Ahhhh.....you found the biggest limitation. The libraries for RTS only include Atlas track products. Since Atlas does not offer curved turnouts, they are not on RTS.
There is probably a way to improvise and get curved turnouts (or at least representations of them) in RTS with a little bit of creative thinking....but I'm not a very creative person.
Until now I've never needed anything better than paper and pencil, my track plan has just been for reference. The atvantage of RTS and other programs is being able to share with others. I supose I could do the same with a scetch, but I don't have a scanner either.
Paul, I use Personal Designer by 4D Graphics. I would not recommend it because it has a steep learning curve like AutoCad and is no longer supported. I have been using this CAD since 1990 at my place of work and like it. It is now a free internet download. If I could find a program to make copies on my HP printer, I would be in designer heaven!! If a program can't located, I will look seriously at 3rd PlanIt. Watash #982, Our VP of Engineering allowed designer/draftsmen to use this CAD for their personal use on their OWN time, which helped all of them to learned the use of this program noticeably quicker and to refine their skills as new rev's came along to the company's benifit. Buzz
After using 3rd Planit for a long time, I could easily design track plans, but never got the hang of doing scenery. I started using Cadrail and found it easier to use and quicker, but it's 3D doesn't compare. If you want design, use Cadrail, if you want 3D use 3rd Planit. 3rd Planit has a steeper learning curve, Cadrail can be learned pretty quickly. Mike
Thanks for the comments guys and Mike welcome to Trainboard, do you have a copy of your plan that you can post?
Im with you, Ive just spend 3 hours trying desperately to get 1 piece of flex track to appear... Ive tried the pretty little icon on the toolbar, it does SQUAT... I reckon you can stick RTS as far up there ringhole as it can go. I reckon freelance brain surgery for people with no arms would be easier. So I tried 3rd Planit.. I can't even get anything to happen with that. I reckon freelance brain surgery for the blind would be easier. I have gone through 1 keyboard and 1 mouse in these 3 hours. Im NOT F'N HAPPY. My problem is I'm up to the wiring of the layout and desperately trying to draw my layout to post here so I can ask HOW THE PUCK DO I WIRE THE THING FOR 2 TRAIN OPERATION... THERE HAS TO BE A WAY. Anyone able to draw Plan 74 from 101 track plans for me, then I can add the mods I've done to it, then I can beg or offer my next born to someone to help me wire the #$_$*&&* #$_$*&&* #$_$*&&* thing.. And its my birthday, having a ^&&^(*^& great day. Everyone but me is having a great time.
First off, Happy Birthday VB ! I also canned the RTS system. Now I think I know why it's free. Hope someone can help with the wiring. Sorry, looked for but couldn't find my copy of "101 Track Plans" Could you scan the plan, then post to RailImages, or better yet to this thread? If not, maybe a local Kinko's (or other) could help. Good luck.
VB, if you just want help with wiring all you need to post is a 'schematic' track plan showing the track and positions of turnouts,etc. Curves and stuff are irrelevant, so you can do this with straight lines. Some visual indication of lengths of track between turnouts would be useful to indicate block lengths, but nothing more. You can easily produce this using the 'Paint' package that comes with Windows. Paint produces a .bmp file by default, which will be rather big (file size) for posting. So convert it to .gif if possible before posting it. Failing that .jpg. Later versions of Paint (W2000 and XP I think) can save as .gif directly, otherwise you'll need to open the bmp in an image/photo package and then 'save as' gif/jpeg.
Folks, I have a brief descritpion of several model railraod CAD products I own or have demoed at: http://home.earthlink.net/~mrsvc/id14.html Links are inlcuded to manufacturers and or discussion groups for each of these where they exist. After using CADRail and 3rd PlanIt both for a while (that was a nightmare), I've settled on 3rd PlanIt. I find it responds the way I expect a Windows program to repsond, while CADRail seemed to have a more idiosyncratic user interface (just my opinion, of course). 3rd PlanIt, CADRail, and XTrkCAD are the three I would probably recommend that people consider most strongly based on what I have seen. But if you are only creating a trackplan for yourself, you must really consider the trade-off of learning curve vs. actual design time, as others have mentioned. Regards, Byron Henderson San Jose, CA www.modelrail.us
I use Photoshop LE (Limited Edition) which I got with my computer which I bought configured for video and graphics production. I used to build my trackplans in Lightwave Ray Tracing (an earlier edition of program used to make CGI images of the ship in Titantic I could create animations of trains running over layout as viewed from a moving helicopter. Someday I'll have to upload some of the images. (Wonder if railimages would have the space for a short video clip?)
I haven't been on the modeling side for awhile now been I used 3rd Planit and would likely go back to doing it again. Never did anything complicated at the time but could tell that it would meet my needs even for complex work. You do need to understand CAD somewhat to use it.
Kenneth, you've done a great job with those track plans....and it looks like a great layout to operate on as well. I've already said it, but for those who maybe didn't read the first few pages of this thread I used a combination of Atlas RTS and the Paint program on my computer. It's not perfect but for designing just one or two layouts it works great (and it's free). I know others don't like it, but I was able to pick up on the Atlas program pretty quick and never had a problem with it.
I used to have access at a TV station to build 3D models of layout plans in Video Toaster Lightwave and make animated film renderings. Running a train and seeing POV as if followingin helicopter. The 3D classic wooden roller coaster never quite came off....
The one thing to keep in mind with any general drawing program is that it's very easy to draw things which look great but could not be built as drawn -- especially in a specific space. Things like overalpping turnout points, insufficient track-to-track spacing, overly sharp turnout frogs, and even problems where curves meet straight track at a less-than-tangent angles creep into drawings very easily. Even though all of the CAD programs have a steep learning curve, one advantage is that they help eliminate these problems. If one is very disciplined and uses templates for turnouts which could physically be built (or purchased), general drawing programs can work for layout design. But it takes a lot of attention to these details. It's all too easy to render beautiful images that can't be constructed. The same is true of hand-drawn designs, of course, but because the computer renderings look so good, it can be tempting to expect them to be drawn correctly. These problems are found even in publsihed plans. Iain Rice is a very talented designer and a gifted artist, but some of his beautiful published trackplans exhibit these problems and could not be built as drawn (or painted, in his case) with the specifications that are given. Regards, Byron
