Seeking software

[whiteduke]

I plan on building my son a nice permanent layout and want to get a software package to design the set. I am looking for a good layout design software for Lionel O track (not O27 or fast track). I need it to be compatible with Macintosh. Any suggestions? Thank you!

[NeO6874]

[#welcome]

I think that xtrkcad would fit the bill. note that this a lightweight CAD type program, and as such has a learning curve (few hours, maybe a weekend) as compared to some of the other light-weight (yet still good) applications, such as Atlas RTS.

edit… fixed the link

[ballast_boy]

The only Mac supported layout program I know of is Railmodeller .

I have no idea how good it is or whether it would suit your needs, but it is shareware (free to download the full version), and only $49 if you choose to purchase it.

-Al

[fwright]

The only Mac supported layout program I know of is Railmodeller .

I have no idea how good it is or whether it would suit your needs, but it is shareware (free to download the full version), and only $49 if you choose to purchase it.

-Al

XtrkCad runs on Windows (XP and later), Linux, and recent versions of Mac OS. It’s open source software, free, and with good volunteer support to keep the libraries for almost any conceivable track up to date. There’s also an active support group in Yahoo groups. It does have a learning curve; you need to do the tutorials before you can use XtrkCad effectively.

my thoughts, your choices

Fred W

[dante]

The only Mac supported layout program I know of is Railmodeller .

I have no idea how good it is or whether it would suit your needs, but it is shareware (free to download the full version), and only $49 if you choose to purchase it.

-Al

In addition to the above, there is Empire Express by Haddon SoftWare for the Mac: simple, inexpensive, easy-to-learn. Not many bells and whistles but good for basic planning. However, no Lionel track included as far as I know unless they have recently added it to their catalog of track. If not, it is easy to create your own libraries of track.

Dante

[Seamonster]

ballast_boy:

The only Mac supported layout program I know of is Railmodeller .

I have no idea how good it is or whether it would suit your needs, but it is shareware (free to download the full version), and only $49 if you choose to purchase it.

-Al

In addition to the above, there is Empire Express by Haddon SoftWare for the Mac: simple, inexpensive, easy-to-learn. Not many bells and whistles but good for basic planning. However, no Lionel track included as far as I know unless they have recently added it to their catalog of track. If not, it is easy to create your own libraries of track.

Dante

Have you got a link to Empire Express? I can’t find it in a Google search for either Empire Express or Haddon Software.

[Hamltnblue]

For O gauge you might get some additional info over the toy trains site

http://ctt.trains.com/

[ballast_boy]

Here is the link for Haddon Software and Empire Express: http://www.haddonsoftware.com/

[Seamonster]

Here is the link for Haddon Software and Empire Express: http://www.haddonsoftware.com/

Thanks. Don’t know why I couldn’t get to it.

[Seamonster]

Here is the link for Haddon Software and Empire Express: http://www.haddonsoftware.com/

Thanks. Don’t know why I couldn’t get to it.

[dadurling]

I use RailModeler and it works great. The newest version will only work with Mac OS X or later. They’ve discontinued support for the OS 9 version, although you can still purchase it.