Agrajag said:
Is there a recommendation on software to be used to design layouts and such? I didn't even think about this and then tripped over a link for a rather interesting looking program called RR-Track that included 2D and 3D views of of layouts. That got me to thinking that this might be a good way to get our family's initial layout banged out without too much error and trial.
I have an earlier version of CADRail, which was ok, but the 3d part left alot to be desired. That was ten yrs ago and I'm sure they have improved it considerably.
I purchased a copy of 3rd Planit. It was a B-day present to me from me. Jeez, how thoughtful. All I can say is, WOW. It's the program I was looking for, or waiting for. Want to lay track, build scenery then run your train, from the cab? This is it. You can build from the floor, up. Bench work to scenery.
It handles snap and flex track. Although, the flex track is tricky to get used to. I still get surprising, weird track configs due to my inexperience, but they are becoming less frequent the more I play with it. There IS a learning curve.
The coolest part is the scenery editing. EASY. Just pull it up, smoosh it around, conform it to objects and track and presto. Fills and cuts majically appear. I love it. It's almost as much fun as building a layout, without the mess, but it still isn't as good as building the real thing.
It's great for the dream layout and perfect for someone building one. Honestly, it's more of a toy for me. It's overkill for my shelf layout. In fact, I'll probably just lay out track on the shelf and build from there.
Also, it's not cheap $100. Well, that's debatable. If you are planning a major layout, it's worth the price. I can see saving that much by eliminating costly mistakes. They do have a demo program available with all the bells and whistles, but you can't print the plan.
Like I said, it's overkill for most, but you asked about programs and I haven't seen anybody else mention it, so...
Here's the link:
http://www.trackplanning.com/3pi.htm