Sketching

[unhinged]

Hey everyone.

Wondering if anyone knew of a handy rail sketching program or the like? I'm messy on paper but I work best only when I have an overall plan so I'm really itching to begin creating a sketch in order to keep all those ideas and plans somewhere else other than my head.

I've tried googles but no help there.

Thx all.

 

[Johnk]

Do you mean something like this:

Link

A link to the actual download page is at the bottom of the description.

 

[JIb228]

Atlas makes a program called Right Track. Its free and an OK program. It even lets you order your track, if you building a model railroad. I think it lets you print rack plans. But I am not sure, I use it a little for planing my model railroad, but I feel its better to lay out track.

 

[mjolnir]

Wondering if anyone knew of a handy rail sketching program or the like? I'm messy on paper but I work best only when I have an overall plan so I'm really itching to begin creating a sketch in order to keep all those ideas and plans somewhere else other than my head.

I, too, am messy on paper, but for me paper is the only way for my intitial sketches. Something I found made my sketching faster, neater, and of more utilility, was to switch to graph paper, without which I tend to make my clearances too narrow, curves too tight, and grades too steep. Once I have a sketch on paper, I transfer it to my favorite image software (my preference is GIMP, YMMV), and add a layer I made which overlays a TRS baseboard grid. For those ideas that pop into my head at odd moments, I try to find something that gives a sense of lines in at least one direction, and use that. Receipts from purchases are pretty good for such ideas.

ns