# Software for mountain layouts and two decks?



## ecmdrw5 (Jan 16, 2021)

Greetings all, my apologies if this has been covered but I spent 30 minutes scrolling through search results without really finding my answer.

I want to create a tight mountain layout with two decks. The decks will be in the middle of the layout, coal mines(maybe some lumber too) on top, yard/town/river on the bottom and the ends will be mountain section winding back down. 

I’m new to track planning software and so far I’ve tried CADRail, Anyrail, and SCARM demos. They all seem pretty basic and easy to use but don’t really give me that two deck plan and the ability to model the terrain. 

Are there any softwares that give me this ability? Planning is half the fun after all. I use Solidworks daily at work so I’m not scared of more complicated software.

Thanks again.


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## ecmdrw5 (Jan 16, 2021)

I found a software called 3rd PlanIt. Anyone have experience with it? 
 https://www.eldoradosoft.com/3pi.htm


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Any of the programs you list are fine. SCARM is someone's hobby project, so future support might be questionable. The others are commercial products.

However, you're needlessly complicating this for yourself. You really don't need to stack your levels in the software, a top view with levels side by side is perfectly adequate for planning. 

However, it can be done in Anyrail if you really want to go through the effort to do it. You use layers. Set the lower level at a height of 0", and the upper level at a height of 16" (or whatever your desired separation is). You'll need an arbitrary separation point on any track connecting the two. Put everything on the lower level in one or more layers from the base height, and do the same for the upper.level.

See Post #8 in this thread for an example of a multi-layer layout in Anyrail. A Collection of Track Plans


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## ecmdrw5 (Jan 16, 2021)

CTValleyRR said:


> Any of the programs you list are fine. SCARM is someone's hobby project, so future support might be questionable. The others are commercial products.
> 
> However, you're needlessly complicating this for yourself. You really don't need to stack your levels in the software, a top view with levels side by side is perfectly adequate for planning.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I think that will work just fine.


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