Using Trainz for Model Railroad Planning

Greg_Hargreaves

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I know there are some routes on the DLS that are based off of model railroad plans, and there is at least one that is meant to be a model layout in HO scale.

I'm just curious, how many trainzers use their program to plan actual layouts? I not asking about routes based on layouts in Model Railroader, I'm talking actually planning a layout for a finate amout of space, kinda like a CAD program.

Myself, I am working in reality on building a 4 x 8 with a 1 x 8 L-shaped extension (for a stub-ended yard). Since programs like 3rd Plan-it and CADrail are so expensive I started using TRS for layout planning (its really fun). What I enjoy about it is you can build a complete layout, including textures and industries, in just a few hours (rather than months...).
 
I've used Trainz to visualize several model railroad plans, and I must attest that it is a very handy tool. After all, that's what Trainz was originally concieved to be: a model railroad sim :p
 
I agree...
My current model railway was tested thoroughly in TRS, and I'm currently planning the scenery for it in TRS... :)
Zec
 
Hi Gents

Yes TRS can be quite handy for this. Here is my garden railway done in 2006

trainzshotsmallrb5.jpg


It started from a track plan done in Atlas's Right Track software (freeware)

gardenrailwaytrackplanvgu3.jpg


It helped me sort out where points/switches should go etc and was very helpful.

Here is part of the end result

img011vsmallml1.jpg
 
ISTR there was a "Hungry Horse" (one of the Kalmbach 101 Track Plans) layout for Trainz at some stage, albeit when I downloaded the route it wasn't in a very finished state.

TRS is probably the only means most of us have of ever realising some of those monster track plans, conceived in the 1950's when houses seemed to be much bigger and model railway equipment was considerably cheaper.
 
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I'm just curious, how many trainzers use their program to plan actual layouts? I not asking about routes based on layouts in Model Railroader, I'm talking actually planning a layout for a finate amout of space, kinda like a CAD program.
...

There was an article in last year's "Model Railroad Planning" (a yearly publication by the same folks who do "Model Railroader") by a fellow who used Trainz to help plan a major (privately owned club sized) layout. He didn't start planning in Trainz but used it to test the plan before laying track. He said that he found several areas that needed changes and was very glad to have found them before building.
 
I saw the MRP article. I know that many layouts on the DLS are based off of track plans, but are not to scale. The article-layout was the same by my impression. Its great for testing track arrangement and operation, but I was interested in if anyone built the scale layouts, such as in an trw1089's pic where we limited ourselves to set deminsions, just like 'real' model railroading is.

Awesome pics of the model by the way trw1089! Outdoor layouts have always interested me.
 
actually, I'm trying to replicate my Lionel layout I had growing up - since most of it was made up, (either imaginary or made out of old pepsi boxes) I thought it would be neat to see it with real ballast and scale cars instead of hotwheels and actual buildings, structures and what not

it was made up of three 4 x 8 tables in an L shape:)
 
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Blackcavalier, you can get Lionel 3 rail track and other items from the DLS for your layout. Just try doing a search under "Lionel"
 
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