Well, I’ve just about emptied the room (see picture) and the saw dust should be flying this weekend. It will be HO. On the one hand I’m lucky to not have anything in HO so that I will be starting with everthing new but on the other hand it will put a dent in the bank account. I have a ton of Lionel that’s boxed up but that’s another story.
The wall on the right is 7 feet long, the width is 9 feet 6 inches and the left hand wall is 17 feet and could be longer but would require some serious negotiations with my better half.
My problem is that I can’t work the free track software and I don’t want to spend the money for a better one.
Tell me if I’m getting ready to make a big mistake. My plan is to estimate the track and turnouts I’ll need and buy less and layout the track as I go and buy more as needed… Another words I’ll be using the trial an error method like I used to learn the computer.
In my opinion you will be making a huge and expensive mistake to start generating sawdust without at least some basic planning. There are many threads and sources of advice on this forum regarding the process of planning - I won’t repeat them here.
As for track planning software, buying and learning a good program will save you its price - and time - many times over. There are several available for Windows machines and a couple for Macs. I am not a Windows person, but there are threads on this forum with helpful advice regarding the merits of these programs. However, I AM a Mac person and can attest to the value of the Empire Express program I use. In addition to the inherent user-friendliness of the Mac, the program is simple and inexpensive (about $35, if I recall correctly). It is 2D and relatively basic with few bells and whistles but will easily help you determine what you can do to realize your vision in the space available and how much trackage will be required.
is this a point to point? for get software if you cant get it to cooperate anyway. pencil and a compass with a scale will do just fine. think about how engines come into “town” where the reasons for the “rolling stock” need to be set and how many “moves” you need to perform to accomplish the task. if you want to sit back and watch the cars go by… then you need to start negotiating with the boss
john galt… i refuse to work for the benefit of another or allow another to work for my benefit
Dante, I checked out Empire Express and it’s not for Windows so that leaves me out. I did a search and from what I gather from the threads is that the various software availabe is good but the benefits depent on the users’s ability.
I’ve got some time before I’ll be laying track and I remember one of the first bit of advice I got on the forum was to have patience.
Thanks for your reply. Some day I’ll post a picture of my efforts.
Hey John, I plan on a small yard on the short wall and then cross over to the long wall under the window to a town and then as we go towards the other end there will be some sidings for industry and yes an oil depot an a service station somewhere. My oil caonpy signs will remain on the wall with perhaps a blue sky behing them. I also hope to have one continious loop around the whole layout and perhaps a double on the long wall. I don’t want the layout covered with track but some open space. On other word I want my cake and eat it too.
I’m not approaching the Boss about more room while I’m making the major expenditures. As you know you got to pick the rigth time and approach to be sucessfull. Some how after I get the trains up and running I’ve got to get her to suggest that a longer layout would be better if we had the room and then I can suggest how we can move her stuff.
When you say you can’t work the free software, I’ll assume you’re refering to XTrkCad. What issue are you having with it, while it took a couple hours to get used to it, I thought it worked pretty well.
You can do it by the seat of your pants just know you’ll spend more than you’ll need to. A plan is always good even if you just rough it out on paper and attempt to keep in mind radius, turnouts, etc etc.
I think you could be ok if you lay it out on the floor with the track components to determine the benchwork. Lay down a sheet of brown paper under everything so you can outline the plan by tracing around the track if you want. then you can use that to relocate the track on the benchwork. I am 6’5" and at 48" high can barely reach 36" to the backdrop. That is the only critical measurement in my opinion. I would measure how deep you can reach at the hieght of your proposed layout and do not exceed that dimension. One good thing about doing the layout using the track is you will be certain everything will fit.
I’m going to cop out and say this MR is supposed to be fun and learning that CAD program isn’t my cup of tea. I do have a general plan and will just have to see if it works. I may have a little extra track left over butb I’m going to buy carefully as I near completion. Also I hope for further expansion.\
For my layouts, all two of them, I drew a scale diagram during the course of a single evening using graph paper. Especially important are the allowable space (your total footprint, including operating spaces) and the curves…every one of them. If you can make yourself calculate a few curves to scale on your diagram, and place them reasonably within the confines you must face, the rest of it should be a piece of cake, as long as the tangents can go between curves.
Okay, I forgot one other important item…any clearances you must make when crossing over other track. That means grades must be carefully planned and then represented either on the paper plan, to scale, or using masking tape on the floor to show where everything will be directly above it.
