Version 5 -- Virtual Modular Railroading!

If you've been to a train show and seen a hundred-car freight moving slowly along miles of track, then you've seen modular railroading in action.  Yesterday that huge layout was a collection of pre-built modular units stored in club members' garages, built according to standards so that when they came to the show floor they could be lined up and hooked together using short connectors.  The result is a huge layout in a short time, custom fitted to the available space, a different one for every show.

Version 5 brings you a great new set of capabilities for working with modules and modular layouts.  It comes with a large collection of pre-built modules, plus templates for creating your own. You assemble these in the Module Manager, dragging them onto a virtual show floor where they automatically align and snap together.  One click converts the assembly into a complete layout, ready to add trains and run. 

If you are a show planner or administrator, this feature is for you.  It gives you a way to design a show layout, arranging available modules to fit the space and have good scenic transitions, then give it a test drive to work out the operations.  If you are a club member, the feature is for you too, helping you design your own module so it fits the club theme.  If you are neither of these, you might just enjoy a nice long ride by snapping together a string of modules.

Creating a modular layout is easy.  To do it requires TrackLayer and a few steps.

Step 1.  Choose some modules.  Version 5.0 comes with folders of modules built to NTrak and HO standards -- bare-bones templates you can use to create your own, special corner and junction modules, and a generous collection of scenic modular track plans.  You can find these in the Layout Chooser, as shown here.  For samples of what's available, see the gallery below.

Step 2.  Assemble.  Drag modules into the Module Manager workspace.  They snap together automatically, like little magnetic dominoes.  Lay them out in chains or loops, add junctions to make complex patterns. 

Modules can be rearranged by drag and drop, or by moving rows up and down in a list.  The Module Manager keeps everything aligned and snapped together whenever you make changes.  The window can be resized or zoomed; colors and display attributes are fully customizable.

Step 3.  Click OK.  Once you have an assembly you like, click once to convert it into a full layout -- all modules with track and scenery, automatically positioned and connected, ready to run.  Modules are labelled and outlined so you can see what's where. 

click picture for larger image

Step 4.  Test drive.  Add a train, crank up the speed, and you can run all the way around.  Add multiple trains and work out operations, meets, schedules.  Cruise from one module to the next and make sure the scenery changes in reasonable ways.

Step 5.  Fiddle.  Don't like the shape of the layout?  Bring the Module Manager back up and shuffle the modules around.  Try different arrangements.  When you find the optimum plan, zip it up and send it to the club members so they can practice operating.

Sample Modules.  The installer delivers a small set of basic components.  Many more like these are available on the web:

There's more.  Also in Version 5: improved performance; zip files for multi-part layouts; control-drag to duplicate objects; enhanced layout properties dialog; better location of components in multi-part layouts; plenty of bug fixes.

1.  Click to download and install 5.0 ==>

Note:  Creating modular layouts requires TrackLayer.  With TrainPlayer, you can open pre-built modular layouts and run them, but cannot access the Module Manager.

Requirements.  Programs run under Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7.  An internet connection is useful but not essential -- you need one to browse and download content from the web, but you can run without it when using content from your disk or DVD.  Disk space: you need about 35MB to install the program files, but will want more than that to download content from web or DVD -- around 4 GB for the full content.

Delivery on DVD.  Products are available on DVD for a $10 shipping charge.  This includes all purchased content, so no download is needed.  To request a DVD, use the Shipping drop-down menu on the checkout page ==>

License agreement.  Our license agreement is displayed during install and reproduced in the Readme file.  It says you are allowed to install the program on as many computers as you like, as long as you don't sell or give away the license key.