Yes, I am Currently Track-less. But We're Going to Fix That.

Ever since I had to remove my last track a couple of years ago, my remaining scenery bits, track sections and, of course--cars--have been sleeping silently in the basement. As I have recently gotten back into the hobby, going through what I have on hand and buying new cars, I've considered what my options are in terms of a new track.

My original slot car track. Had a lot of fun - would be happy with this, now.

 

 

A view of my 2nd track. The Schweizering. It will live again in a more compact form.

To review, the space where I had my permanent track was "commandeered" by my wife as I continued work on our basement remodel. She wanted the 12' x 10' space in question for entertaining, with a round dining/poker table at the center and maybe a set of base cabinets on a back wall. Looking back, perhaps I was too quick to accommodate her - but there is a reason they say "Happy Wife - Happy Life." In any case, over the last few months, I considered the following:

I did not want a track in the garage. A small, portable one that I could move outside might be fun, but that wouldn't be optimal for the kind of scenery I like. Also, an unheated garage up north is a terrible place to have a track, with moisture and inevitable freeze/thaw cycles. Too much dirt, bugs, dust, etc.

It had to stow away out of sight when not in use, and be easy to set up. I don't have room for large sectional tracks, or to having something dropping out of the ceiling. I wanted it to be ready to race on in 15-20 minutes at the most.

The right size. It had to be compact enough to hide, but big enough to offer a good driving challenge and some space for scenery. And scenery complicates things, of course.

Had to be permanent or semi-permanent. While I start out with sectional track, I don't redesign layouts weekly or just set up on a tabletop. I build the track into the landscape, paint it, and copper tape the rails. 

Having sorted through these must-haves and must-nots, I settled on the following concepts:

The best place for the track was where I originally had it, in the 12' x 10' basement space. The only difference is it would have to fold up against a back wall above the base cabinets, and could not be as large as the old track.

There would be a height limit on any "permanent" scenery. Anything in the landscape can't exceed about 7" in height, or it would be crushed against the back wall. The track surface would fold into a box about 7.5" deep, located above the base cabinets. Anything above that height--like buildings, street lights, big trees, etc.--would have to be removable and dropped into place during setup.

 Lights, power, electrical connections, PC hookups, etc. would all have to be "modular." That means they could be easily plugged in-and-out, moved out of the way and generally "disappear" when not in use. My inclination here is to build a moveable cart that would accommodate all these items, with accommodating connecting jacks built into the track structure.

The last track I had was about 50' in length. The extensions along each side ran the full length of the 10' side walls. I can only use about half of that space with the new track, which will be about 35' in length overall. Still, I think it will be enough space to provide sufficient challenge and interest over the long term. I'm sure I could get more track into the space, but I resist the temptation to do that, as I think the resulting overpasses and side-by side straightaways look unnatural.

So the new track will look something like this.

At some point I will get into a more detailed discussion of my own track design philosophy. You need balance; as much as I like scenery-making, I don't think it's necessary to cram spectators, structures and other gimcracks into every square inch of the track space. Too much incoherent clutter only detracts from your race track's best features. Having some open space enhances them. Nuff said for now.