New 3rd Plan It Trackplans Available

I’ve posted the last few plans to the track plan downloads page. Included is the plan for Chuck’s 10 x 11 N Scale Richmond Pacific and the track plan for Davis Ca..

The plans are created using El Dorado software’s 3rd Plan it (3pi) computer aided design (CAD) software for railroads version 8. (~$100).

I like the software a lot. I have used it for several years now and I wouldn’t go back to pen and paper which is what I used for about twenty years before that. I still have my trusty Staedtler compass set in a nice case in my desk draw. But it hasn’t been used since I moved to CAD for track planning.  I like to do track planning and I always have a computer with me so I can work on a plan when the mood strikes.

Of course, there are all of the usual advantages of working in digital such as exporting views, operating the plan in 3D, creating movie clips (this one is a little shaky but it will improve), getting a count of track elements, determining track length and so on.

A lot of people talk about the learning curve for CAD software and it’s hard for me to judge how much of a barrier this is. I started using CAD in the early 80’s for laying out printed circuit board traces (this was on an XT with a 5Mb hard drive running DOS!).  For new users, I can see the system being somewhat daunting though like anything else, it’s largely a matter of practice. A compass is easy to use, but that doesn’t mean the track plan will be good as a result.

There’s a good article for new users of 3pi in the January issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine which is an online mag for railroaders.

- Coxy