XTrkCad Tutorial Part 1: Getting Started

Saturday, June 02, 2007

XtrkCad is a useful piece of software for designing model railway designs, whether you are designing the layout you want to build, creating a fantasy layout, or simply experimenting with ideas to see ‘what will fit’. And the software is free, which is great for those on a budget.

This tutorial assumes you have already installed XTrkCad and followed the free registration procedure. If you haven’t, you can download it here.

Setting up the layout

When you start XTrkCad, it shows a blank screen with space for a small layout. This probably isn’t the same size as the layout you want to design, so on the menus select Options/Layout… Here you can specify the size of the layout in inches. If your layout uses an odd shape, or has an operating hole in the middle, enter the maximum dimensions of the layout area. In this window you can enter an optional title for the layout and you’ll also want to specify the scale/gauge you are using.

The screen will now show your layout area at the default scale. You will probably find that the layout area is larger than can be shown on screen. The XTrkCad Map window shows the area which is currently on screen in black. To move around the layout area, click on the black rectangle and drag it to the area you want to view. (If the Map Window isn’t showing, use the Window/Map Window menu item). You can also zoom in and out using the three buttons on the very left of the tool bar.

If your layout is an odd shape, or includes an operating area, you can draw lines and boxes to show where the edges of the baseboard will be. Use the drawing tools on the right hand area of the toolbar. These tools are pretty intuitive to use, just click-hold at one end/corner and drag the mouse to the other end/corner, zooming in and out as necessary.

Adding track sections

XTrkCad is preprogrammed with a large number of trackage systems. To select the one you want to use, right click on the track icon bar and select from the list. You can use the left/right buttons on the track icon bar to select which items are shown and also to scroll between track systems. There are also items on the list for trees and trackside structures. I’ll start this tutorial by selecting Peco SetTrack (’Peco N Scale ST-Track’ ) , since the fixed track pieces of set track are easier to design with when you are new to XTrkCad. I’ll move on to flexitrack in a later article.

Hover the mouse over a track item on the track icon bar and it’s name is displayed. I’ll start with a left hand point. Click the icon to select it, and the icon turns black. Click anywhere within the layout to place it down. Note that at this stage it is not ‘fixed’. If it is in the wrong place, click closer to where you want it and it will move.

You can also rotate it: click and hold the right mouse button at the location on the track item about which you want to rotate it. Move the mouse to rotate it, drag the mouse further from the rotation point to make finer adjustments. Once it has been rotated, you can, if necessary, click and drag the track item about the layout to it’s final position.
When you are finally happy with it’s position, press the Enter key to fix it in position (but bear in mind that it can still be moved later).

To add the next track item, again click on it in the track icon bar. This time, click near one of the ‘exits’ from the first track item, and it will be joined on (but the end of the second piece which attaches appears to be pre-set and can’t be changed).

If the end that is joined by default is wrong, click somewhere else nearby to separate the items, right-click and rotate the new item, then left-click and drag it close to where it will be attached and press the Enter key to fix it.

To join the items, click the ‘Connect Two Tracks’ icon , click the end of one track section, then click the end of the second item. If you get a message about the ends being too far apart, move and/or rotate one of the items and try again (see part two for details).

If you make a mistake connecting tracks, select ‘Split a Track’, and click on the joint to separate them.

The rest of the design is a simple process of moving around the layout one track section at a time until all the track pieces are done. Just remember that you have to press Enter to fix each item in place before moving on to the next one.

In this part we’ve seen how to lay tracks, next time we’ll look at how to edit the pieces we have already laid.

Smallphry - diary of a model railway

Saturday, June 02, 2007