# Source for layout plans that work with Kato N Scale



## lstmysock112 (Sep 28, 2021)

Hi all

I tried one plan I found and liked online but when moved into Anyrail 6 for Kato it looks like who ever designed it fudged a bit and it does not line up correctly. Would rather not have issues like this at all that could cause derailments due to kinks and such.

So is there a good source for track plans for anyrail (Kato N Scale)? I am including the plan that I found shown how it was done with Altas RTS software but near the top it will not line up after the outside turn.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

What you're seeing is a limitation / problem with sectional track in general. The more complicated the track plan, the harder it is to line everything up. The issue, as I told you by e-mail, is that many designers are too eager just to pump out large numbers of plans, without considering quality. 

As I've said before, with enough effort, ANY track plan that can be built with sectional track can be duplicated using a different brand of sectional track. I would have thought that plan was a convincing demonstration of that. Using flex track track commercial turnouts instead is the best way to overcome the limitations of sectional track in general.

And at the end of the day designing your own will be much more satisfying and much more likely to give you the elements that you want and need in a layout.


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## lstmysock112 (Sep 28, 2021)

Not everyone is great at design work. I will watch a tutorial on any rail and see about changing out the straight away with flex track.


What good idea for the plywood? Paint it all Grey? Give some thing better to look at then raw wood 

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk


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## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

You can go on Kato USA's website and they have suggested track plans for both N and HO layouts. They may have something similar to what you posted above.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

lstmysock112 said:


> Not everyone is great at design work. I will watch a tutorial on any rail and see about changing out the straight away with flex track.
> 
> 
> What good idea for the plywood? Paint it all Grey? Give some thing better to look at then raw wood
> ...


Paint it Earth tone.

And NO ONE is born good at layout design. It's a learned skill. But no one ever got good at it by not doing it.


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## lstmysock112 (Sep 28, 2021)

CTValleyRR said:


> Paint it Earth tone.
> 
> And NO ONE is born good at layout design. It's a learned skill. But no one ever got good at it by not doing it.


Very true but help from those who have done it before can save someone from mistakes and some of them can be expensive mistakes. Learn by asking and getting information as well as doing. Would rather that then try to guess my way though.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

lstmysock112 said:


> Very true but help from those who have done it before can save someone from mistakes and some of them can be expensive mistakes. Learn by asking and getting information as well as doing. Would rather that then try to guess my way though.


Who said you're on your own? If you try it yourself, what stops you from asking for advice? But how will you know if you've made a mistake if you don't make anything? You run the same risk of having a mistake with someone's canned track plan as you do with one of your own making, but the important difference is that a plan you make is much more likely to be suited to your taste and preferences. Just grabbing a design from the internet IS a recipe for an expensive mistake.

One of the benefits of a program like Anyrail is that you can make endless numbers of plans without incurring any additional cost. So you do what I've suggested from the beginning: do some reading / research and then try to make your own plan. Post it here and ask for comments. Make any revisions necessary or desired. Post the revision. Repeat until you're happy with it. If you look around the forum a bit, you'll find several,people in the middle of that process right now.

You've now thrown out that initial plan because I pointed out a slight flaw in it (and told you how to compensate for it, too). Now you want to just go grab another and start building? But from the title of your thread, it seems like you want to grab it from some mythical source where all designs are certified perfect and mistake-proof. Good luck with that!


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## lstmysock112 (Sep 28, 2021)

CTValleyRR said:


> Who said you're on your own? If you try it yourself, what stops you from asking for advice? But how will you know if you've made a mistake if you don't make anything? You run the same risk of having a mistake with someone's canned track plan as you do with one of your own making, but the important difference is that a plan you make is much more likely to be suited to your taste and preferences. Just grabbing a design from the internet IS a recipe for an expensive mistake.
> 
> One of the benefits of a program like Anyrail is that you can make endless numbers of plans without incurring any additional cost. So you do what I've suggested from the beginning: do some reading / research and then try to make your own plan. Post it here and ask for comments. Make any revisions necessary or desired. Post the revision. Repeat until you're happy with it.


I am going to use that plan I found online as a templete and use that, Use flex track and make it work. Even if I have to shorten it a little to make the thing work. Figure with the flex track on the straight aways should be able to make it work and not kink up to cause issues.


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