Track Planning Software for Std Gauge on a Mac?

I have a Mac.  I run RR Track on Windows 7 on VMware Fusion.  

Unfortunately, I do not know of any track planning software that is native on Mac.  If you have the ability to run VMware Fusion or Parallels, you can run Windows as a virtual machine on the Mac and then install the windows track planning software of your choice.  Many here like SCARM but I don't know if it supports Std Gauge.  I use RR Track (not free) but I know it supports Std Gauge. 

You could also dual boot the Mac with Boot Camp and run windows.  

It's not a war, it's what's available...

Tony

Reasonably sure Scram supports the entire STG track inventory.

RR track last I knew did not have 57 or 87 curves. This may have changed.

Good info on running with a Mac.

Yeah, not a lot of options for track layout for Mac.  I used MacDraft, a pretty simple architectural drafting app that I have from my days as a building contractor.  I had to draw the basic shapes I wanted (the various size curves, switches, etc.), but I just drew them once and saved them in a "library", so after that it was just copy and paste and drag around where needed.  I was planning on buying long straight sections and cutting them to fit anyway, so I wasn't concerned about having an app figure out every straight section.  Worked for me, YMMV

david

You have several options for layout software for the Mac.  Native and free is XTrackCAD.  It is open source, so it can be buggy at times.  I have used it but found it difficult to use, but then I only played with it for a day or two so I didn't give it an honest try.  Empire Express is older and hasn't been updated in a while.  I have used the shareware version and found it very user friendly and easy to use.  If your plan is simple, you can create something in it's demo limits and take a screenshot to save.  I did that a few times.  If it had been kept up to date this would be the package I would use.  And there is RailModeller Pro.  This is a current program and can be had from the Mac App Store.  I've never used it, but I see they now have a free demo version, so it might be worth a look.

As for me personally, I have found myself drawn to SCARM.  Yes it is Windows only, and I would either use VMFusion running XP Pro, or boot into Windows 7 Ultimate that I installed with Boot Camp.  But I have found and began using a WINE wrapper called PlayOnMac.  Once I had it installed, I installed SCARM through it and have no issues doing my designing that way.  So now I run SCARM in the Mac OS and am very happy.

EDIT: You will have to look at the libraries of each and see which ones have the track you desire.  I just use them for Lionel FasTrack or Atlas 3R.

Thanks for the suggestions. Keeping it as simple as possible;  I think its going to be Railmodeler pro for Mac. They have tinplate standard and USA Standard in their libraries. Those are what I am going to use. 

Dreyfuss,

Interested in how you like Railmodeler Pro. Keep us posted of the ease of use, options, etc.

Even though I have been using Mac's for over 25 years, track planning software for them has always been limited. I started using RR Track on PC back in its infancy, probably around 1993 and have continued to use it. Even though I haven't owned a PC in many years, I was able to use one at work and that kept me in the RR Track loop. A few years back the work option PC was no longer available so I opted for running RR Track on my Mac via Virtual Box. It is not ideal, okay far from ideal, but I know the program and can make it work for what I want to do. I would love to find something that works for the Mac, but don't want to go back to school to learn all about it.

I love what Hojack used and have thought about taking that route, but there is a lot of front end time before you get to designing the layout. I want to be designing.

The newer version of RR Track does offer all the curve diameter options and most switch options available.

ARNO

Well, I cheaped it and downloaded Railmodeler Express (free version) for small layouts as a trial. There is an odd glitch; the 7 inch Standard Gauge straight is not 7 at all but 14, and it doesn't have the 20x crossing. No accessories also.  Question: does anyone know if this is fixed or better in the full version? Quite frankly, if it isn't (and the instructions say that the only limitation of this free version is that it is limited to 50 elements), then I don't know if I would pay for it.