Layout design, & track ware program questions

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C

Chessie System

Member
My father is looking into building a HO layout in my old bedroom in the basement since its empty now. I made a basic diagram of the room in paint, with an outline of around the room bench work in the style that he would like to build.
What software would be best for me to work on designing this?

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There's a learning curve with it but I've still found that XTrackCAD is the most flexible and feature rich program for track planning. It's free and available at http://www.xtrkcad.org/Wikka/HomePage. Make sure to download the Getting Started guide and User Documentation. Spend an hour with the Getting Started guide and you'll pick it pretty quickly. People who just plunge right in end up all befuddled. :)
 
UP2CSX said:
There's a learning curve with it but I've still found that XTrackCAD is the most flexible and feature rich program for track planning. It's free and available at http://www.xtrkcad.org/Wikka/HomePage. Make sure to download the Getting Started guide and User Documentation. Spend an hour with the Getting Started guide and you'll pick it pretty quickly. People who just plunge right in end up all befuddled. :)
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Well. Not if you know how to use CAD programs.
Also, it's surprisingly intuitive. There are a lot of annoying error messages, but just look around on the menus and there's a way around it.
 


With XTrackCAD there are a few basic concepts to learn, and the learning curve can seem steep at first. Then the light will go on, and you'll be off and running. Jim's advice about the Getting Started Guide is spot on. It is very helpful.

If you get stuck there are lots of XTrackCAD users around the forums who can help.

- Jeff
 
On the wiki, and also on RMweb there are a series of tutorials written by Disisme (Roger) originally hosted elsewhere but that site has closed. They are well worth following and will give you a very good introduction as to how XTrkCad works On RMweb there is also a basic tutorial written by me.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/202-the-xtrkcad-tutorials-from-the-layout-party/
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/201-basic-xtrkcad-tutorial/



There is a user group here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/XTrkCad/

Any problems from the PC usage POV, please ask via PM or email
 
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Thanks everyone for the info.
I also could use some pointers for making grades & elevations with the xtrackcad, there’s not much in the help page for it as well as how to use flex track.

I got started in xtrackcad and have been learning about it as I go. For the room size I quickly figured out that ho scale can be done but I can make an empire in N-Scale in the room, this will be at my parents home in my old bedroom. My dad really wants to make it in HO but I am trying to twist his arm into N-scale. As we have stock of both scales and it will fit better without taking up the whole room.
His requirements were that it go around the room, he wanted two loops to be able to simply run two trains, and a tunnel with some elevation. I wanted the same with a yard and some switching capability as well. I came up with this plan below please critique me if you see things switching wise, etc... I can improve on. I want to take some final ideas to him all at once before I show him just one that he loves.


Thanks...


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Pretty good start on your plan. Your stub end yard will need at least a couple more crossovers or your switcher will get trapped behind cuts of cars. Since there's no scale to the drawing, it's hard to tell what kinds of grades you are planning. Most modelers plan grades that look good on paper but are impossible to run. The formula to calculate grades is Gradient(%) = Rise / Run. Your goal should be to keep the grade to 2% or less. For example, if the highest point on the layout is 4" above the beginning of the grade, you would need 200" (16.6 ft.) of run (track) to keep the grade at 2%. You should measure the run versus your high point to make sure you're not ending up with something like 5% or 6% grade.
 
UP2CSX said:
Pretty good start on your plan. Your stub end yard will need at least a couple more crossovers or your switcher will get trapped behind cuts of cars. Since there's no scale to the drawing, it's hard to tell what kinds of grades you are planning. Most modelers plan grades that look good on paper but are impossible to run. The formula to calculate grades is Gradient(%) = Rise / Run. Your goal should be to keep the grade to 2% or less. For example, if the highest point on the layout is 4" above the beginning of the grade, you would need 200" (16.6 ft.) of run (track) to keep the grade at 2%. You should measure the run versus your high point to make sure you're not ending up with something like 5% or 6% grade.
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Though that's only the ruling grade, so to make sure that you don't have any problems, I'd go over all the track with some device used to measure grades. You could probably make one, actually, but I'm not completely sure how. Could probably figure it out pretty quickly though.

Hinged lift... interesting idea, but make sure you don't have much in the way of tall scenery, if any scenery at all, on the section. It will hinge down, not up, right?
 
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I would use a nice heavy duty door hinge, the kind that is sprung so that it will automagically return to the closed position, and have it swing out into the main room area. I would also recommend a set of interlocks that will depower the 2 feet of track on either side of the "bridge" so that you wont drive your prized steamer into the Abyss. Ideally, you would have a derail...

Overall on your plan, it looks pretty good. I see that you used snap track for your planning, that is fine, but when you move on to actual construction you will want to use flex. You will be able to tighten up your main tracks and overall have the entire thing smoother by means of removing some track joints.
 
thaddeusthudpucker said:
I would use a nice heavy duty door hinge, the kind that is sprung so that it will automagically return to the closed position, and have it swing out into the main room area. I would also recommend a set of interlocks that will depower the 2 feet of track on either side of the "bridge" so that you wont drive your prized steamer into the Abyss. Ideally, you would have a derail...

Overall on your plan, it looks pretty good. I see that you used snap track for your planning, that is fine, but when you move on to actual construction you will want to use flex. You will be able to tighten up your main tracks and overall have the entire thing smoother by means of removing some track joints.
Click to expand...

Good idea, except if it swung out that way, you'd need the bridge to not be straight at each end, complicating construction. You could do it, sort of like a real-life swing bridge. It'd just be a bit more annoying.
I would suggest having it as a drop bridge with little to no scenery on it.
 


It won't, assuming the original dimensions are correct, and he has to stay with HO. That island on the bottom left, if it's really 14.5 inches wide, will hold five tracks if you squeeze them in. OTOH, the track plan is plausible in N scale.
 
The plan is in N-scale. My dad prefers to build something HO but given the size of the room he is stuck with and he does not want to fill the room I made it in N-scale to show him whats possible in the smaller size.

The bridge will be a hinged lift up, It will be made to look like a real bridge I am copying another design that we have already seen on a club layout, and it works really well. It will be set up to kill the last 3' of track on either side when lifted up. There will be limited sceanary around the yard area to the bridge and the mountain will start just a few feet from the bridge on the other side.

Layout will be laid in flex track. I just used the snap track to get a feel for the fit and eise of design.

How do I use flex track with the X-track program? Is it even possible?
I know the rules for making a grade, but how do I create a grade with the x-track program?
 
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Just a small bit of advice (something I'm fighting right now) is not to put the break in track on your lift gate in the middle or on that curve (left hand side). I'm having some track alignment issues I'm trying to get fixed right now.
 
XTRackCAD can definitely handle flex track. That is one of its main features.

The flex track tool is on the button bar. I've circled it in red below.
XTrackCAD_menu1.gif


Briefly, you use it by first clicking the button shown above. Then you click on the first endpoint (where you want the flex track to start). Then you click on the second endpoint (where the flex track should end). XTrackCAD will then attempt to join the two points with flex track.

The two endpoints must be pieces of track that you have already placed on the screen. You only use the flex track tool to connect two pieces of track that are already on the screen.

It is not always possible for XTrackCAD to connect two pieces of track with flex track. The geometry might not be right.

I suggest you go through the exercises in the Beginner's Tutorial, where the features of XTrackCAD -- including flex track -- are explained.

- Jeff
 
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