XTrkCAD...

It's free and works well for me.  I wouldn't likely bother with anything else at this point.

I second XTrkCAD

It works great for me, and you can run trains on your design which is very helpful.  The price is right too. 

Randy

My Favorite

P,P & E (pencil, paper & eraser)

Bernd

I found Anyrail worth the

I found Anyrail worth the price and easier to learn than XtrkCAD

Love my 3rd-planit!!!

XTrackCAD

I used 3rd PlanIt for years ... and then the developer had some VERY serious issues, and I learned that a one-man software program is just an invitation for problems/disaster.  3rd PlanIt was very good; 3-D views were neat and running trains in 3-D was cool, even if a bit clunky for better resolutions and larger layouts.  Learning curve was not too bad, and pretty much intuitive in my opinion.  I think for a professional track planner, the customer would have a clearer understanding of what the layout will actually look like from the 3-D views that 3rd PlanIt can provide.

XTrackCAD is FREE and it will let you plan just about anything.  I don't' think the tools are as intuitive as 3rd PlanIt's were ... even after using XTrackCAD for years, I still need to peek at the help file to 'remember' how to do some rather common tasks such as joining tracks and moving things between layers ... for whatever reason, the sequence of clicks and keystrokes just doesn't stick in my mind the way it did for 3rd PlanIt (perhaps because my mind is not as young as it used to be?).  However, for the cost (FREE), I don't think you can get a more powerful track planning tool.  I am very happy with it.

With XTrackCAD, you can design your own geometry for turnouts and other special track.  You can insert elevations and grades, which will allow you to check vertical clearances (only a 2-D display though).  You can 'operate' trains on your layout to check/confirm/verify the operational potential/possibilities of your design (one of my favorite features of any track planning software --- not so easy to do with Pencil and Paper ...)

Empire Express for the Mac

If you have a Mac, Empire Express by Haddon is a very good basic 2D system without a lot of bells and whistles. It is inexpensive, easily and quickly learned and easy to use. It is also accurate: I printed the plan at full scale to do the actual layout, and only a few very slight adjustments were required. I did tweak the Walthers Code 83 curved turnout elements they include because there are slight variations between the program elements and the actual. I did that because I have certain locations where turnout sizes and configurations are critical to the plan. The tweaking was not difficult.

Dante 

I use XtrakCad. It's free, and it will do

I use XtrakCad.  It's free, and it will do anything you need.

For 3-D, I've recently converted a plan from XtrakCAD to Sketchup, by drawing the shape of the tracks onto the benchwork.  It's coming along...but it looks close enough to get a good sense for the plan!

Another vote for XTrkCAD

I use and like XTrkCAD.  It has a bit of a learning curve, and it is not a model railroad simulator (the ability to run trains is limited and not especially well done), but it is an excellent layout design package.

Benny, I would love to know more about how you are working between XTrkCAD and Sketchup.  Did you export a layout as an image, and them import it into Sketchup, or do you have a better method?

...

I imported it as an image, resized the image to my drawn benchwork, and then traced the track onto the benchwork.  I picked this up and put it to the side.  Then I traced the terrain and used the pull-up tool to put the layers at their rough levels.  Once done with terrain, I put the track plan back in.

I haven't spent much time on this since the first run, but the main purpose of doing it like this was to plan out bench work, and to get a feel for aisle width and height separation above the imagined staging yard.  As a planning tool, I LOVE my computer!

DFX

If you have the pay version of XTrackCAD then you can export DFX which can be imported into SketchUp as an editable model.

BTW another vote for XTrackCAD

Used it to design my layout. Very easy to learn and use. Some keystroke functions are a bit odd if you are familiar with other CAD programs but you get used to it.

...

You'd have to get the pay version of Sketchup, with is $500...no THANKS!

I'll stick with what I have at the moment, it works, an it's free!

Exporting XTrackCAD to DXF ...

... is available in the free version.  You need to have whatever object(s) you wish to export selected and then the < File> < Export DXF> option will become available (it is grayed out until at least one object is selected).  I have never used this feature, so unsure of how well it works with SketchUp.

Son of a Gun

Well, dang you Dave. Now that I know that I have found something else I have to do.

The XTrackCAD DFX export imports just fine into Autodesk 3DS Max. Check out the screenshot where I imported a tiny piece of the layout. Too cool. Actually, I am glad I didn't know this when I was layout planning because I would have gotten all wrapped up in creating a real looking rendering of my layout!

...

Dave, the XtrakCAD side is not the issue - It's the CAD side.  Free Sketchup will not load a DXF file unless you buy the Pro edition...and that, well, it's not going to happen!!

If you have autocad, there's no issue, of course!  I, however, will not be buying even a $500 program, so a thousands of dollar program doesn't even register!  If anybody has more recommendations for Free CAD software, I'm all ears.  Sketchup works very well, but if there's a better program, I'm all ears.

SketchUp 'workarounds' ...

It seems that there is a free plugin to import DRW and DXF files into the free version of SU7.  The trick is that the free version of SU7 is no longer available for download ... but you can download SU7 Pro and after 8 hours of use, it reverts to the free version (and you can continue using it).  Now you can use the free plug-in with SU7 to import the DXF file into SU7 (unsure if SU8 will read an SU7 file, but assume that it will?).  Of course it does mean having 2 versions of SU on your machine (and if you install SU7 AFTER SU8, you will need to do some cleaning up afterwards).  Not certain if it is worth the effort; but depending on how badly you want to do it, it is an option.

More about it here:  http://sketchuptips.blogspot.com/2011/01/sketchup-8-free-dwgdxf.html

I've also seen mention that the elevations may not be properly exported from XTrackCAD in the DXF files ... again no real personal experience with this; but something to look for.

A Sketchup trick

Here's an idea for you, Benny.  Export the image of the layout, but don't worry about resizing it.  Import the image into Sketchup using the "Match Photo" option.  Adjust the red and green guides and scale so that your image is effectively the floor beneath the layout.  Then draw a box the size of the entire layout, right click, and select "Project Photo."  You'll have a flat surface with the track plan "painted" on, and you'll be able to push, pull, or move the parts as needed and keep the plan on the surface.

[edit]

I just tried it, to see how well it would work.  Sketchup does some interesting things if you try making other than flat surfaces, but it's possible to get some idea how things will work.  This took me 30 minutes or so, working from a plan I already had.

The plan, from XtrkCAD:

And after playing in Sketchup:

It's obviously pretty rough, but I wasn't being any too careful either.  I just wanted to see how well it would work, and I think it works well enough to get a feel for the layout.  I don't like spending too much time on a plan, since the actual layout will never match the plan perfectly anyway.

I like SCARM

Mainly because it's the only one that the flextrack tool makes sense to me on. I gave on XtrackCad in frustration after spending a few minutes trying to figure out how to use the flextrack. Maybe I should give it another shot but SCARM does what I need and it took me all of a minute to figure out how to do flextrack with it.

Michael

Free CAD

Not sure what you might be looking for outside of track layout, but AutoCAD "clones" exist that are free. Two most notable being DoubleCAD XT and DraftSight, which can open DXF format. I am not sure what is out there from a 3D standpoint.

Anyone using Illustrator?

Another PPE!!

I Used Illustrator At the Beginning

I started out designing with Illustrator. At the time I did not know about the TrackPlan plugin. It was tedious to get switch geometry right but fortunately only had to do each # once. Measurements taken from Shinohara switches I had purchased earlier. Then made it a custom brush. Stumbled onto XTrackCAD. Tried it and found it to be much faster to work with because of the predefined geometry plus the automatic easement function. Since I have no plans of designing a whole layout again and this was a one time affair I abandoned Illustrator and finished the design in XTrackCAD.

Here is my blog post where I converted from Illustrator to XTrackCAD: http://www.lkorailroad.com/layout-design-process/

finished the design in XTrackCAD.

And here I am on my MacIntosh.

pqe