Cool score today! (Old slot car track)

[outrunm]

Originally Posted by RMVette

I remember indoor slot car tracks where you could take your car and race against others. It does show our age!

I still have one of those close to the house.

[Mike Mercury]

Cool score today! (Old slot car track)

waiting for the Parrot





"Cold sore today! (Old slut cankerous)"

[TripleBlack]

Even the very small town I grew up in had a commercial slotcar track in the 60s. I was smitten with them then and have dabbled with them off and on ever since.

In the 90s there were several tracks in my area where I raced quite a bit but enjoyed building the cars more than the racing. I scratch built the chassis for all my cars except those in classes that required a specific commercial chassis.

In the late 90s I built my own 12'x5' 3 lane track out of MDF. I routed the slots and used copper tape for the conductors. It looked crude but I didn't have room for a permanent set up so I designed it so it could be easily stored on its side in the garage. The track ran well with the 1/32 cars it was built for but was too small for the much faster 1/24 scale cars built for commercial tracks.

If I ever have a shop that's big enough, I'll build another. Some kids never grow up.
Here are a couple scanned photos of the old track. Had to tear it down when we moved as I had no place for it in the new place.

The cars in the photos aren't scratch built... There are several companies that make really nice, detailed cars for home tracks.

[BADRACR1]

Got up in the attic today to replace a cracked window and looked for the other sets I had. Darlington 500 and Riverside 500. I still have the receipt in the box for the Darlington where I bought it 8/7/75. Also located the Pit Kit with seven more cars and two shoe boxes with extra chassis and bodies, and another box with the track buildings (garage, grandstand, flag stand and a few others). I also located an unopened Sizzlers Mach 500 I bought at Target fifteen years ago that was mismarked at $10. Add these to the Carrera Go! Ferrari GT set ($50 on FB Marketplace a few months ago) and the Hot Wheels AI set ($25 at Wallyworld after Christmas last year) and I have a total of six complete tracks including the old four lane I just bought and a box with enough pieces for another track. After we move I plan to mount several on fold down boards in the garage and introduce the grandchildren to slot car racing!

[BADRACR1]

I also found the train set in an old metal bread box.