Dave- I have experimented with xtrkcad for a bit. Doesn't take too long to learn enough to start working with it. There are 12 animated demos built into the help menu that show you how to do basic stuff.
Everything is in a click and drag format. Layers, elevations, centering for parallel tracks, easements/spiral curves, and even helix design are supported. You can specify a min radius and anything you draw below the min will be highlighted or flagged. NMRA S scale turnouts #4-#10 are supported but you can also custom build turnouts. It has been a big help in my layout design especially with respect building a yard and squeezing a turnout in here and there. You can zoom right in to a specific area and see exactly how much room you have to work with; the trackwork appears as rails and ties so you can see how close everything is. It will also print out 1:1 templates you can use to lay down your track plan. Besides all that, ya really can't go wrong for free. :) One caveat, I actually haven't built the layout I am designing so I am have no experience with taking what this program produces and translating it to wood & such. So far, just from printing out sections, it appears to be accurate. Stan Furmanak Annville, PA -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of ctxmf74 Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 3:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [S-Scale Modeling] S Scale Module and CAD Question --- In [email protected], "Furmanak, Stan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Paul- > Try xtrkcad which had been a commercial program but is is now free/open > source. Hi All, I don't really need a cad program but I might use one if it is very easy to learn(and free helps too!). Does anyone have any experience with this xtrkcad? Would it be easier than doing some rough drafts with pencil and paper or would it turn into a project of it's own to learn it?....dave The poll results are in....... To REPLY to the list, use REPLY ALL, to reply to the sender, use REPLY. I do NOT know if this works on all e-mail software, but it works on some of the most common ones. For those of you on DIGEST mode, all REPLY messages go to the list. Change your membership, change your message settings, use our CALENDAR, view shared files or photos, view the list archives, GO TO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ Yahoo! Groups Links The poll results are in....... To REPLY to the list, use REPLY ALL, to reply to the sender, use REPLY. I do NOT know if this works on all e-mail software, but it works on some of the most common ones. For those of you on DIGEST mode, all REPLY messages go to the list. Change your membership, change your message settings, use our CALENDAR, view shared files or photos, view the list archives, GO TO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
