Hey guys and gals, Is it just me or is the Atlas Track planner not a very good tool. I find it really hard to get anything meaningful done, and the tutorial is next to useless. Although my system shows I have data in all three of the RTS manuals I am unable to display anything when I try to bring them up. Is there a reasonable set of software out there somewhere? Just frustrated .......... :angry: Don S.
Any of the track planning software has a learning curve, and Atlas is one that I never got too far on either... The local modular club uses XTrkCAD, which is free, but also has a steep learning curve. Apparently it is much easier onc eyou have viewd the tutorial. However, I rely on the club's track planning guru, mostly due to the fact that I run two iMacs at home, and XTrkCAD is PC-only Andrew
Hi Don, I've used the Atlas software as a scratch pad but have found it is very limited, particularly because it only has Atlas track in the library (understandable). With so many space starved modelers who use curved switches it becomes somewhat useless. You may want to try Xtrkcad. They have a free version but it does have a learning curve. You can find it here: http://www.sillub.com/
Well, It is free after all. I used it when designing a small HO scale switching layout and it was perfect for me as I was using all Atlas components. I do think it is limited though.
Both RTS and XtrkCAD have a learning curve. RTS is not nearly as steep but it doesn't have many of the features of XtrkCAD. I still haven't fully figured out XtrkCAD. I am much better with RTS. Below is my current plan I am working on for my half room layout. It is done in RTS. The key to using RTS is learing to use the flex track functions. I don't bother with sectional track at all except for the occasional straight section. I have other layouts that I have finished scenery on in RTS and it works fairly decent, not spectacular but good enough to get an idea if something is going to work.
Thanks guys for your insights.. I guess I'll continue to struggle along with RTS for now. .... Have a good one ! Don S.
Sorry I'm a little (ok a lot) late on this post, but one thing I found that helps with RTS, is if you use the flextrack function like skipgear mentions it helps alot. a couple of tricks I've found in using the flex track is that you can use a simple straight piece and place it on the layout to connect your flex to. you can always remove it and adjust the endpoint until you get the shape you want. Then you can remove the straight and add the next piece and so on. Also you can generate standard flex curves with a certain radius that you can use to ensure that you don't violate your minimums that you set for yourself. So just use the flex track menu and set what you want and place a 90 degree or whatever on the plan and move it around to where you need it and attach. HTH
One man's evalutation of relevant train CAD programs. http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/500/TrainCadAssessment.jpg
@Andrew I believe XTrkCAD is open source now. I use it on my Linux machine. You might be able to compile it from source on an OS X machine. Here are the instructions for downloading from CVS: http://ca.geocities.com/sillub@rogers.com/sillubtech/opensource.html You might also get the Windows binaries working through wine. Check out the darwine project. http://darwine.opendarwin.org/
Funny this post would come up. I downloaded the Atlas RTS last weekend. I had seen it before (v5.0 or something) and thought it might be a simple platform for me to get started. Sure enough in one evening I had a working document. There are some short comings with it but all in all I was pretty satisfied with it. After all it was free. I had previously never heard of XtrkCAD. I just downloaded it yesterday and may give a try this weekend. Depending on time. Lots to do & lots of dreams to try to make come true.
JustInCase Lots to do....... You said it. I found XtrakCad to be a better program but a steeper learning curve than Atlas.
