That was a requirement from the author. You should read his licencing terms.
Don
To all those who have been following this thread I have downloaded XTrackCAD and put together a 4x8 just to get myself used to the program. The learning curve is a bit steep, but I’m climbing up it! I’ve made a siding and a spur made just to test how to use the program. Then I discovered how you run trains! So much fun! I can’t wait until I figure out how to use flex track!
The program is a bit fiddley at times but considering I paid $0 for it it is great!
Thanks for all the contributions thus far! This forum has another satisfied costumer!
I thought you were still in high school? You can do track programs in high school?
Mike.
Right Track is the older software from Atlas, which originally was for sale at a modest price, and later was free. Discontinued long ago on the Atlas site, but all the versions are available for download free here - http://trainweb.org/seaboard/layouts.htm
The site is safe, I have downloaded from it several times. General feedback seems to prefer v.8.
The only significant limitation I’ve found is the lack of curved turnout templates. I just do a work-around by overlaying sections of curved track of the different specified radii.
Jim
My experience also. I would use it again. I do recall getting stuck on how to do a couple of things but got answers by asking here, doing a search or also (in 2011) a Yahoo user group.
Yes, I am in high school. I don’t see why I couldn’t?
I also agree with Tom and Rich. A pencil with a good eraser, a strait edge and quadrille graph paper are the most versatile, and easy. I also use cardstock cutouts (circles) of various curve radii as templates for drawing curves. I use a compass to draw the circles and, as steady as I can, cut them out with scissors. You must know what scale you’re using on the drawing to get the right sizes for your templates.
I’m also using XTrkCAD. I’m running on Windows 10 with a 2.2 Ghz with 3GB memory. No performance problems. I’ve had some fairly large track plans, track, structures, scenery etc. No issues. Also supports outputing to BMP. Can also print in full scale with track roadbed etc. I use this to put down on deck and then trace track onto deck.
Might be a little late … I have tried 3 different - CadRail, 3rd Planit and Xtrack.
CadRail was quirky and I dropped it. Been awhile, but the menu structure was trouble for me.
3rd has a learning curve when you are trying to draw curves, arc’s or circles. What I like with 3rd is the ability to add scenery and fill areas with color.
Xtrk is my goto when I want to work out a specific track arrangement as it is the easiest to place track items. For instance, the last drawing I did was of a wye junction - double track all three legs. One thing I don’t like is how it places track items … I mostly have 2 inch center. To create a crossover you can’t just connect the diverging routes of two switches … track center is now less than 2 inches. You need to fudge stuff apart until the centers are 2 inch, and the diverging routes align perfect. I use FastTrack switches for HO; haven’t tried other venders from the library. I suppose the above is just me and my quirks; although it makes a difference when you print a section 1:1 to position the track on benchwork.
Oh, haven’t used pencil and paper since the early 80’s after I found AutoCad. 4.62 I believe was my first.
See, I do the same thing with 3rd PlanIt when someone asks how to say set up Atlas track to do something with 2" centers or whatever. I’m jst used to the program, I guess, been using it close to 20 years now. I start with 2 parallel lines that are 2" apart and then drop in the Atlas components to see how to make it fit.
Going to come in handy, too, because the design for my workbench has changed, I am going to use two full doors, instead of cutting down the second one, so the base I made for the second part is no useless. Base for the new second part will be exactly the same as the base for the existing part, so I can just take dimensions from my existing drawing and cut some new 2x4s. That’s what I like most about 3rd Planit. It has ‘wood’ types so you can build up the benchwork, or even non-railroad things, like the workbench.
I usually draw in the benchwork too. he one time I didn;t draw it completely, down to the crossmembers was my last layout, and of course I ended up with a turnout close enough to a crossmember that I needed to fudge the linkage a bit since even a tiny servo wouldn’t fit directly under the throwbar. Other times I’ve drawn all the crossmembers and can see before building anything if a turnout is in a bad spot and move either the crossmember or the turnout.
Kind of neat to use the 3D mode of 3rdPlanIt and see the structure, then build it and compare a photo of the real thing to the rendering and have it match almost exactly. I may have to upgrade, since the latest version supportd 3D printing. I’ve tried to learn some of the ‘common’ 3D programs for 3D printing but every one is complex and/or has some weird quirks. Since I am already familiar with 3rd Plant and its quirks, I could probably draw what I need much faster than learning a new program.
One of my favorite features of 3rd Planit is the “connect crossover” tool. Draw your parallel tracks, select the tool and show it where to put the crossover. No “fitting” required.
Hi!
I’ve been following this thread and thought it was time to put in my experienced view. I probably started drawing out trackplans at age 12, and continued to do so until about 10 years ago (I was 65) when my current layout was built.
For a newbie to the hobby or one with that first dose of inspiration and ideas, the only way to go is with quadrille paper, a compass, a straight edge, a scale (fancy word for a ruler), and a track template (for turnout angles in your scale).
Usually the designer of a layout has size/room parameters, so I would outline this with a dark marker on a sheet of quadrille paper, and put in any door/window or other permanant fixtures, and then make several copies of this sheet.
Then, I would start sketching freehand to get a feel for what looks doable, and from there redo it using scale lines/curve/angles.
There is nothing wrong with computerized track planning software, but I feel they are suited for the experienced layout builder - especially when a large layout is in the works.
In the hands of a newbie (to MR or the program), learning/working the software tends to become an end to itself. Said a bit blunter, the idea is to build a layout, not spend umpteen hours drawing a fancy plan that is suitable for framing.
ENJOY !!!
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That’s why I don’t spend all that much time finessing my plan beyond making it fit the space. Folloowed by not doing things like trace out the exact plan on the benchwork, I just make it close. I did try the whole print full size and trace - it was a huge waste of time and paper.
I probably spend more time drawing things for other people than I do on my own plan. I’ve done enough plans at this point that I can pretty much just scribble on paper and have something that will fit the space. But a beginner isn;t going to be able to do that any more than they could sit down with a new CAD program and instantly draw good designs.
–Randy
Exactly. Well put!
Mike.
Was glad for our old club layout that one member drew up a detailed plan in AutoCAD. For such a complex layout, having something detailed is pretty much a requirement.
It takes no longer to draw it accurately with a MRR CAD program than it does to use pencil and paper, accurately.
–Randy
I totally agree with having detailed drawings of your layout. I try to keep my CAD drawings as accurate as possible. Later down the road as I had a problem or needed to make a revision or modification to my layout I haven’t needed to get a ruler out and measure anything on my layout.
I started a very accurate CAD drawing of my layout during construction and added the as builts or changes to it as they have occurred over the years. The drawing has grown to 57 layers over the 31 years since the original design.
It really helps when adding something to my layout to have an accurate foot print of the existing track work and structures.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvine
The tighter the space and/or the higher the complexity of the layout, the greater the need for precision in planning and rendering. This is true whether drawing with graphite or electrons.
If one draws pencil-on-paper for track plans, one might as well be using a stick to draw in the dirt. [}:)]
I say that as someone who did paper drafting in high school and college. Heck, Mechanical Drafting was my major for my first 2 years of college. I love drafting to this day, but it is only as accurate as the person drawing it. You have to have the right tools and techniques to do it right. Accurately making a track plan on paper would require either really large sheets of paper, many sheets of paper, or a really small layout because of the scale involved.
For example, 1"=12" is a typical trackplanning scale and most templates are based on it. But a typical mechanical pencil width of 0.5mm is 6mm on the plan, and considering that track gauge is 16.5mm, that’s rather significant. And if you are using a wooden pencil, accuracy goes right out the window. Not just for track location but angles of switches, diameter of curves, etc. Our track requires very close tolerances to prevent derailments. Doing more than a sketch track plan on paper is a waste of time because you’re going to be spending a lot more time fudging and trying to get things to fit on the layout.
Meanwhile, on my 3rdPlanIt program, not only is it accurate, it won’t let you cheat. You want to maintain a minium 30" mainline radius in a tight spot? You have to make it work on the program. With a pencil, you just lean it to one side and you gain half an inch…but then your curve won’t really be 30".
mobilman44,
“…Spend(ing) umpteen hours drawing a fancy plan that is suitable for framing…” is so that I don’t have to waste money on extra materials, spend countless hours trying to get something to fit, or have to suffer years of derailments because I had to bend a switch or pull a curve or shorten a transition because hey, it wor
Nonsense. I have drawn track plans for three different large layouts on quadrille paper using a pencil. Works like a charm.
Agreed, you need a pad of quadrille paper, a pencil with an eraser, a ruler, a compass, and a protractor.
Nah, my current layout is 42’ x 25’ and I drew it on six sheets of 11" x 17" quadrille paper, eventually rolled up like blueprints.
Nonsense, dimensions for straight turnouts, curved turnouts, crossings, 3-ways, wyes, double crossovers, etc. are all readily available. Easy to draw accurate representations. I do it all the time.
Not true, a compass is highly accurate.
[quote user=“Paul3”]
And I have printed out sections of my club’s plan full size.
when I took a writing course at work, they emphasised that initially you should just get your thoughts down on paper and not worry about, spelling, grammar or format.
the same is probably true for layout design, get your design down on paper without worrying about the details. In other words, get your dreams down and then deal with reality and finally the details of trackwork (i.e. radii and turnout sizes).