After developing the trackplan in XTRKCAD, I printed it out in 1:1 scale using a plotter printer on long rolls of paper to avoid having to stitch it together over multiple sheets. Using a dedicated CAD/CAM program ensures that everything will fit correctly and allows you to better visualize relationships between objects, including roads and structures.
By: James McNab

The printed plan is then cut along benchwork lines and secured to the foam roadbed at "strategic" points. I'm using roofing nails to hold the paper in place.
By: James McNab

Once secured, the track centerline is punched through to the roadbed. Any pointed object will work, such as a awl or an ice pick. I'm using another roofing nail since I had them on hand.
By: James McNab

For tangent track you can get by with a hole every few inches or so, but for curves, easements and turnouts I lay out a near continuous line of punches. The more you do the more accurate the next step.
By: James McNab

Now it's simply a matter of connecting the dots. The near continuous punches for curves make for hyper-accurate marks on the roadbed. It's also easy to mark where the track transitions from tangent to easement to fixed radius points.
By: James McNab

For tangent lines, a straight-edge makes the process even quicker.
By: James McNab

Using this method it's even easy to transfer roads, structures and other elements to the roadbed to ensure accuracy.
By: James McNab