I’m working on freeing up some room in my house so I can start work (finally) on an N-scale shelf-type layout, and I’m looking for a program that will allow me to play around with different ideas.
I’ve tried using TrainZ, but it doesn’t seem to scale right (curves seem WAY too tight when working in N-scale and constrained to a 24" depth) I’ve tried using various drafting templates, but I can’t seem to get things to line up right and get frustrated…
Ideally, the application would be low-cost (free would be good!) and fairly easy to use. I’m even OK with one that is intended for “snap track” or larger scales only, as I can still use it to get an idea of what I’d like in a track plan.
It doesn’t need to provide the option to “drive a train” over the layout, if I come up with something I like, I can work on transferring it into TrainZ later.
You might check out XTrackCAD. It’s free and i believe handles N scale. I used it for my HO layout under construction. Do go through the tutorials as that sets you up to get started. A couple of items can get in the way; e.g., I recall having trouble moving pieces of track exactly where i wanted when I had the “snap grid” set wrong…it would only allow moves in certain increments. It uses libraries (you choose those desired) of manufacturers track…I used Walthers Shinohara and Atlas HO. If you get stuck, you can post questions here or check out the related Yahoo users group.
I’ll kind of reinforce what Paul said. CAD only helps you make a neat drawing, and ensure you aren’t fudging the fit of some of your elements. It will not help you design the layout.
That said, I’m a big fan of Anyrail, available here: http://www.anyrail.com/index_en.html. It is very user-friendly, without the huge learning curve required by most CAD systems, but it doesn’t give you any 3D capability. You also can’t run trains, although you can export your layouts to Trainplayer. While it does have an enormous library of track brands and pieces, it doesn’t have many structures (although you can draw them yourself very easily). Unfortunately, the demo is very restricted, and doesn’t really allow you to give the software a fair shake.
the way i did my ho scale layout, was i found a trackplan that i liked then printed off and used a pencil, ruler and compass. this also alows custom flextrack aplications which you can spend hours on a CAD tweaking. If you really want a CAD, I would recomend right track 10.0 by atlas model railroad co. I played with this as well in the planing process and found it very easy to use and was costless. I just could’nt be happy with the trackplan is all the reason I didn’t end up using one of my plans.
Atlas Right Track software will do the job for easy to use software.
I would go through the Track Database here (if you have access) and find a plan or two you like. Take a snapshot from Adobe Reader (make sure you have visible grid surrounding it) and then paste the image into layer one of RTS. Scale the picture to make the grid match the grid in RTS.
You can then replicate the track plan in another layer. Atlas RTS has an N-scale library of Atlas track. As you can have the software convert sectional track to flex track you should be able to replicate a layout using sectional track.
Why use CAD, be cause you can create parallel track with a button click, tryout different turnout sizes or curve radii quickly and deal with elevations and grades automatically.
The only issue with Atlas’s RTS is that it’s designed to sell Atlas track, and doesn’t include items from other manufacturers. I found this too limiting.
I,d try the free anyrail & atlas , Ive used both ( I’m a beginner ) and think I’m going to buy the any rail after playing with both, MORE library choices with any rail and pretty simple …Jerry
A note ,I purchased the ANY RAIL and am very pleased , it allowsY ou a lot of choices and its got a nice feature of allowing you to draw and scale structures or what ever train cars buildings ect, then store them in “user objects” for future use [;)] this is a nice feature ,well Worth the investment , it even has fast tracks turnouts …its nice…Jerry
awhile back I ran across a software listing index over on the nscale.net website. I don’t remember where it was over there but I’m sure you could find it with a little searching. IIRC it contained about a dozen or so different software descriptions along with comments from various people who have used them.
I’ve used it to design several layouts including the one currently under construction. It is true that the library doesn’t have other brands of track components but I found that I could easily “fabricate” them, such as overlaying arcs of different radii to make curved turnouts, and constructing double crossovers from #6 turnouts and a crossing.
Seriously, as much as I’ve used Anyrail, my cost is something around like a quarter an hour. Heck, I even used it to help my kids design a layout for their LEGO train. Yes, LEGO track is just one of the many features.
Sure, you can work around the limitations of RTS, and if money is a serious consideration, then that’s something you need to weigh. For me though, the time savings and convenience means that the money is well spent.
I have an advanced CAD system for which I consider myself to be an extremely advanced user (25 years experience). I wanted to experiment with different layouts before I started cutting wood and buying track. I created all the track sections I needed for Bachmann EZ track, and still found creating and modifing layouts to be tedious at best.
I tried the Anyrail free demo version, which has all the capabilities of the full version, except you are limited to working with about 50 sections of track. More than enough to get the feel for the system. You can do everything the full version does, including save the layout. It has track libraries for almost every track I know of. I use Bachmann, and it’s library showed every piece of track Bachmann sells in both steel and nickel-silver and it shows the piece of track by name as well as Bachmann part number, even DCC turnouts and the turntable. Pieces automatically snap together and align themselves just like the actual track. You can create and anaylize slopes and it will show you the grade % slope as well as the height, but cannot render them in 3D. You can use the drawing tools to draw the platform and then place your tracks on the platform, and I have created a 3 layer platform with different tracks on each layer. Print the layout to any Windows printer and start getting creative on your scenery with a pencil and erasure. Trains are fairly particluar about the track radius the run on but don’t really care how sharp a road, stream or river turns, so sketching is easiest for scenery.
I liked it VERY much, and decided to purchase it ($59.00). Now I am not limited to the 50 track sections and have revised my future layout plan several times, saving each of them for comparison. When I’m done with the one I chose, all I need to do is count the Bachmann track sections for each type and make sure I’ve got them all.