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	<title>Mike Walsh&#039;s LEGO® Blog &#187; TrackDraw</title>
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	<link>http://www.carolinatrainbuilders.com</link>
	<description>Thoughts and musings on all things LEGO®</description>
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		<title>Layout Planning with BlueBrick</title>
		<link>http://www.carolinatrainbuilders.com/index.php/2010/01/layout-planning-with-bluebrick/</link>
		<comments>http://www.carolinatrainbuilders.com/index.php/2010/01/layout-planning-with-bluebrick/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:24:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Walsh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CAD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LEGOPalooza]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NCLTC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlueBrick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TrackDraw]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[train layout]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.carolinatrainbuilders.com/?p=453</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been using TrackDraw for layout planning for years.  My friend and former NCLTC member Cary Clark wrote TrackDraw and I authored many of the parts in the TrackDraw library so I had a vested interest in using it.  Compared to TrackDesigner, TrackDraw was a huge improvement particularly if you were planning a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I have been using <a href="http://trackdraw.sourceforge.net">TrackDraw</a> for layout planning for years.  My friend and former <a href="http://www.ncltc.us">NCLTC</a> member Cary Clark wrote TrackDraw and I authored many of the parts in the TrackDraw library so I had a vested interest in using it.  Compared to TrackDesigner, TrackDraw was a huge improvement particularly if you were planning a large layout.</p>
<p>But times change and Cary has phased out of the LEGO hobby and TrackDraw, while it still works, hasn&#8217;t been updated in years.  At one point I could build it from source myself but about a year ago I tried to build it and was unable to.  So the version I have running is from the <a href="http://railbricks.com/track-planning">RailBricks</a> site and includes some custom parts in the library.  TrackDraw still has some oddities and will crash from time to time.</p>
<p>Recently while working on the 2010 LEGOPalooza track plan I couldn&#8217;t get text to work correctly so on a whim I decided to try <a href="http://bluebrick.lswproject.com/">BlueBrick</a>.  I had looked at BlueBrick about a year ago and dismissed it as it had some real limitations.  However when I looked at it again, most of my issues had been addressed and it works pretty well.</p>
<p>I have not tried to create my own parts yet but probably will soon but I do like the layering model in particular.  I recaptured the NCLTC layout I am doing for 2010 LEGOPalooza in BlueBrick and did a couple more iterations using it.  I really wish the layout area had scroll bars and I really miss the TrackDraw feature to add a bunch of elements using the numbers on the keyboard followed by clicking on the part you want to place but other than that, I don&#8217;t have any real complaints.</p>
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