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The hobby’s most advanced model railroad simulator and layout designer, in your browser

Plan it. Price it. Buy it. Run it.

Lay real pieces from 40 track systems, see every problem before you buy, get the parts list, and drive the layout from a cab modeled on the NCE Power Cab. Nothing to install.

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Free, with no subscription needed. The two AI helpers come with $5 of credit to start; add more only if you want it. Works in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox on a computer, tablet or phone.

A picture of a plan, laid in real track, priced, and driven: in a minute.

Built from the real pieces of

KatoPecoAtlasMärklinTomixFleischmannRocoPikoBachmannHornbyLGBLionelTrixArnoldRokuhanMTHKatoPecoAtlasMärklinTomixFleischmannRocoPikoBachmannHornbyLGBLionelTrixArnoldRokuhanMTH

See it in a minute

Stop ripping up track you just laid: draw it, run it in 3D, solve a puzzle on your phone, and only then buy a thing.

1,582real track pieces, by part number

T to Geight scales, to the millimeter

39track systems from 18 makers

3,500+store prices, from 23 stores

Why modelrailsim

Other planners draw track. This one builds it, checks it and runs it.

Every piece comes from the maker's catalog, the plan is checked the way a modeler would check it, and then you drive it, so what you buy is what you drew, and it works.

Real pieces, real part numbers

Every straight, curve, turnout and crossing the maker sells, clicking together as they do on the bench. The parts list is the shopping list.

Run it before you build it

Save, and the design opens in the simulator wired and ready. Switch cars, climb the grades, find out which siding is too short.

Problems found at the spot

Gaps, clashes, a reverse loop that will short, a grade too steep for your train, a door the board blocks. Each one named, next to the piece.

Free, with no subscription needed

Planning, printing, the parts list and driving cost nothing. The AI helpers run on credit you top up when you want them; Pro adds operating sessions and club sessions.

One place for the whole layout

From the first sketch to the last switching move.

01
01 · Plan it

Real pieces, on a board you will really build.

Drag from the catalog of 40 track systems and the pieces click together as they do on the bench, or draw a line and real pieces are laid along it. Any shape of board, in your own room, with the wiring and the grades checked as you go.
- 40 systems, T to G; switch one for another, even across scales
- Polarity on the rails; feeders, joiners and reversers worked out
See the Layout Designer
02
02 · Price it

Every piece by part number, with what it costs.

The parts list is the shopping list: each piece, the packs to buy, and the maker's retail price for over 1,400 parts. Tell it what you already own and it shows what's still to buy, in your currency.
- Packs, not just pieces: how many boxes, and the leftovers
- What you own taken off the list
How the parts list works
03
03 · Buy it

From the list to a store, in one step.

Choose a store in your country and its own prices appear beside the list, 23 stores so far. Send the whole list to a store that takes orders; they confirm, charge and ship. Nothing is charged here.
- Stores in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan and Australia
- Send order by email or straight into the store's system
How buying works
04
04 · Run it

Drive it before you build it.

Save, and the design opens in the simulator, wired and ready: a cab modeled on the NCE Power Cab, trains that ease up to speed and coast, grades that are real, signals and power districts that behave, and a 3D view from the cab.
- Inglenook and Timesaver puzzles, scored and ranked
- Real recordings: an EMD 645 and K5LA horn, steam beats and whistle
Open the simulator

The Planner building a layout from a description

AI, when you want it

The Planner builds. The Conductor drives.

Describe a layout, or show a picture of one, and the Planner lays it with the same tools you have. Tell the Conductor what to do and watch it run the layout, explaining each move.

“An around-the-walls N layout with 30-inch aisles”
Pay as you go; hand-building never uses credit

How AI Credit works

The Conductor

Your railroad crew, on call.

Open the Conductor in the simulator (Shift + N) and ask for what you want done. It knows every loco and car, every turnout and where it's set, every card and control, and it works the layout with the same controls you do, step by step, while you watch.

Shunting, planned. Which end goes in first, where to reverse clear of the points, when a reverse loop turns the train: it works the moves out, couples and uncouples, and stops short of anything in the way.
Running. Laps of the main line, the bell and horn, speeds, macros, track power.
Everything else on the cards. The view and camera, sound, display options, adding cars and locos.

Try it in the simulator

Conductor

Back the three boxcars into Yard 2.

Looking at the layout

Loco 4089: cars first into Yard 2

The cars are on the loco's front, so I'll take the train round the reverse loop first, then push them in, cars first. Setting T12 and T13 as we reach them.

1/2 out, to clear the points: Arrived

2/2 back in: Arrived

Done: boxcars 1, 2 and 3 are in Yard 2, clear of the points, with loco 4089 coupled at the outer end.

TryUncouple the carsBring the loco backRing the bell

Walk round the table.

Press 3D and the plan becomes the board on its table: ballast, ties and rails, point blades that swing, and real locomotives and cars, scaled to the roster. Everything you do on the plan works here too.

An EMD SW1500, a GP38-2 and an SD40-2, an 0-6-0 steam switcher and a 2-8-0 Consolidation, boxcars, hoppers, a gondola, a tank car, a flatcar and a caboose, each in your choice of paint
Design your own paint scheme in the paint shop, and share it, or wear someone else's, from the Loco Scheme Gallery
Eleven viewpoints: ride in the cab, chase the train, watch it from the lineside or the points, or let 🎬 Cinema direct
Point at a coupler and see the knuckles; click and they part

The Inglenook with Industry Spur in 3D: the board on its table seen from above the operator's side, a train of boxcars and hoppers in the yard, the Power Cab beside it.

Follow in the 3D view: the camera rides beside the loco on the cab, with the route ahead marked along the curve.

From modelers

What newcomers say.

Fantastic! I'd been struggling to build a starting layout for my Kato N gauge newbie journey. The AI was brilliant and produced exactly what I wanted, within the dimensions specified.

NatStarting out in Kato N gauge

I started transferring my own layout from RailModeller. I uploaded two or three screenshots, and it was recreated perfectly right away. It's a very small layout, but somewhat complex, with three levels and two helixes. Connecting those levels had kept me up at night for weeks. … Finally, an AI you can talk to about track layouts, one that really understands you and can offer real help. A dream come true.

JuppBuilding a three-level layout

Where you'll use it

At the bench, at the store, with the club, in your pocket.

On a phone the simulator and the Layout Designer have a layout of their own, made for a thumb: the board fills the screen, and what you use most is one tap away along the bottom.

On the phone: drive, throw the points and build with a thumb; the board follows your train
At the bench: print the plan 1:1, tape the sheets, lay track on it
At the store: the parts list by part number, with what's already in the drawer taken off
With the club: a link anyone can open, with the parts list and a copy to build on

The simulator on a phone: the board following a moving loco at the top, the NCE Power Cab as a sheet below it, and the bottom bar with Drive, Turnouts, Macros, Conductor and Cards.

Tipple Creek Branch in 3D on a phone: a U-shaped layout on its table, with a coal mine, woods and lakes, zoom, 2D and viewpoint buttons, and Drive, Turnouts, Macros, Conductor and Cards along the bottom.

Featured store

From parts list to doorstep.

Every piece priced at the maker's retail, in your currency, with what you already own taken off. Send the list to a store that takes orders; they confirm, charge and ship. Nothing is charged here.

How buying works

Pro

Run it like a railroad.

Operating sessions with waybills, switch lists, a fast clock and a dispatcher, scored at the end. Operating sessions are free for a limited time. Host your club on one railroad, each member on their own screen, from $29 a year.

See Pro

Layouts

Five layouts to start, and room for yours.

Four of the five built-in layouts are modeled from real track plans, piece by piece; the fifth, Tipple Creek Branch, was designed here in the Layout Designer. Members share theirs in the Layout gallery: run one, or take a copy to build on.

The Inglenook: a headshunt and three sidings.

Inglenook Puzzle

Inglenook with Industry Spur: a 2 by 5 foot (61 by 152 cm) N-scale oval with yards and sidings.

Inglenook with Industry Spur Puzzle

The Timesaver: a compact switching layout with five spurs.

Timesaver Puzzle

Märklin C-Track 260 by 180: two loops, double slips and sidings.

Märklin C-Track 260×180 Free play

Tipple Creek Branch: a U-shaped N-scale layout with a reversing loop, a yard, a coal mine, woods, lakes and a hill.

Tipple Creek Branch Free play

Getting started

On the rails in two minutes.

Create your free account

With a username and password, or in one click with Google or Apple.

Take the tour

A short guided tour shows you the screen, the throttle and the puzzles, with a few things to try on the way.

Pick or create a layout

Start a puzzle with its rules explained, or run freely. Or design your own in the Layout Designer, by hand or with AI. Save your session and pick it up next time.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is it free?

Yes. The app is free to use: the simulator, the puzzles, the Layout Designer and the parts list cost nothing, with no time limit. Only the AI features use AI Credit, and your first $5 of it is on us. Add more only if you want it, in packs from $5. No subscription is needed. Operating sessions are free for a limited time; yearly plans from $29 add hosting club sessions. See Pricing.

Do I need to install anything?

No. It runs in a modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox) on a computer, a tablet or a phone. On a phone it has a layout of its own: the board fills the screen, the menu slides in from the left, the cards from the right, and the controls you use most open from a bar along the bottom.

Do I have to use AI?

No. Building by hand is just as complete: drag pieces from the Parts Catalog, draw a line and let real pieces be laid along it, or draw over a picture of a plan. AI is there when you want it, and you can mix the two: many people build by hand and ask AI to finish the tricky bits, like joining two ends to close a reverse loop.

I've never used DCC. Will I manage?

Yes. The tour walks you through driving, the points and coupling in about two minutes, and every key and mouse action is listed under the keyboard button at the bottom right. Hover over anything on the layout to see what it is.

Can I open my XTrackCAD, AnyRail or WinTrack layouts?

XTrackCAD (.xtc) and AnyRail (.any) open piece by piece: Import › Layout file in the Layout Designer matches each piece to the same track system here and places it where it was; anything that can't be matched is listed. WinTrack's own files are a closed format, so export a DXF from WinTrack (File › Export) and open that: its lines sit on the board at the right size to trace over, like any DXF from a CAD program. Export saves a design out as an XTrackCAD file, or as a DXF with the centerlines, rails, board and labels on their own layers for CAD and the laser cutter.

All the questions

The layout's ready when you are.

Create a free account and run your first train in minutes.

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