for insurance purposes. You can also show a quick summary of your inventory.
8. Asset Label – Print asset tags for your rolling stock, layouts and tech items. Choose which tags to print and which size you require. This will create a PDF sheet for printing on A4 using Avery 46-25R Labels (40 per sheet) or equivalent. You can then cut out the QR code or use the whole label depending on space available. Scan the QR Code to open the item overlay directly.
9. Notifications – Choose at what time you want notifications for service reminders to appear on your device. In order to save battery this is an approximate time and may be a couple of minutes either side of the selected time. It is not a precise alarm. Check the notification setting by sending a test notification – if it doesn’t immediately show then check app notification settings in your device’s settings.
10. Local Backup & Storage – select a folder on your device for local backups. Export your data for safety. Importing will overwrite the data shown in the app. You can also select a Daily Backup option that automatically saves your data at the selected time.
11. Cloud Sync (Google Drive) – Sign in to your Google account and save your data in your Drive. Sync across devices to save manual transfer. Do not change data on more than one device at a time or your will lose information from one of them when it syncs.
12. Links to various manufacturers and supporters of TTMRL - click to go to their website (opens in browser).
Adding and Editing:
From any of the first four screens you can add an item. The app will automatically select the correct type of New Item (R/Stock, Layout, Tech, Note).
For R/Stock, choose “Type” then upload images or take a photo. You can add multiple images, rename them and change which one you want as the main image. Then give your item a name, and choose its control status (DC, DCC etc). If you select DCC eith Sound then another box opens that you can input the Functions (F1 – Bell, F2 – Whistle etc). Then select traffic type, Class, Livery, Running Number, Train Reporting Number, Wheel Config, Era, Manufacturer, Manufacturer’s SKU, Scale, Quantity, Length, Weight and Axles (Carriages & Freight only).
You can then assign other Locos to make Multiple Units, Tech documents (see below) such as service sheets, diagrams, wiring info etc and your Notes.
The next three options are Owned, Wishlist & Sell. MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul), Custom (For custom builds, paintwork, nameplates or anything you consider Custom), Owned (if you already own it) or Wishlist (if you would like it). When each of these is ticked you are given the option to enter details or in the case of Owned, MRO Details, Custom Details, the date purchased and price, and the Value for Insurance. For Wishlist items you can enter an estimated price. For Sell items you can add your Estimated Selling Price, Date Sold and Realised Selling Price.
Finally there is a general notes section for anything you want to add.
When adding a new Rolling stock item, Layout or Tech document it will automatically assing a Data Matrix asset ID tag. Print this out and stick it to your rolling stock etc. When you scan the code by using the scan function at the top of the page (next to the search icon) you will automatically be taken to the correct item overlay, ready for viewing or editing. You can also use NFC tags if your device suppports NFC. You can buy these online quite cheaply and affix them to your rolling stock, layouts etc. You can assign a tag to an item and if you reassign it to another item the app will automatically remove any previous assigned item link.
If you add a Carriage or Freight item, some of the options are different. The main difference is the ability to check the weight against either NMRA, NEM or your own custom rules - see “Weight Rules” below for details.
Each item will be assigned a QR Data Matrix asset management code which can be printed and attached to rolling stock, layouts, tech documents, spares etc. You can also buy NFC Tags and assign these to items if your phone or tablet has NFC capability (ensure you buy the correct tag size and type for your railway collection).
Weight Rules:
Select NMRA or NEM for standardised American / European weight rules. For custom rules, start by going to “Config” tab and selecting “5.Weight Rules”. Here you can opt whether to show the flags for Out of Tolerance (OOT) rolling stock, and whether to automatically use custom weight rules by default (you can select NMRA / NEM on rolling stock when adding or editing even if Custom is set by default).
Carriage and Freight can be set separately. The threshold length is the length below and above which different rules can apply. Enter how many grams per mm unto and above the threshold length, whether there is a base weight required regardless of length and whether you require a fixed weight per axle. For example, you may wish to set carriages slightly differnt than NMRA so you might choose the threshold as 150mm, below this the weight is 0.8g/mm and above this is 0.52g/mm. Giving a 100mm carriage the desired weight of 80g and a 250mm carriage the desired weight of 130g. Set a tolerance to allow a little leeway either side.
Toolkit:
1. Scale Converter – Convert between scale and real-life measurements, perfect for modelling
2. Scale Speed Calculator – Convert scale speed to real-life speed. Enter the distance and time or use the inbuilt stopwatch
3. DCC Pinout Guide - Wiring diagrams and pinouts for 6-Pin, 8-Pin, 21-Pin, Next18
4. CV29 Calculator – Calculate and decode CV29 values
5. Control Address Calculator – CV17 & CV18 calculated values by address
6. Control CV Cheatsheet – Common CV descriptions
7. Gradient Calculator – Simple height / run calculator with percentage, gradient and advisory notifications
8. Helix Calculator - Input radius, rise per turn, number of turns to calculate Gradient, Total Track Height and Total Track Length
9. Weight Calculator – Use NMRA, NEM or your own custom weight rules for rolling stock
10. Track Radius Calculator – Calculate track radius by chord and height and compare to standard scale gauge set-track radii
11. Clearance Gauge – Required clearances for common gauges
12. LED Resistor Calculator – Simple resitor calculator for different coloured LEDs
13. Ohm’s Law Calculator – Simple VIR calculator
14. Voltage Drop Calculator – Enter run length, wire size and current to calculate voltage drop
15. Drill & Tap Chart – Reference for drilling and taping tiny holes
16. NFC Tag Info - Scan a tag and see which item it has been assigned to. Useful for checking loose tags without opening item overlays.
17. Fast Clock – Set the ratio for speeding up the clock for layouts with timetables