Design Software for Mac?

Wyndham

RailModeller is a pretty decent layout program and is for the Mac. I first used it in demo mode to see what the features were and decided to pay for the full version and am happy with it. A nice side benefit is that the layout can be exported to another program called "IRunTrains" and you can see the layout in action with virtual trains to spot any areas of concern in your layout.

 

Hope that helps

 

Thanks Mike. I just looked it up and it says they have no licenses left and that it will be coming soon to the App Store. Bummer.

That's weird

 

Its a good program

I should have never made the switch to a Mac!  

It appears that you can still download the .dmg file and play around in
demo mode.
Here is the link:
Download RailModeller 4.1.10
<http://www.railmodeller.com/RailModeller4.1.10.dmg>

see if that at least gets you some familiarization with it. I wasn't aware
of the new version coming out either. Good luck

On Sat, Jan 3, 2015 at 10:44 AM, O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum <
alerts@hoop.la> wrote:

RR Track can be used on a Mac but you'll need to buy and install VmWare Fusion software to read the program.  Details should be on the RR Track webpage.

-Greg

I agree, but have you considered buying a used Windows laptop for about $125 and putting Scarm on it?  Scarm requires very little in a PC to run.

 

Plus, you get another (portable) location to participate in the OGR Forum!

 

Ed

Mike and Wyndham - I downloaded the demo version a while ago (maybe a year?). It's great for Atlas track, pretty much all pieces are there - but Ross, not so much. So I didn't buy it. Very few or none of the numbered turnouts, or the three- and four-way switches, though one of the double crossovers was there. Has that changed? I asked them about it at the time, and got a response that they didn't have specs for the Ross pieces.

 

David

You can try XTrackCAD.  Also there are instructions on getting SCARM running on the Mac using WINE that have worked for some people.

I personally use the work computer during my lunch break, but not everyone can get away with that.

I acquired my first Mac in 1984 and always had a Mac on my work bench. I use the Mac for Graphic Arts and Publishing. I have no desire to design my layout with model train software. I use Adobe, Illustrator, InDesgn & Photoshop. I can make money with all these Adobe Programs. No profit in learning Model Train Software. I would use paper pencil & graph paper & track templates. That is what works for my layout. Note: I have used AutoCAD / Autodesk for Mac  See link below

http://www.autodesk.com/campai...amp;mktvar002=592209

I have used Railmodeller for years and have always been happy with the results.  There are limitations in the railsets available but I work around them.  I use the Atlas railset for Gargraves.  Since the number of sections in a circle is different for Atlas and Gargraves some adjustment is necessary when ordering track.  There is also some limitations with the Ross switch realisets.  Overall, however, it is really easy to design the layout and get a good idea of what will fit and what will not fit.  I have never built a layout that went exactly according to plan anyway.

I also have used Railmodeller for 2 years and like it, but it doesn't support MTH Scaletrax. I use both Scaletrax and Atlas 3-rail, so it's difficult to work both on the same layout with Railmodeller. I've also installed Parallels and Windows on my Mac, so I can use RRTrack and SCARM. It's great having lots of choices. 

 

I wasn't aware that Railmodeller isn't selling any more licenses, but their web site says they are developing Railmodeller Pro which should be available in a few days. 

 

I wrote to Railmodeller over a year ago and asked them why they don't have a Scaletrax library. Their explanation was that they had asked MTH for the track piece designs many times but MTH wouldn't supply them, nor would they respond to the request. I wrote MTH and asked them if they would provide the plans to Railmodeller and MTH never responded to my email. Companies that don't respond to emails really irk me. It doesn't matter if they respond negatively or positively, but they do need to respond.

 

It will be interesting to see what evolves in Railmodeller Pro. 

 

Eddiem: I've had a Mac since 1984 and have never looked back. Great platform and extremely reliable. Hope you're able to enjoy your Mac at some point. I use a Mac Mini in the train room and a Macbook Air when I relax in my recliner. I keep my train plan files on Dropbox so they're available on either machine at any time. Life is good! 

 

George (G3)

For me, the lack of Ross curved turnouts made Railmodeller not useful.  When working with a smaller sized layout and easements, curved turnouts are super useful.

 

I went with RRTrack and Windows VMs.  Yucky... but, it was a one time use for me. The track is designed, now I just need to finished building it.

 

Mike