I’m sure It’s been asked before, but what is the best FREEWARE track plan utility?
I recently set up a table for my layout but I don’t yet have a layout.
This is maybe not the answer you want. I planned my whole layout in Photoshop. And it’s so good to have different layers with different things on. So If you know Photoshop, please consider to use it for this. If you want to know more please ask.
The challenge with using Photshop or any general drawing program is that it does not insure that the trackwork can be built as drawn. It’s very easy to draw things that look great but cannot be made to fit.
Atlas RTS and XTrkCAD are the two free programs most often mentioned. Atlas has the limitation of only being used with their lines of track and manipulating flex track is difficult if not impossible.
With any model railroad CAD program, the time spent learning it is a much bigger investment for most people than the hundred bucks or so even the top-of-the-line programs like CADRail and 3rdPlanIt (my choice) cost. Most have free demos.
There’s a list of many different programs I have tried or demo’ed on this page of my site
This web page includes links to most of the vendors’ sites and their user groups.
If you are planning on designing only one small-to-medium-sized layout for yourself, the time spent learning any CAD program may be a waste and a good set of templates, pencils, and paper might be a better choice. These will help keep you from making the common mistakes of drawing turnouts too sharp and/or too close together that are all-to-easy with a general drawing program on the computer.
Regards,
Byron
Xtrkcad is probably the best you get for free. It takes a bit of learning, but the demo/tutorial shows almost everything. It lacks a 3-D view, so you need to be able to picture things in your head a bit, or sketch cross sections. When you get it it looks like you have to register, but the free registration info is on the site. http://www.sillub.com/