Atomic Systems

I've had this sim languishing on my computer for a few months whilst playing with MSTS, but for some reason it's now occurred to me to lay some track. My questions is, how do I do this relatively easily? There doesn't seem to be anything within the manuals, or around the net apart from some youtube videos in varying definition, and a few other snippets.

Whenever I lay some track, it is almost impossible to keep it straight. Is there a trick to do this? Also, how do I achieve smooth gradient transitions? The 1 in x thing relies on you knowing exactly what is what. Is there an easier way to do this?

Of course, these exercises will probably uncover another forty or fifty or so potential follow up questions, but that's all for now

There is a lot of video tutorials: http://www.youtube.com/user/RailSimulatorDotCom#p/p
I hope this a first help.
Good Luck
Stefan

To lay straight track, hold down the Ctrl key while laying track with the mouse, the white box showing the track position turns yellow when it is straight.