Part 1 - The Decision About Scale
Anyone who knows me, or has heard me talk on the subject, knows how much I admire people who open commercial slot car tracks. I personally have never had the available cash nor the dedication to open one. I understand all the problems that exist with running one as I have pondered the idea for many years. It is a task that seldom makes any money and usually is not truly appreciated by the people who race there. The reason it is not appreciated is probably because most people who race have a different idea about how the track should be run. I have been at odds this way with every track owner locally for many years. No matter what my feelings or opinions are, I always respect the owners' right to run his track the way HE feels it should be run. It was his money put up after all and he is there every time the doors open and not me.
I have finally decided to make the investment in a track at my home. I say investment, but I am not especially talking about money. I am more talking about my time, labor, and the sacrifice of space which I so cherish and prize. I have built a home track before but it was not what I really wanted. This time I am going to the expense, time and labor to build what I want. What I would truly like is a warehouse in my backyard with a Blue King in it, but that is not going to happen. What is realistic is a track in my storage building in my backyard. This building is 10'x20' and I can afford to donate a little more than a quarter of that space to a track. I figure the space I could afford for the footprint of the track would be about
5x10 1/2'. The next decision, of many, is what kind of track to build.
55 square feet is just not enough to allow for a 1/24 scale track of any real substance. I guess you could build a figure 8 in that space if you used really slow cars. That would not be satisfying for long and I would want to rebuild quickly just like my last effort.
A small 1/32 scale track could be put up in that limited amount of space. I have very little experience with 1/32 scale other than Womp Womps which I have run at commercial 1/24 scale raceways. This space would not be appropriate for Womps as they would not be able to utilize their speed. The modern 1/32 scale cars use magnets for traction. My experience with magnets goes back to an HO scale track I bought for my kids and a commercial raceway in San Antonio, TX. In San Antonio, I met one of the smartest and best track owners I have ever met, Jim Honeycutt. Jim is a very bright man with a great vision. At this raceway he featured steel braid and used magnets on his rental cars. He also had magnets for sale and had racing with magnet traction 1/24 scale cars. This was not very appealing to me though. As for how it works with 1/32, I can only figure it works well as it is popular and prominent in that scale. So, 1/32 is a possibility.
The track I built almost 3 years ago was a 1/43 scale track. I only had room for a 4x8 table in a spare room so I decided to try this scale. The reasons I decided to go with this scale was the limited space and the price. These tracks and cars are the most inexpensive of all the scales. I set up a nice track layout using SCX plastic track and flush mounted it using project boards so there was no need for guard rails. In effect, I had borders completely around the track. I also used project board along the border walls to make a soft wall. I even went as far as to wire the track for a 12v battery. Anyone who saw the track thought the wiring set up was pretty neat. So, the result was nice table, nice layout, flush mounted, good power, fun for about a month. I was too limited and I did not like how the cars responded. Even 1/43 scale needed more than 4/8' to run on.
Combine the results of 1/43 not having enough space with 1/32 needing even more space and the only conclusion I could come up with was HO would be the appropriate scale for my situation. To be honest, this kind of stuck in my throat a little. My opinion of HO has never been very high. However, there would be enough room to build a decent HO layout. Plus, I have always wanted to have a 4 lane track. Looking at possible layouts I believe I could still get a fun layout in the amount of space I have even if I went with 4 lane. It would have to be a pretty simple layout, but I would rather have a simple layout that is race-able than a busy layout that is not. You can actually get a 35' long track on this size space without too much difficulty.
So, the decision has been made. I will build a 4 lane HO track using a 5'x10 1/.2' platform. I will use the best track I can get and put the work into it to make it the best racing surface possible. Since the building techniques I plan to use will not allow the track to be taken apart again I must be sure of the layout I am putting up. Much thought will have to go into this process.
Final note....since making this decision I have been doing a lot of research into HO scale racing. It is amazing what this scale has grown into. What I am seeing leads me to believe organized racing in this scale around the nation dwarfs what is happening in 1/24 scale. I am truly excited about my decision! Be watching for Building A Home Track (part 2) - Deciding On The Layout.
Building Thunder Cave Raceway
Part 2 - Designing The Track
When you build a plastic track, part of the benefit is you can reshape the track from time to time. The track I am building, while it is plastic, will not be afforded such luxury. Once this track is put together you will have to destroy it to take it apart, but more on that later. So, the design is the most important phase of this build since I cannot change it later. The utmost care and consideration has to go into planning it.
My attitude toward HO was I will probably be most interested in T-Jets which do not have magnets for traction. I then saw how far along the magnet cars have come and all the advancements that have taken place around the HO cars. No longer does changing out the rear tires and pick-up shoes constitute hopping a car up. Today you can change your arms, magnets, front ends, hubs, gears, and even the chassis on these little cars. I have seen videos of these cars on the tracks and the people are actually controlling them in the turns. I had heard about the "Fray" cars, but had no idea of the extent they could be modified. Then what really turned the world around for me was seeing a picture of a "Gravity" class car. If you didn't have something for size comparison in a picture they more compare to a 1/24 pan car than a T-Jet. I was amazed and wanted one and a track to race it on. In fact, my mind was open to a lot of possibilities including magnet traction cars. So, my mind set sail on the possibilities.
I thought to myself, "Self, what if.....no, that's ridiculous. You could never do that. Could you?" All my life I have been told what I couldn't do and have defied people and logic by accomplishing things people said I couldn't do. Why not try? "Try what?" you say. My favorite track of all time has been the Blue King. Why, even Elvis had a Blue King in Graceland, that is how cool they are. Of course, I couldn't build a full size King or even a true scaled down King. I might be able to build a 4 lane reduction of one if I didn't try to have the long straight longer than my allowed space. I am not about to try to route one and still would have to use plastic track to accomplish this. So accomplishing this is dependent upon the radius of the banked turn and the degrees of a circle the turns come in. I mean, if you make a King without the bank turn, really, you have an American Black. Also, the banked turn has to pinch in towards the straight to set up the dead man turn and the finger.
OK, my first track purchase came in. It is a Tomy Super International set. I know I will ultimately need more track than this, especially since I am planning a 5'x10' table. The first thing I did was to put together a few turns and straights to get the feel of how a "mini King" would shape out using plastic track. Big problem! The curves come in 1/4 turn and 1/8 turn segments but not 1/16 turn segments. On a King the big banked turn at the end of the long straight is more than 180 degrees. It actually pulls back in towards the main straight to set up the finger section of the track. With the sections available you could either make a 180 degree turn or a 205 degree turn. If you used a 180 degree turn then the finger would be not much more than a "nub". I would not be happy with this at all. If you go with a 205 degree turn, the straight that follows the bank turn would have to be very short to prevent running into the main straight (too much pinch back). The reason the bank turn works on a King is you carry your main straight speed through the turn and carry it part way down the short straight before having to back off. With the 225 degree turn, since the largest radius banked curve I can find is 12", you would have to be backing off by the time you cleared the bank turn. The bank turn would do nothing for the straight to follow. Not a good start.
I talked with a representative from HOPRA about the idea of using a bank turn and was informed of some drawbacks. One serious drawback is the corner marshaling in a bank is more difficult. I was also cautioned about the problems that can occur with over and under sections. The corner marshaling in these situations can be difficult also. Since I want to use this track for personal use these would not be that serious. But, since I also plan on having friends over to race, it does make a difference. Result of my trial and error, plus what I have been advised.... the King has left the building! I will not be building a King even though I think it would be fun.
This left me exploring other layouts. To be honest, I like the ones that were suggested with the Super International set. I like the idea of a replica of a real track. One problem here is space as most of these tracks require more space than I am willing to dedicate to it. The other problem is, what may work for real F1 cars will not especially be as good for slot cars. I just see too many other more race-able layouts than these. One website I have been going to that has really sparked my interest is www.hoslotcarracing.com. I have looked at two layouts I especially like and they both fit on a 4'x8' table. They are the Ravinia 35 and the Whitefish Bay 33 layouts. I laid out a two lane version of both of these tracks seeing what they actually looked like. I have to admit I like both of them. However, I think my choice would be a hybrid of the two. With the limited amount of track pieces I have at the moment I could not get the modified layout to work out exactly right. It will be possible with a bunch more pieces though.
So, I will be making a "Ravinia Fish" layout. It should be about 35' in length and it will fit comfortably on a 4'x8' table, which I just happen to already have, which currently holds a 1/43 scale track. It will just be a matter of removing the legs, moving the table out of the house into my building and then installing new legs which will have lockable casters on the bottoms. This will enable me to have the track positioned against the wall when not in use or only being used by me. And when I have people over to race, the track can be pulled out and locked into place.
As I mentioned, this track will be permanent. The power supply will probably be two 0-30v 10 amp supplies. The lap counting system will be photocell set up with a dedicated laptop. The track will be insulated from the table with deadening material. The joints will be glued together to make sure they are rock solid. The rail joints will be soldered together to make sure the current flows good. The gaps between the side by side track sections will be filled with plastic compound then sanded smooth. The entire track will be sanded and will receive a new painted racing surface. Lane color strips will be used. The walls around the table will utilize cushioning as will any walls used in the interior of the table. Lots of work to go. As I progress, and this will take months to complete, I will be sure to post photos.
One final note for the day. It seems HOPRA is not aware of any organized racing clubs or circuits in the Mississippi area. The closest to central Mississippi seems to be somewhere in Tennessee. If you are racing HO cars in the deep south or are interested in it, let me know at slotsnewmonthly@gmail.com.
Building A Home Track - part 1
My original thoughts were to build a track on a 8'x4' platform. The track would be a four lane track, counter sunk into a sheet of some type of material so it would not need fences around the curves, nor borders. The track would be made from a sectional plastic track of some brand. The joining connections would be soldered for positive electrical flow and the gaps between lanes would be filled. In other words, it was going to be a pretty serious effort. As I learned more about HO scale and HO tracks my thoughts went toward making a replica of an old-fashioned quarter mile dirt track. Having gone to a lot of dirt track races in the 1950s and 1960s I was really interested in building a landscaped track to represent memories from my childhood.
This was really my intention until I made a trip to Alabama. In the Huntsville area I visited the tracks of North Alabama Slotcar Association (N.A.S.A.). Viewing the N.A.S.A. tracks I started to see just how good a well-made HO road course could be. You have to understand these tracks were all larger than anything I had considered and a lot more professional in the build. I was going to be satisfied with about a 25' track, but these tracks I was looking at were 40'-50' in length. All of a sudden I was considering, "Could I manage a larger platform?" To make matters worse Kevin Riggs, owner of Rivertown Roadcourse, gave me the original sectional track he had that his new track was modeled after.
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| Current Rivertown Roadcourse, |
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| Original Rivertown Roadcourse |
The current Rivertown Roadcourse is a professionally routed track. I believe it is sitting on a 4'x12' platform and has about 40' of four lane racing action.
The original Rivertown Roadcourse was not as sophisticated as the new
version, but it had the same essential qualities except it appears to
have been on a longer table plus maybe 8-10 more feet of track length.
To make things worse, while my wife was looking at the Alabama tracks
she suggested we put one in our living room instead of our building in
the back yard. So, we traveled back to Mississippi with about 50' of
four lane track still in sections of 5'-8' in length stuffed in our
little Nissan Sentra.
Now, the plan of a dirt track replica was on the back burner. After
measuring the area we were going to use, I discovered there was no way
to build the entire track and still be able to bring groceries in
through our front door. The track would have to be shortened. I could
build a shorter version on a 4x8 table or I could build a 4x11 version
on a platform that would pivot up out of the way. I did a lot of
studying on this option and came up with a design of a table which would
be on a strong platform connected to a table frame by 4 door hinges.
To make lifting the top up out of the way easier, it would have counter
weights to assist in the lifting. This would allow a very respectable
version of the original track and would allow me not to go hungry for a
lack of groceries. As the old saying goes about the best laid plans, I
started having some doubts due to what I wanted to accomplish and the
size of the project. Decision.....start smaller and learn more about
what I am doing before I build a remake of the original Rivertown
Roadcourse.
I already had a Tomy Super International set on hand so I decided to use
it as a starter track to learn from before I take on the larger
project. Today I begin in earnest on my smaller track build. There
seem to be several people in the central Mississippi area waiting for me
to build this track so we can do a little racing. There are others who
are considering building a track of their own once I get mine built. I
am not holding my breath about this as desires often change. But, the
ball has to start bouncing somewhere, so I guess it will start at my
house. It may be a ball that bounces down the road to other houses or
it may just bounce up and down in my living room. I did some
experimenting with layouts in my "out" building (dubbed the "Out House")
and came up with a layout I thought I would enjoy driving on. After
all, I am the one who will be running on it the most so it should be
what I want, especially with the work I am going to put into it.
This layout is four lanes with an average lane length of a little over 23'. It features a 225 degree curve (on the far end) that starts with one radius, increases, then decreases to original entry radius. This is followed by a 180 degree turn in the opposite direction. The turn leading onto the longest straight is an increasing radius turn making it the widest turn on the track. To make it a little more interesting, 5 of the 6 straight areas are different lengths.
With no overpass there is no way to have the lanes equal length.
However, this design achieves an unusual aspect. Counting the most
inside lane as lane 1 and the outermost as lane 4 the lanes are the
following lengths:
lane 1 - 21.07'
lane 2 - 23.63'
lane 3 - 22.65'
lane 4 - 25.20'
This means the outside lane of the inner track is actually 1 foot longer than the inside lane of the outer track. No, it is not equal in lane lengths but if you race using lane rotations the lanes are evened out. Eventually this track will be using photo cell timing and either H.O.P.R.A. or Trakmate software connected to a dedicated computer.
More information about the build and pictures will follow in more posts to come.
In the previous post I had created a small layout design I could work on
to prepare myself for my larger build. The track would be a 23' four
lane HO track on a 4'x8' table. My desire was to have a counter sunk
track in a table. I laid the track out on a thin sheet of plywood to
trace the pattern for cutting out. The plan here is to cut out the path
of the track, place it on a table then put the track in the cut out
area. This will give me the counter sunk track I wanted. With this set
up I will not need curve rails or borders. I used this technique on a
1/43 scale track I previously built and it worked out fine.
There was a problem which I had been warned about but was not really prepared for. I had read, in setting up a 4 lane track, there would be gaps between the inside and outside tracks in the curves. I figured this would not be that big of a deal, as it wasn't a factor in building the 1/43 track. Was I surprised though at how much of a gap there is between the side by side track sections. The 9" radius curves should have fit neatly inside the 12" radius curves. They do fit neatly when just one section is set next to another. But when you string together curves and straights, you find they do not fit so neatly anymore.
This picture does not really do justice to the gap size. There are pieces of paper between the lanes spacing it out. The paper is printer paper folded to a thickness of 8 layers thick and it still had looseness to the fit. Why did I put pieces of paper between the sections instead of just pushing them together you may ask? You can try to push them together but it will spread elsewhere. If you do not do something to even the gap out, the gaps will be small in some places and REALLY large in other places.
I centered the track on the sheet of plywood. Then I went all the way around the track placing these spacing sheets between each section to get some type of consistency. The white spots on the track are the paper spacers. I can tell that once the track is complete I will definitely need to fill the gaps with putty or bondo, then sand and paint the track to make a decent racing surface.
Once the track was centered and spaced I took my trusty lumber marking pencil and traced the outline of the track. I now think back to when I was a kid and had coloring books. I'm sure you probably did at some point also. The problem was, I never was very good at keeping the colors inside the lines. The entire time I was using my jig saw to cut out the pattern I was thinking of this. I tried my best to stay just inside the cut line so I could sand the pattern for a perfect fit. Eventually I realized I would be using some kind of filler between the tracks and I could use the same stuff to take care of any mistakes I made. I still did my best, but I no longer fretted over the least little mistake.
The difficult part was having to arrange the sheet where I could cut and give it the support it needed while I was cutting. You will notice the small strip along the longest straight. The whole time I was worried the sheet would lose support as I moved the cutting area around my make-shift table and this strip would break. After all, it is only 1/4' thick. I think the cut-out process went pretty well once it was all done. You will notice on the previous picture terminal sections were included. However, on the cut-out pattern the terminal sections are not represented. This is because I plan on wiring for connecting post and then use controllers with alligator clips.
For anyone thinking about building a four lane HO track I will say this: I had read over and over again about how the Tomy track is the best out there. Looking at the Aurora track Kevin Riggs gave me (see part-1) I cannot imagine anyone wanting to build out of Tomy if they can find the Aurora track needed. The Aurora track fits together with no noticeable gap at all. In fact, I do not expect to need filler on the Aurora track at all. So, do I recommend the Tomy track? If you are building a two lane track, definitely. It has more track lengths and curve radius options than any other HO track I have found. But, if you are building a four lane track, I would spend the time to find the old Aurora Model Motoring track. I think it will be a much better racing surface.
Next, I have to take apart my old 1/43 track, disassemble the table, and rebuild for the purpose of the HO track. Be watching for the table assembly and wiring to come in future parts.
Building A Home Track - part 2
There was a problem which I had been warned about but was not really prepared for. I had read, in setting up a 4 lane track, there would be gaps between the inside and outside tracks in the curves. I figured this would not be that big of a deal, as it wasn't a factor in building the 1/43 track. Was I surprised though at how much of a gap there is between the side by side track sections. The 9" radius curves should have fit neatly inside the 12" radius curves. They do fit neatly when just one section is set next to another. But when you string together curves and straights, you find they do not fit so neatly anymore.
This picture does not really do justice to the gap size. There are pieces of paper between the lanes spacing it out. The paper is printer paper folded to a thickness of 8 layers thick and it still had looseness to the fit. Why did I put pieces of paper between the sections instead of just pushing them together you may ask? You can try to push them together but it will spread elsewhere. If you do not do something to even the gap out, the gaps will be small in some places and REALLY large in other places.
I centered the track on the sheet of plywood. Then I went all the way around the track placing these spacing sheets between each section to get some type of consistency. The white spots on the track are the paper spacers. I can tell that once the track is complete I will definitely need to fill the gaps with putty or bondo, then sand and paint the track to make a decent racing surface.
Once the track was centered and spaced I took my trusty lumber marking pencil and traced the outline of the track. I now think back to when I was a kid and had coloring books. I'm sure you probably did at some point also. The problem was, I never was very good at keeping the colors inside the lines. The entire time I was using my jig saw to cut out the pattern I was thinking of this. I tried my best to stay just inside the cut line so I could sand the pattern for a perfect fit. Eventually I realized I would be using some kind of filler between the tracks and I could use the same stuff to take care of any mistakes I made. I still did my best, but I no longer fretted over the least little mistake.
The difficult part was having to arrange the sheet where I could cut and give it the support it needed while I was cutting. You will notice the small strip along the longest straight. The whole time I was worried the sheet would lose support as I moved the cutting area around my make-shift table and this strip would break. After all, it is only 1/4' thick. I think the cut-out process went pretty well once it was all done. You will notice on the previous picture terminal sections were included. However, on the cut-out pattern the terminal sections are not represented. This is because I plan on wiring for connecting post and then use controllers with alligator clips.
For anyone thinking about building a four lane HO track I will say this: I had read over and over again about how the Tomy track is the best out there. Looking at the Aurora track Kevin Riggs gave me (see part-1) I cannot imagine anyone wanting to build out of Tomy if they can find the Aurora track needed. The Aurora track fits together with no noticeable gap at all. In fact, I do not expect to need filler on the Aurora track at all. So, do I recommend the Tomy track? If you are building a two lane track, definitely. It has more track lengths and curve radius options than any other HO track I have found. But, if you are building a four lane track, I would spend the time to find the old Aurora Model Motoring track. I think it will be a much better racing surface.
Next, I have to take apart my old 1/43 track, disassemble the table, and rebuild for the purpose of the HO track. Be watching for the table assembly and wiring to come in future parts.
Building A Home Track - part 3
I had forgotten how well built that table was! I can't even begin to count how many wood screws I had to remove to remove the top from the table base. Once I did get all the screws out I quickly came to understand I was not going to move the table top around without help. The table top was made out of a 1/2" sheet of plywood. Under the table were 2x4s going around the table to attach to the table frame legs. The table top also had several 2x4s running across underneath. Around the top of the edge of the table top were 2x2 rails to act as a wall to prevent cars from falling off the table. A facing board made from a 1x6 was across the front of the table to clean up the appearance. I managed to move the table top and then the frame to the living room, then the real work began. I had built the table top after building the frame and legs for the table. That meant the table top was precisely built to fit the legs very tightly; so tight I couldn't get the table top to fit down on the legs. After much fussing and fuming I decided the only way I could get the top on the frame was to loosen the screws holding the legs on the frame. This allowed for some movement and I was able to reassemble the table.
You can't tell it looking at this picture, but the underside of the table is strong enough I could jump up and down on it. The front of the table only shows 2 legs, but the back actually has three legs with 2x4s strengthening the legs on three sides. This was set up this way to allow storage under the table. The height is a little lower than I would like as there is too much bending over to replace deslotted cars.
After assembling the table I put rubber mats on the table to serve as a sound deadening agent.
The thin sheet of plywood I cut the track path into to create a counter sunk track was actually a little too thin to match up to the track. To correct this I cut out rubber to fit the thin plywood and glued it to the bottom of the plywood. This made the combined thickness fit the track height almost perfect... I placed the outer part of the plywood on the table first. Next, I put the sectional track together and fit it into the cut out. With the track on the table I put the inner part on the table. The fit was tight and I was happy so far. I went around the table using wood screws from the top to attach the top plywood to the table and to secure everything. This also pulled the plywood down next to the edge of the track. All together there were about 60 screws holding the cut out plywood to the table. Next I attached the side rails to the table top to prevent cars from coming off the table.
With the track in place I checked the wires being plugged into the terminal sections to see if the side rails would fit okay. The first problem occurred here for the rail in the front part of the track to fit the wires would have to be jammed really hard. I was worried about this breaking the wires so I put the rails on three sides of the track. This will be corrected when I wire up the driver panels. Also, the rails around the table will have to be replaced as they do not conform with H.O.P.R.A. rules as they are only 1 3/4" tall. Mind you, I do not plan on trying to have a H.O.P.R.A. sanctioned race, but I would like to have it compliant anyway.
Here you will see the track with the power packs and controllers hooked up. You will also see the rails I talked about on three sides of the table.
I plugged the power packs up and was ready to run the cars for the first actual test. I tried each lane and each car, but nothing happened. The cars wouldn't budge. I nudged them forward and still no movement. I knew the track had been sitting up for a long time. In fact, this track had never been run on at all and it was from an old Tomy Super International set; the set with the Super G cars instead of the Mega G cars. This set even had the old power packs and not the Tri-Power packs Tomy has today. Knowing how oxidation occurs on these rails I pulled out some fine grit sandpaper and went to work. Slowly I saw some movement come into the cars. After a while the cars could actually make it all the way around the track. They weren't very fast, but they did move. The longer I ran the cars on the track the better the performance became. Ultimately, by the end of Christmas day the cars were running pretty good and the track was performing almost without hitch. Previously, I had besmirched Tomy for their tracks not fitting together very well. Actually, once the entire track was fully assembled and in the cut out path, the gaps between sections were not nearly so defined. I still think the Aurora track fits better but the Tomy is not bad. The performance of these cars has also shown me a 23' track is a little too short for my taste. I was doing this track as a learning project before I build a larger track and I believe the longer track will be much more satisfying.
Next up is mounting locking casters onto the legs so I don't have to worry about damaging the legs moving the track away from the wall. After that, I will concentrate on wiring up the drivers panel and the variable power supply I will be using. Down the line, I will be doing the following to this track; drill holes in the table under the track to run wires for two extra power taps, drill hole in table under track where I will mount a photo cell timing device, attach the track to the plywood, fill the gaps between the track and plywood anywhere needed, paint the table top and the track surface, stripe the lanes. I will be writing more about this as I do these projects. Ultimately, this track will be used as a portable track for car shows or other events where racing can be promoted.
Building A Home Track - part 4
Because I did not have any extra straight sections I decided to modify the power terminal sections. I took my trusty Dremel tool and cut off the power tabs of the sections. I then went under the terminal sections and soldered wire to the tabs which were already running to the power rails. The ground was a shared connection on each section making the right lane and left lane grounds connected. Since I wanted to have a three wire set up on the drivers panel to allow brakes, I cut the piece that connected the two ground rails and wired each one up separately.
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| The wire here was soldered in place then hot glued to the track. |
Now that the power sections were wired I need somewhere for the wire to go to. So, I made some drivers panels. To avoid buying them over the internet, I went to my local hardware store and asked them if they had plexiglass. They did and they would even cut it for me. The price was only $0.03 per square inch. Since my drivers panels would only be 3" X 6" the price was only 54 cents each. I bought the appropriate nuts, bolts, washers, and lock nuts while I was there. Total price to build my 4 drivers panels was less than $10. At home I drilled the appropriate holes in the panels and put the bolts on as well. I put a 1" X 4" board across the drivers area of the table so I would have somewhere to attach the panels. I cut holes in the board behind where the post were for the drivers panels to allow wire to pass through.
The power supply I decided to use, once again because it was what I had on hand, was a Gophert variable power supply. This is only a temporary power supply because it only goes up to 16 volts. It may not be up to H.O.P.R.A. standards, but it will do for a start. I ran the power and ground wires from the power supply to each of the drivers stations. From the drivers stations I ran the wiring to the wired track sections. Now the two wire track sections are three wire sections and are capable of brakes. How important this is in HO cars I don't know, but I have it if I need it. A note for wiring my next track.....I will measure and cut each wire for its desired distance plus about 12". Why you may ask? I spent a long time on my back under the track with a hot glue gun making sure the wires were not hanging down in the way. Oh, it looks neat now from the front and over the track. It is very clean looking, but under the table there is wire everywhere!!!
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| You will notice the drivers panels on the front of the table. |
On New Years Eve I only had T-Jets and have since acquired some Tyco Magnum 440 and 440x2 cars. These cars really showed me the need to have walls separating turn sections to prevent desloted cars from landing on another part of the track. The T-Jets were not fast enough to make this a real concern, at least not at 16 volts. The Tycos are a different story. To be honest the Tycos are really too fast to run on this track. There simply is not enough room for them to stretch their legs. However, since I have a terminal case of stupid and will run them on it anyway, I decided walls were needed. I am currently working on these walls. They will be made out of foam project board strips with pins running through them and into the table. The idea is the walls will be strong enough to be functional, but will also be removable. Why I would want to remove them I don't know, but it is kind of like the brake issue. If I want it, I have it.
Happy New Year
I would like to thank the following people for making my New Years Eve a very special one. I would like to thank Chuck Hendricks, Bobby Shivers, and Terry Jensen. These three men journeyed out to come to my house and play on my new track. You might say it was the tracks Christening. Mind you, the track is not complete yet, but it is in running conditioning. Still to come is installation of a lap counting system with computer program, firmly attaching the track to the table surface, soldering connections, filling in gaps with putty, sanding, painting track and table, and installing lane striping tape. All of these will be done in steps and in that order. You can read about that process by clicking on Building A Home Track.
The evening began with my guests arriving and being very complimentary of my track. I then took them on a tour of how it was constructed and what my plans were.
Terry Jensen, a great competitor in 1/24 scale and winner of what may have been the first, even though it was unofficial, race on my track.
Bobby Shivers, whose picture can also be seen on the wall of the U.S. Post Office, is a top competitor at Charlie's Garage. He is constantly one of the top contenders if his car doesn't break or the motor doesn't get fried.
Chuck Hendricks, currently the hottest trigger at the local track and a contender at Dungeon Raceway.
The cars we were running are ones that were built by Kevin Riggs out of Huntsville, AL. Kevin does an awesome job working on cars. You would never have known these cars were about 45 to 50 years old.
I would also like to thank Terry for bringing a gift. He brought me seven, almost complete, cars to work on. This will help me learn more about HO in that they all need work. Tires are a given and most of the other work is centered around the pick-up shoes and springs. A couple of the cars actually ran a little. At least the motors turned; that is not to say they could run on the track. He brought 2 AFX, 1 Tomy Super G, and 4 Tyco cars. Plus several extra bodies which was really nice as the value of bodies is probably more than the cars he brought.
All in all, we had a great time and found some issues with the track that needed to be worked on as well. Then we all had some red beans and rice with sausage, maybe next time we can have some Jambalaya. Once again, thanks to the guys for coming down and running on my track. Thanks to my wife who has helped me more than I can tell working on the track, plus allowing me to set it up in an area of our living room. I have the best wife ever!!! Most of all, thanks to Jesus Christ who has blessed me so richly!
Happy New Year everyone!!
Building A Home Track - part 5
Once my nails were in place I carefully slid the foam board strips down over the exposed nails. The nails were cut off short enough they did not protrude above the foam. Once in place the foam boards made an excellent wall that would not damage the cars upon impact.
This work stoppage did not last long. I got a new power supply in for the track. A TekPower linear regulated power supply providing 0-30 volts/0-20 amps. The wiring in of this unit went smooth and the power was good. Next I got in a Viasue lap counting system. This is a photo cell operation and was also easy to install. Viasue claims it is a plug and play unit and it pretty much is. The only the you have to do is splice the appropriate device into your track power cable. I opted to only have the track power to be cut off to every lane as opposed to individual lane shut downs so the wiring was very easy. Because I am a tightwad and wanted to save some money I bought the kit version of the Viasue instead of having it delivered with the photo cells already installed into a track section. The mounting of the photo cells in my existing track was easy enough. It only required drilling a hole in each lane between the slot and the power rail then using hot glue under the track to hold the photo cells in place. It worked perfectly with the first attempt. The software (Race Coordinator) for my computer came as part of the package and was easy to install.
Now that my track had good power, a computer lap counting system, and race program you might think it was time for me to enjoy it instead of working on it. No.....not me. I decided it was time to attache the track to the board since I had my lap counting system in. On one popular web site they say you can use nails or screws and give instructions for this. I used a scrap section of track to experiment on and quickly decided the nail option was not really an option. The nailing process just wouldn't work out for me. I bought a counter sinking tool to be able to counter sink the small screws into the track. This went well and after a few hours of work it was ready to install the screws. The next day I started installing the screws avoiding electric screw drivers fearing driving the screws in too hard. It took a while but I finally got them all in. The track was now ready to test and enjoy. I was finally through with my track build.
Before running on the track a visual inspection showed possible problems. Some of the connections joints were not exactly smooth. In fact some of them were ridiculously bad. Remember I had put some rubber under the track for sound deadening? Well, these rubber mats compressed as the screws went in and they did not compress evenly. Sob. There was more work to do. I started trying to smooth these joints by sanding on them. Before long I realized I would need to use my Dremel tool to take away some of the plastic that was now sticking up in some of the joints. After grinding down the offending joints I came back with sand paper to smooth it the best I could. This helped a lot. But, I still was not satisfied.
I ultimately decided to use some flexible putty to smooth out some of the rough and still uneven places. This would also give me the opportunity to fill in some of the gaps in the joints and between the track and the flush mounted board. The process of using the filler putty and sanding it smooth took a week. After doing this the track showed a lot of improvement and ran a lot smoother. In fact the click clack noise of the cars going from one section to the next was almost gone. This putty made the track look really ugly though and I knew I would have to go ahead and paint the track.
After looking at a lot of post about painting a plastic track I decided on River Rock paint. This is a paint that has fine grit in the paint and would give better traction. However, paint does not really want to stick to plastic so I had to find out how to make it stick. My research led me to a scientist that painted pvc pipes with latex paint successfully. He explained how the plastic could be sanded, treated, or heated. According to his research heating the plastic is the best way. I will not get involved in all the details here because I don't want someone to melt their track and then blame me. It involves what he refereed to as "wetting" the plastic. In this process you heat the track until the wax on the surface is burned off. Somehow it changes the molecular structure of the plastic to accept the paint. I started by scuffing the track with a Scotch Brite Pad. Then I bought a hand held mini torch to heat the track very carefully. On a test section I found out you could actually cause the slot to droop and distort if heated too much. After heating the track the next day I started painting the track. I was very careful in this process not to get paint in the slots. This process took a couple days.
After the paint was thoroughly dry I installed the lane striping.
Am I through with the track? Not yet, there are more adjustments to be made. Has it been a lot of work? Yes, but it was a lot of fun and the track is better than it was when I started. I have come to realize though that the track will always be a plastic sectional track and will never be as good as a one piece routed track with continuous rails. It is an incredible plastic track though. I have really enjoyed building it and have learned a lot for when I build my next one which will be much longer. The next post will be a recap of what I did wrong and what I did right.
Thunder Cave Raceway Kicks Off
Top Qualifier - Tim Hendricks
1st Place - Terry Jensen
2nd Place - Tim Hendricks
3rd Place - Chuck Hendricks
In the following race we referred to as a Melee Race used a variety of magnet traction cars. The preferred cars seemed to be Tyco Magnum 440 X 2 and Life Like M chassis cars. The Melee name was aptly placed on the race as it was truly a melee. The magnet cars did not get along with the 23' road course very well. In the future it is doubtful these cars will be used again unless a longer track is built.
Melee Race Results
Top Qualifier - Chuck Hendricks
1st Place - Chuck Hendricks
2nd Place - Jonathan Hendricks
3rd Place - Terry Jensen
While there were only 5 people racing at this race there seems to optimism for future races. 5 people racing and three having the same last name may not seem like many racers, but it is a start. Those participating were,
Tim Hendricks
Terry Jensen
Chuck Hendricks
Randy Auwater
Jonathan Hendricks
Phil Rodgers (computer operations and corner marshal)
Plans are already being made for future races.
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