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Software For Model Railroad Layout Design
David has a question for readers about software for model railroad layout design:
“I wish to use my computer to design my HO scale railroad. What software packages are there to use, and how do they differ? What do the model railroading magazines use to generate those nice designs? Hopefully a reader will be able to guide me. Thanks in advance.”
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There are two free ones that I’ve used. The first, Atlas Right Track, is very simple to use, but you’re only limited to Atlas track (go figure). The second package is XTrkCAD. XTrkCAD is a much steeper learning curve, but also includes much more flexibility than Right Track. XTrkCAD is also Open Source, so bug fixes and track packages are contributed by those using the program.
There are also other commercial ($$) layout planning software packages. Third Plan-It and Rail CAD are one that come to mind. You might also consider looking at the Layout Design Special Interest Group (LD-SIG) which has a Yahoo!Groups e-mail group which has had discussions about the pros and cons of various layout planning software packages. Note: I tried several software packages (Atlas Right Track and Third Plan-It and ended John Armstrong’s “squares” methology to rough out my layout in the space I had and then using graph paper (very large graph paper) to “finalize” my plan. When I built it I found that planning is only a step–reality is real and running a train on laid track is the last step (and adjustments will be needed! John, Woodbridge, VA