Track planning software

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

It looks like there are a few choices available for track planning software and I’m not sure which one to purchase. I’m working in N scale.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

georgeo

2

Georgeo,

I have struggled with this issue for quite a while. Being an armchair modeler at this time in my life, I like the RTS software from Atlas for simplicity purposes. But if you get into any detail, learn to use the track planning software from XTRAKCAD. Be patient and you will enjoy it very much.

Included below are the links to each. Both are free.

http://www.atlasrr.com/righttrack.htm

http://www.sillub.com/

3

The www.sillub.com link is out of date. Go to www.xtrkcad.org for the latest version. The developer of XtrkCad suspended development, but allowed the project to become open source (and free). A group of volunteers maintains and advances XtrkCad. The real benefit is that the commercial track libraries for all scales and gauges are constantly being updated to reflect the newest products and revisions. Support and updates are available from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/XTrkCad/.

To truly use either program you have to go through the tutorials. The XtrkCad learning curve is steeper and longer than the Atlas RTS product, but you can use any manufacturer’s track or custom design your own track pieces with XtrkCad. Atlas RTS is easier to use, but you are limited to Atlas track only.

my thoughts, your choices

Fred W

4

http://www.anyrail.com/index_en.html

T.N.S.T.A.A.F.L.

5

I’ve been using 3D Planit for quite some time now. The software has matured very well. Excellent package. Steep learning curve but once you have it down it’s very fast to draw plans. Lots of help from the online yahoo user groups.

www.trackplanning.com

6

ANY CAD program has a fairly steep learning curve (RTS is super easy but it’s limited to Atlas track components). And it’s even steeper if you just don’t have the correct mindset to visualize in 3D what you are drawing in 2D (I don’t mean the 3D rendering capability of the various programs). Some people can paint, some peopel can;t/ Some people can play an instrument, some people can’t. Some people can design electronic circuits, some people can’t. And some people can draw what they are thinking, and visualize what they are drawing. A good hint - if you can look at an exploded view instruction sheet for a car or structure kit and ‘get it’, you probably can do well with a CAD program. If your method of assembling a kit is to folow the step by step that says attach part 12 to part 65 because the pictures make little sense - CAD is probably not for you. That doesn’t make you a poor excuse for a person, that just means you’re more wired for some other aspect. So I can look at a plan and visualize the completed project and you can’t - that’s ok, you can probably make a field that looks like a field and not just a bunch of ground foam glued down. Or paint a backdrop that doesn;t look like a kindergarten finger paint project. That’s what’s great about this hobby - we all have something we’re good at, and there are other things we might not be so good at, so we help each other.

–Randy