Kato Unitrack · N & HO · iPad
Kato Unitrack plans that snap together —
with the parts list to build them.
RailMind is a Kato Unitrack layout editor for iPad — N and HO scale. Pieces snap to real Unijoiner geometry — so track you snap together is track you can build on your table.
12 buildable example layouts, every joint verified
- No AI
- No account
- No servers
- No tracking
01 · Geometry
Snap is not a metaphor
Snapping only ever lands on a real Unijoiner. Pieces join end-to-end on Kato’s own geometry — the only slack is the millimeter or two of Unijoiner play real track has. Open ends are marked on the canvas: cyan for the end you’re building from, amber for an end still to connect, green when two ends are close enough to join. When a loop closes, it closes because the arithmetic does — every joint in your plan is a joint real Kato track can make. Ask it to close an open end and Close-the-loop searches Kato’s catalog for a run that lands the joint — now threading the route through turnouts and the wye, not just plain track. When no run fits, RailMind names the reason — the curves you’ve enabled can’t make the turn — instead of leaving you staring at a stubborn millimeter gap.
02 · Catalog
The palette is the catalog
Every piece you can place is a real Kato Unitrack part. In N: straights, curves with their radii labeled, #4 and #6 turnouts, crossings, the 20-210 double crossover, bridges, viaducts and the 20-283 electric turntable. In HO: straights, curves, turnouts and the 90° crossing — every fixed-length piece Kato makes in HO. Turn on Color track by type and each rail family takes its own tint, so a dense plan stays legible at a glance. If it is on the canvas, Kato makes it.
03 · Editing
A calibrated workbench
Slide a piece and it settles onto the nearest valid joint. Rotate at 15°, 30°, or 90°, or free-rotate with a soft snap that catches on real geometry. Sweep a marquee to multi-select, then move, copy, paste, or parallel-copy a whole run to lay a second track beside the first. Undo and redo cover every edit you make to the track, because design is mostly changing your mind. Set your board or table dimensions and choose the grid you think in — 1 inch, 1 foot, or Kato’s own 124 mm. Squeeze a piece with Apple Pencil Pro to open its edit menu, and feel a haptic click the moment two ends snap together. Keep a busy layout in order with up to ten named layers — show, hide and reorder them; hiding a layer clears the canvas without touching your parts list or the loop math, and new track lands on whichever layer is active. It is the closest thing to pushing track around the plywood without getting up.
04 · Off the screen
See the climb. Print the plan.
Raise a piece and RailMind shows the grade as a live percentage while you build, so a climb never quietly passes the ruling grade you set for yourself. Or pick two points and let RailMind set the grade between them, easing the rise smoothly across every piece in the run. Turn to the 3D view to see the whole layout in three dimensions — bridges, viaducts and grades rendered from the same geometry as the flat plan, in light or dark. And when the plan is right, print it at true 1:1 scale: RailMind tiles it across US Letter or A4 pages, piece labels optional, so you can lay the paper on the benchwork and build straight on top of it.
05 · Parts list
The shopping list writes itself
Every plan produces a parts list with quantities, curve-radius labels, and approximate US MSRP. Import your stock as a CSV from Kato or RailModeller inventories, and the list shows what you still need to buy for this layout — pieces you already own are marked in stock, and the buy column rounds up to whole Kato packs. Existing RailModeller Pro .layout files import from the Plans screen — or paste a plan as text, one Kato piece per line by part number or name, and RailMind builds it into a real, editable layout with the same snapping the editor uses.
06 · Example layouts
Twelve layouts you can build this weekend
RailMind ships with twelve authored example layouts — nine in N, three in HO — buildable as drawn, with real parts. Open one to study how it is put together, or take it as the base of your own plan. Six of them:
Plus Corner Central, Concrete-Tie Oval, Roundhouse Fan, and three HO layouts — twelve in all, in the app.
07 · Operating conditions
No servers. No account. No AI.
RailMind does all its work on your iPad. It requires no account and collects no data of any kind. There is no AI anywhere in it — every line on the canvas comes from Kato’s published geometry and your own hands. Your plans go nowhere except your own iCloud, which backs them up, so a reinstall brings them back. The only other thing that touches the network is the App Store — checked at launch for your unlock and its price, and again if you buy — which Apple handles end to end; we never see who you are, and we have no servers for any of it to reach. Everything else works in airplane mode.
08 · Pricing
Free to build a starter layout. Pay once for the rest.
Download RailMind free and build a real starter layout — 10 straights and curves, 2 turnouts, and 2 special pieces. In N that is enough to close an oval and try a crossing or a bridge. In HO, where every Kato curve is 22.5°, a closed loop takes sixteen of them — so in HO the free tier is for laying out and pricing a section. Nothing else is held back: the full catalog to choose from, real snapping, the parts list, every example layout. One in-app purchase of US$29.99 unlocks every piece, forever. That is the only purchase in the app: not a subscription, not a trial, no unlock packs, no per-piece fees, no ads. Buy it once and it restores on every iPad you own.
09 · FAQ
Questions, answered plainly
Does RailMind need an internet connection?
No — drawing, snapping, saving, the parts list, imports and 3D all work in airplane mode. It uses the network for two things only, both Apple’s: the App Store — checked at launch for your unlock and its price, and again if you buy or restore — and backing your plans up to your own iCloud so a delete and reinstall brings them back — as long as the iPad is signed in to iCloud, and RailMind tells you on the Plans screen if a very large library outgrows iCloud’s key-value quota. That backup is on by default and can be switched off in Layout settings. RailMind still requires no account and collects no data of any kind.
Is there really no AI in it?
Really. No model, no assistant, nothing that guesses. Close-the-loop and Auto-route are deterministic searches over Kato’s catalog. Track geometry comes from Kato’s published dimensions, snapping is deterministic, and every plan is the result of your decisions, not a model’s.
Is it a subscription?
No. RailMind is free to build a starter layout — 10 straights and curves, 2 turnouts, and 2 special pieces — and one in-app purchase of US$29.99 unlocks every piece forever. That unlock is the only purchase in the app — no subscription, no ads, no unlock packs, no per-piece fees, ever. It restores on every iPad signed in to your Apple Account. The app you buy is the app you own.
What do I actually get for free?
The whole app, within the free tier: the app’s whole catalog in both N and HO, real snapping, close-the-loop, the priced parts list, inventory and RailModeller import, layers, 3D and 1:1 printing, and all twelve example layouts. Nothing on the canvas is watermarked and no feature is crippled — shared parts lists carry a single “Made with RailMind” credit line you can delete. The free tier builds a real starter layout — 10 straights and curves, 2 turnouts, and 2 special pieces (anything in the Bridges, Double Track or Turntable sections, plus crossings, crossovers and bumpers) — enough to close an oval in N, to lay out and price a section in HO, and to taste what turnouts and specials do. Opening an example bigger than that works fine; you just can’t grow it past the free limits until you unlock.
Which track does it support?
Kato Unitrack, in both N and HO scale. In N: straights, curves, #4 and #6 turnouts, crossings, the 20-210 double crossover, bridges, viaducts and the electric turntable. In HO: straights, curves, turnouts and the 90° crossing — every fixed-length piece Kato makes in HO. Support is deep rather than broad — one system’s geometry, done exactly.
Can I bring in existing plans or my inventory?
Yes. RailMind opens RailModeller .layout files directly, and imports stock CSVs from Kato or RailModeller inventories so your parts list shows only what you still need to buy. You can also paste a plain-text plan — a line per Kato piece, by part number or name — and RailMind assembles it into an editable layout.
Can I organize a big layout?
Yes — split a plan across up to ten named layers you can show, hide and reorder. Hiding a layer only clears it from the canvas; its track stays in the plan, the parts list and the loop math, and new pieces land on whichever layer is active.
Can I print my plan?
Yes — at true 1:1 scale. RailMind tiles the layout across US Letter or A4 pages, piece labels optional, so you can lay the printout on the benchwork and build on top of it. Print via AirPrint from the share sheet, or save it as a PDF to Files or Mail.
What do I need to run it?
An iPad running iPadOS 18 or later. Nothing else — no account, no companion hardware, no connection.
Will it drive my trains?
No — planning and driving are different jobs. RailMind plans the track; running trains is a job for a DCC throttle app.
If it connects on screen, it connects on the table.
RailMind for iPad. Requires iPadOS 18 or later. No account, no tracking, no AI — every joint you draw is a joint real Kato track can make. Free to build a starter layout in every plan; US$29.99 once to unlock unlimited pieces.