By Jeff Moorman

Please join us for our next meeting, this Thursday, December 5, when our topic will be DCC decoder installations.

Last meeting Tom K took on the subject of track planning software. He was going to just cover free track planning programs, but since there only appear to be three contenders in this category he branched out a bit.

Tom started with the three freeware offerings he found: SCARM (www.scarm.info/index_en.html), TrainCad (www.traincad.com), and XTrackCAD (www.xtrkcad.org).

SCARM, which stands for Simple Computer Aided Railway Modeller, is the one Tom has spent the most time with. He used it for demonstrating the typical features one can expect in these programs. The very basic drawing features seem about the same, but there is quite a bit of variety in the how they are implemented. But more detailed features, such as the ability to do 3-D drawings, add structures and scenery, or run animated trains over the track plans you create, are not universally available.

And, although the developers of these programs may disagree, none of the features in any program seemed intuitive. You are going to have to dedicate some time to learning whichever automated track planning tool you choose. And, what you learn about one program may not necessarily carry over to another. For example, I personally have a couple of hours into XTrackCAD and do not feel I can really use it to design anything yet.

On the plus side, at least for these three, the price is right. You don’t have to invest any money to give them a whirl.

Tom then briefly covered some of the track planning programs that are for sale. Most of this was based on a MR article, entitled “Guide to Track-Planning Software”, that appeared a few years ago. It covered 3rd PlanIt from El Dorado Software, CadRail from Sandia Software, and AnyRail from DRail Modelspoor Software.

All three of these products have demo versions that allow you to “play” with the product before making a purchase decision. These versions are either limited in size of the layout depicted or in the ability to save results.

There is also another commercial program Tom found that apparently wasn’t available when the MR article was written. It is called WINTRACK (www.wintrack.de/usa.html). It was created in Germany, but there is now an English version.

The MR article was not a comparison or review, merely a “guide.” Therefore, there was no clear winner. In fact, the general impressions seemed about the same as for freeware offerings: (1) they do not all implement functions the same way: (2) they do not all have the same specialty features; and (3) you need to invest some time to learn to use them.

Sorry, we couldn’t tell you to just go get a single “magic bullet” track planning package that will do everything. You will need to invest some time analyzing your needs and what the market is offering. It some ways it might be like deciding on a DCC system. They all work, but just what features do you need, at what price,  and is there anyone around that can help you with it? Note that Tom’s research was not exhaustive, so you may find other programs out there.

For Show and Tell Chris F brought some used HO passenger cars he had acquired. They looked as if the previous owner had gotten half way through a truck replacement project before giving up. Chris’ challenge will be to complete the truck replacements and apply a UP paint scheme.

Dennis T brought an N scale Scottish train. There was a locomotive, a passenger car, and a small good wagon. The hobby store clerk in Edinburgh, Scotland, where Dennis got the models, assured him it was a typical contemporary consist in some parts of that country.

We meet at the Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA. That is on the west side of Aurora (State Route 99) between 175th and 185th Streets and more specifically, between the Cadillac dealer on the south and Deseret Industries to the north. Going southbound on Aurora, make a right-hand turn into the church driveway immediately after passing the Deseret location. The parking lot is at the rear of the church. For regular meetings enter the lower, left side of the church from the rear lot.

Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, September through June. However in June we often do something different, like a layout tour. Doors open around 7:00 PM and the program starts at 7:30.

Remember the next meeting is December 5 and the clinic topic is decoder installation. The meeting after that is January 2. Hope to see you on December 5 or at least sometime on down the line.