Newbie to the board here.....

[BDP]

Hi my name is Brad and I am new to the board here. Been out of modeling for about 15 years and now with 2 sons looking to get back into it with them. Boy times have changes since I last had my small layout.

I will be starting from scratch on our layout so I am sure I will be asking lots of questions.

I guess my first question is, is there a computer program that will allow you to build a layout on your computer and tell you what you would need track wise, as in how much track to purchase or anything like that?

Once again wanted to say hi and be patient with the newbie.

 

[Selector]

There is a freeware called XTrkcad here:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/xtrkcad-fork/

Atlas has their own called rightrack.

The first has a learning curve, and you'll need to persist, but once you break through, it will be a very useful tool with a good sized library of all the currently available commercial turnouts and sectional track. You can specify lengths of flextrack if you wish.

-Crandell

 

[RexHea]

Welcome back to the hobby BDP!
I DITTO what Crandell said with Xtrkcad. I paid for a software program (3dPlanit) only to find out that Xtrkcad could accomplish almost the same thing for free.

 

[jdetray]

The main web site for XTrackCAD is here. The site includes plenty of tutorials to get you started.

- Jeff

 

[Trussrod]

Hi Brad and Welcome to the forum,

Crandel and Rex pretty much covered it. I had a problem getting the XTrack to work for me and finally wound up using Atlas's Right Track just to get a general idea to see if what I had in mind was going to fit somewhat as I expected?

I should explain a bit more that in my case I hand lay all my track and build my own switches to suit the situation at hand and have found that in most cases things always look different on paper then your often able to do once you actually get to laying track.
As an example I'm modeling a turn of the Century 1900 era, in HO std guage & possibly some HOn3 thrown in, basically set in the Colorado area with its steep grades and do have some on my layout which is a folded dog bone with a return loop on either end. Very simple compared to what Rex & Crandel have but we each have to work within the space we have available. I'm still able to get about a 9" elevation change from the lower to the upper main line and will have logging that extends even above the upper main line on one end by about the same elevation change. I have a 10' x 21 space so it allows me a fair amount of room but still limited compared to others. It's still a work in progress though and revisions take place as I go along due to deciding to make changes and requires different planning. I'm sure Rex & Crandel's layouts are a lot more intaled than I've got but because I hand laying the track and building my own switches I can most often get things to fit into a pretty tight area if needed.

Also, most of my radisuses are 20" which is inbetween what the Right Track offered, 18 & 24 I think, so again I was just getting a general idea by using the program and even used the 18" radius to lay things out.

We'll all be glad to offer what ever assistance we can to help you and I too am still learning in this great hobby!

Again Welcome to the forum.