Any tips on converting track plans to unitrack? Specifically I am looking to use the Mohawk Valley and / or Naugatuck Valley N scale layouts from Model Railroader magazine. I had built a HCD layout before and was so frustrated by too big of ambitions and derailing locos and cars that I gave up on all of it. It's been at least three or four years with everything packed away. I am ready to try again, but I am planning on using all unitrack this time so my 9 year old can help and so both of us can actually run a train. I would like to avoid the expense of buying lots of track and "winging it" only to find out I don't have the right pieces to create the plan. Thanks for any help in advance. I must say that of all the webforums out there, this really seems to be one of the best no matter what the subject.
One method would be to download the free XTrackCAD track planning software. It comes with a UniTrack library, so you can create layouts of any size with UniTrack pieces. You may find, as I and many others have found, that published track plans are often tricky to duplicate using sectional track such as UniTrack. So be prepared to adjust the track plan. XTrackCAD has a fairly steep learning curve, but it's worth it to avoid the frustration of buying a bunch of track and discovering that things don't fit like they do on those beautiful magazine track plans! - Jeff