About
Albion Software has been crafting specialized software for model railroaders since 1996. The suite centers on four integrated products that together cover the full spectrum of model railroad operations and record-keeping. Ship It! is the flagship — a realistic, non-random switchlist generator. Users define what products each industry on their layout ships and receives, and Ship It! builds car movements between those industries, even spanning multiple divisions. The result is an operating session that mirrors how real railroads work, rather than random car placement. Car Cards complements Ship It! by letting operators produce car cards, waybills, and train orders (Form 19s and 31s). It supports hand-keyed workflows by car number or AAR code, as well as importing computer-generated movements from Ship It! — giving operators flexibility in how much automation they want. Railbase serves as the inventory backbone, storing data and images for freight cars, passenger cars, locomotives, structures, and miscellaneous items across an entire collection. Scheduler rounds out the suite by generating train graphs (string diagrams) that visualize all scheduled train movements on a single chart, helping operators spot and eliminate schedule conflicts before they cause problems on the layout. All four applications share a single database, so data entered once flows across the entire suite without re-keying. A 90-day money-back guarantee is included with every purchase. The software is best suited for serious individual modelers and model railroad clubs seeking prototype-quality operating sessions.
Key Features
- Non-Random Switchlist Generation (Ship It!): Defines product flows between industries on the layout and generates realistic, prototype-style car movements — never random — even across multiple divisions.
- Car Cards & Waybill Creator: Produces car cards, waybills, and Form 19s/31s in hand-keyed or computer-generated modes, giving operators full control over how traffic is managed.
- Rolling Stock Inventory with Images (Railbase): Stores detailed records and photos for freight cars, passenger cars, locomotives, structures, and miscellaneous items across an entire collection.
- Train Graph & Schedule Visualization (Scheduler): Creates string diagrams (train graphs) that display all scheduled movements on one chart so operators can spot and eliminate conflicts before operating sessions.
- Unified Shared Database: All four applications read from and write to a single database — data entered once is instantly available across the entire suite without re-entry.
Use Cases
- Running prototype-style operating sessions on a home layout using realistic, industry-driven car movements generated by Ship It!
- Creating printed car cards, waybills, and train orders for club or home layout operations without manual paperwork
- Cataloging and photographing an entire rolling stock and structure collection with Railbase for insurance, trading, or personal reference
- Building train schedule graphs to coordinate multiple trains on a layout and prevent conflicting meets
- Managing multi-division club layouts where cars must move between operating districts with consistent tracking across sessions
Pros
- Prototype-Accurate Operations: Ship It!'s industry-based car movement logic mirrors how real railroads operate, giving modelers a genuinely realistic operating experience.
- Integrated Suite, Single Database: One shared database means no duplicate data entry and seamless workflow between switchlist generation, car cards, inventory, and scheduling.
- Long Track Record: Continuously developed and refined since 1996, giving the software a mature, stable foundation backed by decades of modeler feedback.
- Risk-Free Purchase: A 90-day money-back guarantee lets buyers evaluate the full suite without financial risk.
Cons
- Highly Niche Audience: The software is purpose-built for model railroad hobbyists — it has no applicability outside that specific domain.
- Desktop-Only Application: No web, mobile, or cloud access; users must work from the machine where the software is installed.
- Dated Interface: As a long-running legacy product, the UI reflects an older design era and may feel less polished compared to modern applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Ship It! different from random car placement?
Ship It! models real freight flows by letting users define which products each industry ships and receives. Car movements are then generated to fulfill those business relationships, so every car on the layout has a logical origin and destination — just like a prototype railroad.
Can I use Car Cards without Ship It!?
Yes. Car Cards supports fully hand-keyed workflows where operators assign cars by car number or AAR code manually, without needing computer-generated traffic from Ship It!.
Do I need to enter my roster data in each application separately?
No. All Albion Software products share a single database, so data entered in one application — such as car numbers in Railbase — is immediately available in Ship It! and Car Cards.
Is Scheduler included with other products or sold separately?
Scheduler is bundled free with purchases of Ship It! and Car Cards. It is also available as a standalone purchase for modelers who only need train graph functionality.
What is the refund policy?
Albion Software offers a 90-day money-back guarantee on all purchases, giving buyers ample time to evaluate the software on their own layout before committing.
