I'm thinking about purchasing some software for track planning on my computer. Any suggestions on products to consider???
Thanks in advance for your help.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Computer drafting for Model RR
- Thread starter CarlFidy
- Start date
Carl, I've downloaded almost all of the demo versions of the various track planning programs out there. They all have their nice features as well as some features that are simply window dressing and others that I think the programmers added just to frustrate us novices. For my money I like the Atlas Right Track. Note I said for "my money".....what I mean is that Right Track is FREE and since I have no money it's a perfect match! Seriously, I like the program. It has a realatively short learning curve and it does what I need it to do. The big plus though is the free cost....I'll save my money for locos! You can download it free at the Atlas site. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have on its use if you want to give it a try.
Carl - I have a more generic CAD program that I really like. It's called QuickCAD, and I got it at Menards (!) got about $25. You can use it for much more than designing track plans.
I have used the Atlas program and about all I can say for it is you get what you pay for (others opinions may vary).
I have used the Atlas program and about all I can say for it is you get what you pay for (others opinions may vary).
I'm with Yakko. I've tried a few different programs, and I'm a computer freak - if I could've found something useful I would've. But I didn't, so I used pencil and a big piece of paper for my trackplan.
Atlas RTS works okay, but only for Atlas track, and it needs a lot of fidgeting to make things connect properly.
Atlas RTS works okay, but only for Atlas track, and it needs a lot of fidgeting to make things connect properly.
hi carl as for cad programs i used them all but found 3d power plant the best it lets you put in you room size and every thing else and it also lets you render you plan in 3d and it dose all scales and have all the top brands of track, bulidins and all other stuff u need and it also has locos and caor that you can run on the layout to see how it would look their is also a program called trainz but haven't tried it yet as for 3d power plant i got mine for 30.00 at a loco computer store..
I always used pencil and paper but found I always planned more than would fit, especially switches. For my current layout I used Atlas Right Track. I had looked at other software but didn't want to pay the price. Now as I am building my layout, I find I often change from the original plan but this time everything fits.
Here is the original plan.
Here is the original plan.
Attachments
I have 3rd. PlanIt and I find it acceptable. It has a steep learning curve but a lot of features I find useful. You can download a free copy and the instructions. They are rather large files though. Program comes with free updates for a year - subscription after that is $25.00 a year. The owner keeps the program up to date with improvments about every 2 - 3 months.
I like the Rr-Track software - very handy, and you can have track libraries added for various track systems. Since I do layouts for my website, I have O / O27 (Lionel, Marx, Atlas), HO (Atlas type), N (Atlas-type), TT, G (Aristo and LGB), Standard Gauge, Z, S (American Flyer and others), and some others. You can also buy custom packs for trackisde accessories and structures, and version 4.0 also has a 3D viewing mode.
I agree with Thor.
I have the Rr-track light version in N-scale.
Libraries are Atlas, Peco and Kato Unitrack and that is all to suit my needs.
Paul
I have the Rr-track light version in N-scale.
Libraries are Atlas, Peco and Kato Unitrack and that is all to suit my needs.
Paul
"Progress" and "Obsolescence"
This is a bit off track, but is related to CAD.....
In 1986 I finally relented and swapped my Epson CPM office computer for a DOS machine. I bought a state-of-the-art Wyse Technology PC286, running at (a then amazing) 12 MHz. A year or so later I replaced its original 20 MB hard drive with a 30 MB --- just to get a little more space.
This computer was used almost entirely for Versacad (I had the old CPM machine for word processing) and was so-used until a few years ago when I bought a Pentium for use with windows and the internet, and transfered my CAD stuff to a used 486 I bought cheap. The 286 was dumped on a trash pile in my garage. The 486 was faster of course, but I missed some elements of the Wyse 286 --- like it's keyboard, the best I ever used, but unfortunately non-compatible.
A few months ago the 486 fried itself into an irreparable mess just a day or two before the Pentium was infected by a major virus. I bought a new pentium for Windows/Internet, and had the old Pentium converted into a DOS-only machine so I could use that for VersaCAD.
I should explain about VersaCAD: It was the first PC-based CAD software. Innitially written for CPM, and then redone for DOS. It was bought out by Prime Computer in the early 90's in an ill-conceived plot to talk the VersaCAD user base up to their far more expensive ComputerVision CAD software. That didn't work so they just closed VersaCAD down --- wiping out the best PC-based CAD software ever conceived. Although my copies still work fine, the software (thankfully) had never progressed to the point of being windows-compatible.
But my older Pentium absolutely refused to run VersaCAD. A compatibility thing, I suppose. What to do? After a couple of months of trying to put up with AutoCAD (the latest version of which is STILL inferior to the ten-year-old VersaCAD) I decided to see if the old 286 would still work. I dug it out of a junk pile in my garage, vacuumed out the spider webs and sawdust, cleaned off some grease that had spilled on it, plugged it in, and it works perfectly! This thing is sixteen years old, has a 14-year old hard drive, and spent several years in a pile of junk in my garage. And it still works perfectly! I've decided that I can adapt down to the slower processing speed of the 286, and count all the other blessings this machine provides.
I wonder how many more years it'll run.....
Bill S
This is a bit off track, but is related to CAD.....
In 1986 I finally relented and swapped my Epson CPM office computer for a DOS machine. I bought a state-of-the-art Wyse Technology PC286, running at (a then amazing) 12 MHz. A year or so later I replaced its original 20 MB hard drive with a 30 MB --- just to get a little more space.
This computer was used almost entirely for Versacad (I had the old CPM machine for word processing) and was so-used until a few years ago when I bought a Pentium for use with windows and the internet, and transfered my CAD stuff to a used 486 I bought cheap. The 286 was dumped on a trash pile in my garage. The 486 was faster of course, but I missed some elements of the Wyse 286 --- like it's keyboard, the best I ever used, but unfortunately non-compatible.
A few months ago the 486 fried itself into an irreparable mess just a day or two before the Pentium was infected by a major virus. I bought a new pentium for Windows/Internet, and had the old Pentium converted into a DOS-only machine so I could use that for VersaCAD.
I should explain about VersaCAD: It was the first PC-based CAD software. Innitially written for CPM, and then redone for DOS. It was bought out by Prime Computer in the early 90's in an ill-conceived plot to talk the VersaCAD user base up to their far more expensive ComputerVision CAD software. That didn't work so they just closed VersaCAD down --- wiping out the best PC-based CAD software ever conceived. Although my copies still work fine, the software (thankfully) had never progressed to the point of being windows-compatible.
But my older Pentium absolutely refused to run VersaCAD. A compatibility thing, I suppose. What to do? After a couple of months of trying to put up with AutoCAD (the latest version of which is STILL inferior to the ten-year-old VersaCAD) I decided to see if the old 286 would still work. I dug it out of a junk pile in my garage, vacuumed out the spider webs and sawdust, cleaned off some grease that had spilled on it, plugged it in, and it works perfectly! This thing is sixteen years old, has a 14-year old hard drive, and spent several years in a pile of junk in my garage. And it still works perfectly! I've decided that I can adapt down to the slower processing speed of the 286, and count all the other blessings this machine provides.
I wonder how many more years it'll run.....
Bill S
Hey Matthyro, that's a great looking yard and roundhouse plan. Looking forward to seeing more of that.........