Having used five different CAD programs, I would say that there is AutoCAD and there is everything else. Like Dick K, I found CadRail better for buildings, cars, etc. than for track.
If you haven't used CAD before, I suggest getting a free 30 day trial copy from www.autocad.com. Give yourself 30 days to draw a #6 turnout. Print it out full scale and measure it with your NASG standards gauge. If you can draw the turnout, you'll be able to draw your layout. One other thing about learning these CAD programs. They have hundreds of commands. This is nothing like learning a word processor, where you can easily switch from one to another. I don't use CAD enough to remember how it works, and each time I pick it up to do something I feel like I'm starting from scratch. I wish I had only ever used AutoCAD. In my opinion it is a waste of time to try an inexpensive package. If you end up using CAD regularly, you're going to end up with AutoCAD. If you buy a down level AutoCAD and decide you aren't going to use it, you can probably sell it for whatever you paid for it. That's not true of any other package. May as well just start with AutoCAD. If you were going to use a lathe, would you start out by buying a cheap one? Never skimp on tools. Here's another off-topic suggestion. Get a copy of Trainz. Two hours after opening the package, I had a not-to-scale functional model of my intended layout (11X13). This included all elevations, grades, and sidings, along with some buildings, all rendered in 3D. You can put a train on the tracks and check the operations functionality. I found two bugs in my design. You would never get that from AutoCAD. On the other hand, you could never take dimensions from Trainz. -Michael Eldridge -San Jose, CA The poll results are in....... To REPLY to the list, use REPLY ALL, to reply to the sender, use REPLY. I do NOT know if this works on all e-mail software, but it works on some of the most common ones. For those of you on DIGEST mode, all REPLY messages go to the list. Change your membership, change your message settings, use our CALENDAR, view shared files or photos, view the list archives, GO TO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
