Free trackplanning software questions

[34091 Weymouth]

Hi Everyone,

 

Im looking for some advice please on software for designing trackplans. I have seen a few that are free to use but could anyone reccomend one that's suitable for a macbook & more importantly one that I can print 1.1 scale plans from to see if they will work in the space I have available. 

 

Usually I would use the peco templates from the website but they don't seem to work any longer so I need something simple to use for a few peco templates that I can print.

 

Thanks 

[ejstubbs]

The templates are definitely still there on the Peco web site.  I actually find that if you Google the part number of a particular turnout then, bizarrely, the template is the first hit.  Alternatively, if you go to the Peco web site and search or browse for a particular turnout then there should be a download link for the template on the web page for that turnout.  (I don't know what scale/gauge you're working in, but I believe that Peco don't have templates for absolutely every one of their Streamline products.  They certainly don't seem to do them for Setrack.)

 

All that said, the Peco web site does seem to be responding in a distinctly 'leisurely' fashion at the moment, to the point of being effectively unusable ☹️.

 

Although a Mac user myself 99.9% of the time, I do have a virtual machine running Windows 10 in which I run AnyRail, not having found any track planning app that runs on MacOS that met my needs.

 

If you do choose to use a track planning app I'm not sure why you would need to print anything out at 1:1 to see if it will fit.  It should be pretty straightforward to take measurements from the plan, to set the limits of the space within which the plan is being drawn, or to draw the space that you have available as a background shape in the planning app (that's what I do with AnyRail).

[Butler Henderson]

Anyrail is free to use upto IIRC 30 pieces on any one plan which can still be quite a significant track plan; its possible to do a larger plan in sections - print / save  the first 30 piece plan, delete all lengths of track bar those that are joined by the continued plan and so on. Certainly no need for 1:1 - set the board to the requisite size and you use any zoom level.

[Harlequin]

On the Mac, RailModeller Express is free. Can't confirm whether it prints at real size.

 

[RobinofLoxley]

7 hours ago, Butler Henderson said:

Anyrail is free to use upto IIRC 30 pieces on any one plan which can still be quite a significant track plan; its possible to do a larger plan in sections - print / save  the first 30 piece plan, delete all lengths of track bar those that are joined by the continued plan and so on. Certainly no need for 1:1 - set the board to the requisite size and you use any zoom level.

The limit is 50 pieces; I planned a previous layout in sections but not the current one. 

 

You can choose the scale in Anyrail over a wide range from over to underscale and print in the same range with a variety of options including 1 to 1

[Chimer]

You could certainly do it using XTrackCad (also free and unrestricted), but if all you wanted was to produce full-scale templates for pointwork, the learning curve would be quite an overhead .....

[ITG]

I can’t vouch for Anyrail on a Mac but I did invest in the paid for version. Compared to the cost of any layout item, I thought it a worthwhile investment, especially as it took so many “iterations/ rewrites / tear up and start again” moments that I think I would have been frustrated with each one having a 50 piece limit.

[spamcan61]

1 hour ago, Harlequin said:

On the Mac, RailModeller Express is free. Can't confirm whether it prints at real size.

 

I would think any application can print at real size, by using the printer driver's scaling function if there's no such facility in the application itself.

Edited December 12, 2021 by spamcan61

[Blandford1969]

Have you thought of Templot? you can set it up how you want in terms of track standards and it prints out to full size.

[Pacific231G]

There does seem to be a (hopefully temporary) glitch with Peco's website just now. I've used their contact form to let them know that as these are particularly useful, especially as they include a ruler to confirm that your printer is not distorting their size.

 

XtrackCad is definitely available for the Mac and I've certainly used it to produce full size plans (admittedly for a small layout) It has a steeper learning curve than AnyRail but is more flexible and you can try out train movements with it. Templot is really for designing your own trackwork rather than for assembling ready to lay track such as Peco's.  

 

BTW does anyone know of track planning software that has Tri-ang TT-3 (type B) in its database?

I need to draw a trackplan for someone's layout that's based on it  and I was thinking I'd have to do it with Setrack and rescaling 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Pacific231G
typos

[5BarVT]

10 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

XtrackCad is definitely available for the Mac and I've certainly used it to produce full size plans (admittedly for a small layout) It has a steeper learning curve than AnyRail but is more flexible and you can try out train movements with it .

I’m an advocate for XtrackCad even though there is a steep learning curve.  There are good tutorials included within it which I would recommend watching.  You can get to a basic level of construction quite quickly and some of the ‘tricks’ that save time can come later.  What I have found most useful is the ability to try train movements and discover some things that don’t work before you’ve even laid any track.

There is a learning curve to trains too . . .!  One tip from me is to look at the CSV vehicle export and import.  Once you have created some vehicles it’s much easier to export to a CSV, copy lines in the spreadsheet and import all the ‘new’ stock.

Paul.

[Chimer]

6 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

I’m an advocate for XtrackCad even though there is a steep learning curve.  There are good tutorials included within it which I would recommend watching.  You can get to a basic level of construction quite quickly and some of the ‘tricks’ that save time can come later.  What I have found most useful is the ability to try train movements and discover some things that don’t work before you’ve even laid any track.

There is a learning curve to trains too . . .!  One tip from me is to look at the CSV vehicle export and import.  Once you have created some vehicles it’s much easier to export to a CSV, copy lines in the spreadsheet and import all the ‘new’ stock.

Paul.

 

I fully agree it's worth the learning curve - if you want to design a layout.  But if all the OP wants is a full scale picture of a point, sledgehammers and nuts come to mind 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Chimer

[Siberian Snooper]

20 hours ago, Blandford1969 said:

Have you thought of Templot? you can set it up how you want in terms of track standards and it prints out to full size.

 

From what I understand, Templot is a windows based program, but does run on a mac with conversion software.  It isalsoa fairly steep learning curve , but does give you the option of building prototypical trackwork.

 

 

[Kris]

On 12/12/2021 at 18:26, Harlequin said:

On the Mac, RailModeller Express is free. Can't confirm whether it prints at real size.

 

The full version of Railmodeller will print out 1:1.

 

[Paul Cram]

On 12/12/2021 at 21:41, Blandford1969 said:

Have you thought of Templot? you can set it up how you want in terms of track standards and it prints out to full size.

He said simple to use

[martin_wynne]

On 12/12/2021 at 22:51, Pacific231G said:

I think Templot is really for designing your own trackwork rather than for assembling ready to lay track such as Peco's.

 

CORRECT.

 

I do wish folks would stop mentioning Templot in the same breath as track planning for commercial track such as Peco. It's not fair to beginners. It just leads to confusion and disappointment.

 

This is at the top of the Templot home page:

 

 

Martin.

[sjp23480]

On 12/12/2021 at 19:31, ITG said:

I can’t vouch for Anyrail on a Mac but I did invest in the paid for version. Compared to the cost of any layout item, I thought it a worthwhile investment, especially as it took so many “iterations/ rewrites / tear up and start again” moments that I think I would have been frustrated with each one having a 50 piece limit.

I agree with ITG, I struggled with xtrckcad for a long time and just couldn't get past the basics.  That is not a criticism of teh software but my  inability to get to grips with what is a powerful but quite complicated bit of software. 

 

Anyrail is much easier to use and once purchased is a perpetual license, although I have not yet mastered all of its capabilities. The track libraries are comprehensive and enabled me to mix/match different manufacturers track to get the right outcome (Peco/Roco) and the structure and accessory libraries are a bonus.    It prints 1:1 which was useful for my last layout, but agree with other posters - it is somewhat unnecessary if you have a good tape measure and tracksettas to set curves.

 

As ITG says - the cost of the software is relatively insignificant compared to the cost of building the layout. I found it a worthwhile investment,

 

I am a PC user, so can't vouch for compatibility with a Mac. 

 

Good luck.

Steve

[KingEdwardII]

On 12/12/2021 at 09:34, 34091 Weymouth said:

reccomend one that's suitable for a macbook & more importantly one that I can print 1.1 scale plans

I use XTrackCAD on my MacBook Pro and I print out my plans at 1:1 and stick them to my baseboards for tracklaying.

 

XTrackCAD has some quirks and is not the most straightforward program to use, but it certainly does the job.

It has templates for Peco trackwork included. The Bezier curves feature I find excellent for producing smooth curves with great transitions to/from straight tracks.

 

Most importantly, it works fine on the Mac, which is not true for many of the other packages. Anyrail, mentioned by other folk here, is Windows only. While it is possible to run Windows programs on a Mac using a Virtual Machine, this is very tricky and I would only recommend this for computer experts who know what they are doing.

 

RailModellerPro is another possibility for the Mac - it's £35, which is pretty reasonable for Mac software and there is a free version that you can use as an introduction. It too has Peco templates and allows for printouts. I've not used it as yet, simply because I got used to XTrackCAD.

 

I certainly recommend the use of layout planning software - far, far easier to play with ideas and alternatives on the computer than with the real stuff.

 

Yours,  Mike.

[howardb]

 I used XtrackCAD for my earlier layout, as it came with standard point templates & is reasonably easy to use to create track layout. These days I am using 2C CAD as it gives better control when you want to create something more than a layout with fixed radii, but it can be expensive and has quite a steep learning curve.

 

Cheers

 

Howard

[Night Train]

I used to use XtrackCAD, but now prefer SCARM.

[KingEdwardII]

8 hours ago, Night Train said:

but now prefer SCARM

Unfortunately, another package that is Windows only.

[Harlequin]

It would help if the OP had mentioned "Mac" in the topic title...

[Kris]

25 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

It would help if the OP had mentioned "Mac" in the topic title...

He did mention it in his post.

 

[Philou]

On 12/12/2021 at 23:51, Pacific231G said:

BTW does anyone know of track planning software that has Tri-ang TT-3 (type B) in its database?

 

If you're a PC user, then there is SCARM (TT-3 A and B). There is a free version of limited usage (similar to Anyrail), and a pay-to-use which is unlimited - which is what I use.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[roythebus1]

If you buy something like crossover for Mac that will run almost any windows program on a Mac. I use Templot on my Mac with a suitable conversion package.