Hi I’m fairly new to this site… like 3 minutes new. Anyway I have heard that one can get a program for the PC, to design track layouts. If so has anyone else heard of it and know where to get a copy of it. A few years ago, more like 15, I was starting my own model railway setup, only to have the lot stolen, whilst moving. Anyway, I’d prefer to design a layout on the PC and then print it out, instead of going through stacks and stacks of paper, till I get the perfect design for the space I have got to lay the tracks.
RTS is probably easier to use at first. XTrkCad has a longer learning curve, but it’s also a more capable program. Since RTS is provided by Atlas, it supports Atlas sectional track and also flex track. I did my layout on RTS and it was good enough for me.
WARNING! These programs themselves can be somewhat addictive. At some point, you may be subject to “analysis paralysis” where you just can’t get away from the computer. You’ve got to break away at some point and cut some lumber. After that, it all flows.
[#welcome]to the forum Ad40. You will get a great deal of help from all the experts here that have made all the mistakes already. If you have questions to do with the hobby, just ask. Just let us know what scale that you are modelling and any pertinent info that will help us to help you.
The sillub site for XTrkCad has been dormant for quite a while. Development has been transferred to SourceForge. A slightly newer (and maintained by volunteers) version is available to download at http://www.xtrkcad.org/Wikka/HomePage. A support group for XtrkCad is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/XTrkCad/.
Mister Beasley is right, though. It is very easy to let these programs become a hobby in themselves. I very seldom bother to complete a track plan in software. Mostly, I use the software as a check on whether my ideas will work. So I draw out the complex trackwork areas in the software to see if they will fit in the planned space. I don’t worry about straight or slightly curved connecting trackage.
The reason for a completed plan would be to submit it for peer review on the forums. Then I get to find out, “What was I thinking?” [#oops] as the group contributes constructive suggestions.
Only a few very talented (or obsessive) souls ever build
Welcome to the forum. I had the opposite experience, I was NOT addicted, I was Frustrated and went back to graph paper and finally Blue masking tape on the floor.