TRAX3D and TrackDrawer are both track planners in the browser, with a different approach. In TRAX3D you draw your layout yourself in a 3D world. TrackDrawer starts from the track you already own: you enter your stock and the Auto-designer lays layouts with it that fit. Below is what TrackDrawer does and TRAX3D did not offer on 8 November 2026.
As of 8 November 2026. The details about TRAX3D come from the public pages of trax3d.com on that date (feature list, showcase, terms and download pages). We review this page every quarter.
| Feature | TrackDrawer | TRAX3D (8 November 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Designing layouts from your own track | Yes: the Auto-designer lays variants from the pieces in your stock | No generator in the feature list; you draw every layout yourself |
| Stock management | Yes: per article, per starter set or extension pack, from a CSV file or from a photo | No stock management in the feature list |
| Missing pieces against your stock | Yes: the parts list shows what you have and what you still need | Parts list of the layout, without a comparison to a stock |
| Building a public layout with your own track | Yes: "Make this with my track" in the Railfolio | Showcase with a 3D view; not with your own stock |
| Cab ride | Yes: in the app itself, through your own layout | Through the external simulator iRunTrains; its own control software TRAX Control was not yet for sale |
| App in the store | Yes: Android app on Google Play; an iOS app is in preparation | No app on Google Play or the App Store; an installable web app and a Linux app (Snap) instead |
Did you use TRAX2? Read how to take your parts list along and keep building your layout: TRAX2 has closed: how to carry on with your layout
You choose your baseboard size and what the layout should do, such as a passing loop, a reversing loop or a bridge. The Auto-designer lays several layouts side by side, using only the pieces you own, and checks each one for closure, collisions and gradients. You pick one and finish it by hand.
Your stock is the basis of everything in TrackDrawer. You add a starter set in one go, load a long list from a spreadsheet, and count loose pieces with plus and minus. Your stock is kept for every next layout.
When you keep drawing or pick a bigger layout, you see per article number how many pieces you already own and how many are missing. So you know what you really need before you go to the shop.
In the Railfolio, the public collection of track plans, every layout has "Make this with my track". The Auto-designer then makes a variant of that layout from your stock and at your baseboard size.
You step into the cab and drive through your own layout, with nothing to install. You see before you build whether a gradient, a bridge or a station works the way you expected.
TrackDrawer runs in the browser and as an Android app. The editor is built for a phone screen: you lay track, rotate pieces, let the Auto-designer design and check the parts list on the go.
Want to see other programs side by side too? Software to draw a model railway layout: overview
No. They are two separate programs, each with its own account. You can keep a layout in TRAX3D and at the same time let TrackDrawer design layouts from the track you already own.
No. TrackDrawer does not read .trx files. You take the parts list along, enter it as stock and let the Auto-designer or yourself lay the layout again.
Yes. TrackDrawer runs in the browser on computer, tablet and phone, and as an Android app on Google Play. An iOS app is in preparation.
The details about TRAX3D are from 8 November 2026 and come from the public pages of trax3d.com. We review the page every quarter. If you spot something that no longer holds, mail [email protected].
Enter your stock and let the Auto-designer lay layouts that fit your table.
Open the app · Track plan generator: a layout from the track you own
TRAX3D, TRAX2 and traxeditor are names of their owner and are used here only to refer to that product. TrackDrawer is not affiliated with TRAX3D.