Plantrak - ( The rail track solution for model railways )

For ho train, have a ho train layout requirement, this suits ho scale, 00 gauge, P4 and EM. Your model train railroad set will soon be up and running with this $5 download ( File size 460 Kb).

Plantrak is a very simple aid to designing your own model railway layout. There are lots of track plans available but I found they were not as I wanted and I needed a specific plan of my own. Firstly, I drew a scaled down version on graph paper and this gave me the basic plan. I then needed to scale it up and draw it on my baseboards. That wasn’t so easy!

I came up with this solution to print multiple track sheets using my computer to get the scale right. I then cut out the track sections from the A4 paper prints and glued them on large sheets of paper the same size as my baseboard. It was suddenly taking shape in front of me and with very little time spent! It very quickly showed me how much space I needed and where the bends were going to be too tight etc. With no small effort I have now drawn all the basic track shapes required to get a model layout started using a CAD programme. Enjoy!

Directions

The images are contained in one Adobe pdf file, an Acrobat Reader link is supplied if required.
Place the floppy disc or CD ROM of the images into your computer and load the pdf file into a selected directory. Then print them on plain white paper using Adobe Acrobat Reader. When you have the prints simply cut them out and arrange them the way you want. I found PRITT Stick good to use to stick the track images down to the base sheet because it was fast, it wasn’t messy and if you changed your mind you could peel it off again. By experience I have found that you will need many more of the straight track prints than any other. Just set the printer to only print that page to have more of the straight track sheets. The bottom line is to have fun with it and let your imagination wander all in comfort on your living room floor.

The first five sheets have been drawn with standard 00 scale in mind but will work equally well for H0, P4 and EM. The gauge drawn is actually 18.0 millimetres which is a good compromise.

The two curve radii that are supplied are 0.38m and 1.0m. These cope with most designs of set track or flexible but you can play by cutting out small sections and interleaving straight track to achieve any radius desired. Further upgrades in the future will probably have other radii if the produce proves popular.

If you live in the UK you can have it posted to you for £3 just state your preference of 3.5” floppy disc, CDROM or just paper copies that can be photo copied. Requests for posting and payment by UK cheques or postal orders can be made by email. Any problems just email sales@steamphotos.co.uk. Make as many copies as you want as long as you do not sell them on.

The five Plantrak images available at present are:

1/ 4 sections of straight track.
2/ 2 express left-hand points (switches) with a 1 metre radius curve.
3/ 4 sections of 0.38m tight radius (0.38 metre radius) curved track.
4/ 3 sections of 1.0m radius (1.00 metre radius) curved track.
5/ 2 express right-hand points (switches) with a 1 metre radius curve.