Can anyone tell me from experience which of the available computer assisted design software for model railroading is the best buy, and why? I’m looking to buy software and would appriciate any help you can give me.
Thanks
I have not tried CADrail, but of the other three I own, Atlas RR, XtraCAD, and 3rd PlanIt, I am now using XtraCAD,
I started with Atlas RR (free) and found it easy to learn, but clunky and since it limits you to Atlas track, restrictive. I designed a few layouts with it and when I decided to build found that the 4 x 8 I designed needed a 4.5 x 8 to work and hand to rebuild my benchwork.
I then went to XtraCAD (free) and after taking the 4-hour tutorial found it both easy and intuitive.
I like the idea of 3-D rendering and after asking a question like you are doing I paid $109 for 3rd PlanIt. It also has a 3-4 hour tutorial. However, this program I found to have a steep learning curve and is to put it bluntly, highly counter-intuitive. Since I paid for it, I kept working with it for over a year fighting with it the whole time. Then when helping some one with a layout design, I tried XtraCAD again and was amazed.
Things that took quite a few minutes to do in 3rd PlanIt, like building a yard, I can do in 20-30 seconds. But the basic stuff, like setting turnouts and joining track is so easy…
I basically, scrapped the $100 product, 3rd PlanIt and have returned to XtraCAD. The only thing it I miss is the 3d rendering, but everything else is so much more efficient with XtraCAD, that I’ll do without.
Thanks Chip,
That is exactly the kind of info that I needed, I was considering 3rd Planit but the cost is what made me decide to ask questions first. You say XtraCAD is free, I will download the program and get started with the tutorial.
Thanks again for this very insiteful information.
Jerry
Chip,
I can’t seem to find a site to download XtraCAD. Do you know a current location for download the Windows version of it? The Sillub site links no longer apply.
Thanks.
This is an international sit. I haven’t checked it out.
http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?27000000038012
The main place it is available is through the Yahoo users group.
I use Cadrail 8. I started out with the Atlas software, but like Chip I found it limiting and awkward. I found a site where you could download a free demo of Cadrail 8 and never looked back.
(http://sandia.stores.yahoo.net/cadrail7demo.html)
Since I was designing a rather small layout, I didn’t need to buy the actual product. Because it is a demo, there are some limiting and annoying things about it. For example, you can only create 30 objects but there are ways around this. If I had to design a layout again I would definitely spend the $60 for the full program. I thought Cadrail was very easy to learn, and because it is a CAD program you can be very precise with your track plan or scratch building project. There is a 3-D function, but I’ve never really needed or used it. I hope this helps!
Thanks again Chip, I was able to download XtraCAD at the site below from your previous post.
http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?27000000038012
Jerry
I noticed that XtraCAD is spec’d for Win98, Win Me, I didn’t see any mention of Xp or the new Vista OS which I have. I need to check on CADRail 8 to see if it will run on Vista. Microsoft no longer supports Windows 98 or Windows Me, so sooner or later people are going to have to upgrade anyways.
I run XtraCAD on XP…
A note on upgrading. I run 5 Pentium II 400’s on a Pentium II 450 server with Netware 5, Windows 98 SE on the workstations. They are just as fast on the processing–scanners bring up products from a database of 42,000 faster than you can look from the UC code to the screen. All the computers were built by me between 1995-1998. I think upgrading is over-rated.
We purchased the 3rd PlanIt software before starting our new layout. It is true that there are a lot of features with this program, but it allows you to build and run a layout on your PC before driving one nail. I was surprised when construction started on our layout and everything fit. The turnouts fit between the curves. The passing siding fit. Everything worked! In my opinion its a $100 bucks well spent.
Larry
Chip…I am not concerned about the PC being able to run the program itself per se, it’s the fact that Vista has really tightened the security “blanket” well beyond 98 of course, and certainly better than Xp with it’s own security issues. So trying to load and run some of these programs “may” be a problem, even running them as Administrator.
Larry and Chip…what is your experience with running and using CAD of any kind before you bought/installed the programs that you like and are now using? The reason that I ask is that I have never run a CAD program. I don’t mind learning, but I don’t want to spend the next 6 months trying to understand the manual written for CAD engineers. I don’t mind spending $100 for a GOOD program “if” it has a darn good manual, written for a 1st time user of CAD, with good illustrations or/and “how to’s”.
Opinions guys?
I have been using CadRail version 8 ever since it came out and I love it. I just finished laying track for my layout that I designed with CadRail and it came out just like I hoped it would. I took all of my measurments from the computer and transfered them to the layout table and was shocked at how accurate it turned out to be. CadRail has a ton of features also. One of them is that it can use dxf format drawings from AutoCad and other graphic programs. Dont be fooled though, CadRail has a bit of a learning curve, to say the least, but I think it is by far the best program on the market out of the ones you have mentioned.
Hope this helps
Fred
I had not run any CAD programs, but I have run drawing programs like CorelDraw, that are object/vector oriented. Still, they weren’t much help. I relied soley on the turorials.
I spent an extra $10 and purchased the 3rd PlanIt manual. Like the rest of the program, it was hard figuring out the information. The best recourse was the Yahoo user’s froup. But often as not, the answer was read the manual.
XtraCAD also has a user’s group. It also has the ability to run trains like the poster who bought 3rd Planet mentioned. the thing it lacks is 3d capabilities.
Chip, thanks for the info, I still have not made up my mind to do a drawing on paper 1st, (rough ) then start laying some track, or, buy the program and manual, and get the learning curve on the way. I believe that CadRail 8 indicated online that it was also Vista compatible.
GF,
Try XtraCAD first. It’s free and the tutorial is top-notch.
How long does it take you to draw a simple ladder yard with pencil and paper? Now erase it and change it 5 degrees. Now change it to a compound ladder. Now move the throat around the turn and try it again.
Each time you draw the yard in XtraCAD it takes 20-30 seconds. That’s why it worth it to run the 4 hour tutorial. You just saved the time. It’s a lot harder with 3rd PlanIt. I don’t know about CadRail.
Chip, I will go on the web and locate XtraCAD and see if it behaves on VISTA. I may have to run it as Administrator to get it load, but that is no big deal.
Everyone has their opinions, and you are getting the hard sell. I wonder if he means Xtrkcad instead of XtraCad which, according to the web site is for layout of duct work.
I evaluated three cad products and you can read my review on my blog located at http://wwwjoe-daddy.blogspot.com/
Look for the link train cadd assessment. I spent much more time than 4 hours trying to learn Xtrkcad and gave up. I personally found the tutorial to be of no value.
My [2c] milage will vary, but then, I am a leadfoot.
Joe Daddy
We were in the same position you were, a couple of years ago. We decided to go with 3rd Planit. The library of track has been a great help to designing the layout. The automatic alignment tool is a great feature, as is the automatic easement tool that inserts a color coded easment without having to figure out any math.
The copy parallel tool is a great tool for laying track side by side.
Additionally, the ability to Run a simulated train on the design is also a nice feature that shows you any trouble before you put real track down.
We added the dxf export feature for $10 - this gave us the ability to export the design to a program that allows us to use a CNC Router to machine the sub-roadbed which included an engraved centerline that provided for a quick and easy way to lay our cork and then the track.
We also created a hidden staging yard that had the complete track layout (engraved). This worked perfectly.
Of course not everyone has access to a CNC Router to take advantage of this feature, but I highly recommend 3rd Planit. I think there is either a new release out, or will be, very shortly.
Joe-Daddy,
I guess we have different opinions. I started with Right Track and designed my first layout w
ith it. I then went to XtraCAD and worked with it a month or so and did a couple versions of my proposed basement layout. I then purchased 3rd PlanIt and worked with it for a year. I then switched back to XtrkCAD and have designed 3 more layouts with it.
An any rate, I base my opinion on my experience with it, not just a quick sampling. I found the answers to your categories rather different from what I would have put. You ranked 3rd PlanIt with a high survivability, and XtrkCAD low. XtraCAD is open-source and supported by a users group.
3rd PlanIt is one guy and last year several people purchased the product and could not use it because the keys they were sent were wrong. The owner does not answer emails these guys simply could not use their programs. They had been trying for months, and it took intervention from people here to get their program going. The owner never did fix the problem for these users. Support for 3rd PlanIt is pretty much the users group and it is hit or miss if you can get answers.
I am much faster doing design work with XtrkCAD.
I purchased Right-Track software (yes back when it wasn’t free) and have used it successfully for years. It is very limited. Last year for the MR layout design contest I purchased the 3rd-Planit and have been disapointed ever since. Despite all the descriptions of how to do things in the Yahoo group - mine would never behave as they said. I can go through the tutorial and get it to do those things, but as soon as I need to do something that isn’t a simpe loop of track it all stops working. Example - everytime I try to do grades the track comes apart at the joints. So what was connected is now separated by 4" of elevation. I was never able to get it to connect to sectional track - it always says connection point is outside the selected object -??? The support from the author is pathetic. I ended up submitting my entry to the layout contest with the plan developed by RTS. I highly do not recommend 3rd-Planit.