I’m still researching, gathering materials and planning my 5 X 10 layout which was partially built a few years ago, but still needs some modifications, MAINLY in the track configuration and some scenic concepts.
I’m thinking of buying a CAD program made especially for model railroading .
I’m kinda old school & built a room size flat layout about 30 years ago, but there was no CAD then.
Anyone who has used or knows which program has best realistic graphics and is easy to use?
CAD stands for “Cuddle Assisted Drawings” Right? It does in my case because my little girl was often on my lap at the kitchen table while I worked on this.
It now sits on the floor of the train room where I can just look down if I want to be reminded of something along the way. Since my plan was and is just a close guideline, paper was the best option for me.
I am interested in seeing what someone has done on the scenic end of things with a CAD program and if the end result was anything like what they had drawn up on the computer. Maybe someone could post the computer image and then a photo of their layout, and let us know if the price of the program was worth the end result. Or if they should have bought a few more boxcars instead [(-D].
My 15’ x 24’ has the track down and I’ve started on the mountainous scenery. I wouldn’t mind seeing the end result done by a computer before hand as I am not an Artist and find myself scratching my head often.
Good luck in your search. I will be watching with interest.[:)]
Brent
I’ve used two free programs - Atlas’s Right Track and the open source XtrkCad. I’ve not bought any of the paid for programs for a couple of reasons.
First, a CAD program can only attempt to help you draw what you can already visualize in your mind. CAD software will not take a bunch of track pieces and magically connect them into a usable plan. Nor will it fill in appropriate scenery and structures around the track for you. If you can visualize your layout design and scenery plan in your mind to a fairly accurate scale, then the CAD software merely serves as a fit check - will it really fit in the space you had in mind. For most of us, our minds create scenes that take much less space than reality, so CAD really shines at telling us our ideas won’t fit in the space we had in mind.
Second, CAD can give you some reality checks besides track fit - but you have to know what your standards are. A 3D CAD program can show you how steep the terrain is between 2 tracks. But you have to determine whether or not that is acceptable to you. Note that you can also determine the steepness by measuring the elevation difference and the horizontal distance in 2D for that elevation difference to take place. Many of the CAD programs will let you “run” trains to see how the layout plan will operate. But most of the operational capability is determined in advance by setting train lengths, and corresponding passing sidings, yard tracks, staging tracks, and distance between “towns”.
As I have outlined, good layout design is so much more than realistic graphics or the best 3D portrayal, and so I have l limited myself to the free software.
Of the two, Atlas Right Track has a much shorter learning curve. The drawback is that the track library is limited to only Atlas turnouts and track. This means in HO no curved turnouts, and long regular turnouts. Shorter and curved turnouts would enable track configurations to fit in a tighter
For the small size you’re talking about, the Atlas program seems pretty good. I use it and haven’t found a need to purchase one of the high power programs, but my space is also small. The Atlas only track database is a minor issue, but again pretty easily worked with when designing a small layout. One of the things I use it for is to compare some of the published track plans with the designed space. It really shows the faults of the published plans pretty quick – the actual track pieces won’t fit in the space indicated. Especially for a small space like yours, know what won’t work is even more important than what will.
If you have a Mac, Empire Express by Haddon is an inexpensive (free demo) 2D program that is easy to learn with a good tutorial. It doesn’t have many bells and whistles but helps you do the basic planning within the constraints of your space and benchwork. You can add your own trackwork and other elements to its “catalogs” relatively easily. For example, though they have a catalog of Walthers/Shinohara turnouts, I tweaked that catalog after I found that the actual curved turnout radii differed somewhat from the W/S published data. Dante
If you are happy with 2D and Atlas track, then RTS as a free tool should do the job nicely. It takes a little bit of learning, especially how to deal with flex track, but it is still a fairly powerful tool. I am using it for years now and to prepare a track plan like the one below, takes me about an hour.
With a little bit of exercise, you may be able to produce a side view like this:
Buildings, locos and rolling stock have been drawn using RTS features.
But:
Any CAD tool will help you draw the track plan, but not to design it. For the design process, I still use the good old pencil and paper method. It is the quickest way to get a first idea, which I then put into RTS.
Of course, there are many other CAD programs available - like 3rdPlanit, Xtrkcad, Anyrail, Wintrack - just to name a few. Most of them take a lot of time to learn or aare fairly costly - money I´d rather spend on my layout.
Anyrail is a very easy and powerful CAD program for model railroad layout design. I used the free demo for a short time and was going to purchase the full package for about $40-50 but never did. I would try the free demo download as it will let you design 50 items at one time. I used it to layout different areas of my layout because it has track libraries for most all manufacturers and in several track codes (Code 100, 83,70 etc). One of the best features is using flextrack, which you can move and shape into any radius or curve you want.
I also used it to print out full-size templates for the curved turnouts I was planning to use and then I pasted them on the full-size layout I was assembling on the floor of my layout room. There are also building libraries for Walthers building kits that you can place on the layout to be sure they fit where you plan to use them.
I am sure other CAD programs are just as good but Anyrail was very easy to learn; I was designing a layout in about 15 minutes. Very easy.
I am new at this CAD thing myself. I have the Anyrail program and have found it invaluable in designing of my room size layout. i am not adapt at learning computer programs but found the Anyrail not too hard to get started.
I have been using a program called trainplayer for years and love it. They have great customer service too.
Here is a link
For planning a 5x10ft layout you won’t be needing a very complex software. Example: I don’t think you’re planning adding helixes, wyes, complex yards. For that all, I would recomend the Atlas Software, it’s free and very friendly, specially for sectional track planning. As an architect I recognize de benefits of CAD. But as someone stated CAD software is a drawing tool and not a design tool. You must know what you want first. I love 3rd Plannit, and the layout I’m building right now could not have been possible wothout it. I beleive 60% of planning can be done on CAD, but the other 40% is done “on-site”. As soon as you start laying down track you’ll understand.
I’ve learned and designed layouts on three programs: Atlas RTR, XtraCAD, & 3rd Planet. Of the three, I like XtrkCAD best, Atlas least.
Chip, could you explain why you prefer XtraCAD over 3rdPlanit? I’ve got to make a choice between them soon, and I would value your insight.
<For planning a 5x10ft layout you won’t be needing a very complex software. Example: I don’t think you’re planning adding helixes, wyes, complex yards.>
So you would think it’s not complex, but that is not the case.
I’m not talking about a “roundy round” 5 X 10. It’s a shortline logging lumbermill operation with a major mainline close by.
In fact, I am considering a helix to stack levels of mainline and trying to work in staging tracks at a lower level. Also this layout needs to be a module so I can hook it up to a larger 2 car garage size layout in the future.
All that being considered, that is why I thought CAD would help me out. I already have most turnouts and track, including curved turnouts and various codes of track.
Like I said, I built a roomsize layout 30 years ago, so I know how it goes,but it was a flat desert theme a lot easier.
Have a read on Byron Henderson’s Model Rail Services web site about CAD its true by the time you learn it and all dramas I bought a very good one and found it cheaper to engage a designer to get it right particularly large layouts .
I use AutoCAD like prodgeCAD. I use this for planning FREMO arrangements and for planning turnouts.I’ve made my layout drawings also this way.
Wolfgang