Jimmy's Northline Raceway
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Jimmy's Responses to
Questions Follow Bellow : Link - Ask
a Question (not already in responses)
Most
recently asked questions are at the top of this list
Overall
discussion of A/C power system used by Jimmy : link
Diagram
to add diode into car wiring : pdf
Bill's
question: How tall do you make your guardrails and walls? Response
from Jimmy : First know that 3/8" = 1 foot in 1/32
scale. The top of one Armco guard rail is no less than 24" up
from the ground (3/4"). The steel rail heights themselves are
12" (3/8") tall. Double barriers have two rails touching each
other in between, or have a 2" (1/8") space. Guard rails are 14
ft long with 3 places to secure posts. End posts are inset to produce a 1
1/2' overlap of the guardrail. Posts are 6" dia. cement filled pipe
(3/16), or 6"X 6" wood post or I-beams (3/16). A wall on track
is 32"(1") tall to 36" (11/8") high for corner workers, or
40" tall (1 1/4") for spectators. The walls are min 1' thick
(3/8") at impact points of the circuit and about 8" (1/4") thick
at non impact areas. Track side banners are 30 to 32" tall so you can
get an idea of the wall heights in ref photos. Note that big outside walls
at Daytona and other oval banked tracks have walls 5' to 6' tall. That's
about (1 7/8" to 2") tall in 1/32. I was torn with what to use
as a height for my concrete walls because I did not want cars hidden, so I used
the 1" tall in areas where the wall would block a view. and 1
1/8" elsewhere. I cut poster board to the height I wanted, plus
1/2" for track thickness. I glued and stapled the first strip to the
1/2 thick particle board track edge leaving the correct height standing
vertically above the track surface. Then I glued on more strips of poster
board onto that first strip until I got to the correct thickness for the
wall. Work toward to outside to keep from reducing the distance to the
slot. I used clothes pins to keep them together until the glue
dried. I stippled the backs of business cards with soft splotches of light
gray, white and tan paint, then flicked black specks of thinned paint on it with
a tooth brush. Each card must be cut the appropriate wall height. I
glued these business cards, no two alike, to the outside of the walls.
They are the right length and the joint between gives the illusion of an
expansion joint. No messy painting on the track itself. It's mostly
all done on the bench. Next day I capped the top of the wall with a layer
of spackling compound used to patch walls prior to painting. About 10
hours later I used 250 paper and sanded a radii into the painted business card
at the wall tops to smooth the spackling into the wall. Puff the tiniest amount
of black chalk dust on the top of the wall and streak downward with a small
paint brush to weather it. Finish with a coat of Testors Dull Coat.
Question
: Just how smooth do the slots have to be after routing? Are imperfections
tolerable by the cars, or should every wiggle/imperfection in the slot be sanded
smooth? Response
from Jimmy : I carefully free hand routed the slots in
Northline Raceway, so I had many jogs to fill, but most guys are now using Luf
Linkert's flexible guide system : www.oldslotracer.com
Nothings perfect so you still will need to sand the slots smooth and straighten
some severe jogs in the slot that can cause the shoe to catch. The secret
to routing free hand is the fact that sanding the slot afterward gives you a
smooth surface regardless of slight jogs. A jog of 1/32" disappears
quickly. 1/16" may have to be filled I used a piece of plexy plastic
less than 1/16 thick, that could flex to do turns wrapped in 100 grit paper to
start. Wear gloves, or by the 2nd lane you will stain your track with
blood. No need to follow up any finer. To repair bad jogs, first
sand smooth one side of the slot at the bad jog. After pushing a
3/32" thick piece of cardboard wrapped in masking tape into the sanded and
cleaned slot, fill from the top, the remaining rough jog left on the opposite
side. Use Plastic Wood type wood filler, Bondo or, J&B Weld epoxy
paste. The waxy surface of the masking tape will allow you to carefully
remove the slot filling card board the next day. If you cleaned out the
bad side of the slot well enough the epoxy or plastic wood will remain in the
jog. Sand the top of the track level and then sand the repaired side
gently with a 80 grit, followed by the 100. Put pressure on the repaired
side of the slot only, and let the side you smoothed out earlier be your
guide. This is easier than it sounds, and besides the cars shoe is more
tolerant of jogs than you would think, as long as it is smooth. As for
wavering slots, as long as they are smooth, they are not an issue at all for
cars. You never see it through the car's actions at all! Of course
with 7/8" or 3/4" between some slots in this system, you better not
waver more than 1/16" total anyway. A trick that I use... by laying
the copper tape evenly over the slot, and not following the wave, no one but the
car will ever know you are not the perfect wood track builder.
Question
: There seems to be two schools
of thought on wood track bench work. One is as depicted in Luf's how to CD
and the other is shown pretty well on some of the track building forums.
Luf's is a flat table type section of plywood that is used as the base for
securing the routed track sections. The other is an open frame work of
1" x 4" boards. So, I'm not sure what the obvious choice should be?
Response
from Jimmy : Remember that with the table top method, you will have
zero access to the bottom of that track once you pin it down. I've been
under my open bench work a million times tweaking or rewiring connections, or
trying new ideas. But, not if I had screwed it down to a table.
Another negative to table top building is that you can only pin it down from one
direction, the top. Open bench work not only allows you access, but during
construction, as you force things up and down, you can add or subtract bracing
very easily since you can screw it horizontally to cross members under the
layout without a table in the way. Also, with a table, bracing has to be cut to
fit perfectly between the table and track to get the right, banking or finished
height. With open bench work, the bracing can be rough cut scrap, pushing
the road bed up to where you like it, then screwing it to the bench work cross
members beneath. If too high or low, simply undo it, make the adjustment,
and re-screw it. With the table top you need to cut another brace to
fit. This is huge guys, on tracks your size. If you don't have your
mind set on the table top, then choose the open bench work. It is harder
to get started, but once you get the top of the bench work cross members
positioned, height wise, within 4" of where the final track may lay, than
it will be easy to brace up the track to what ever elevation you want. Not
to mention it will be lighter if you have to cut it up to move it later.
Ken's track on the Professor Motor site is built on a bed frame of 2X4's
crisscrossing every 3'. Cross members bridge those 2X4's in areas where
the track flows over it. The 2X4's are more stable and far cheaper than
1X4's. 1/2" scrap plywood bracing pushes the track up and down glued
and drywall screwed to these cross members. Very easy and cheap.
This whole assembly sits on 18 stacked up milk crates. Some train guys
construct a 1/2" plywood table as their datum to build and measure up from
with big access panels cut out of it. Cost more in plywood, and is not as
accessible, but it's not as bad as not being able to get to the bottom of your
track. A modular track, built in sections that sit on a table, would be
very portable, but would give unwieldy access and be the hardest to build.
Also, twisting the MDF track work up and down might torque each section out of
square. You really have to torque the MDF or particle board down hard onto
the bench work to get it to bank and pitch. You would have to screw the
sub frames down to the table from beneath and hope it doesn't change it's
configuration when you go to undo it for access. I don't have any experience
with this modular idea, but I do know that there is a lot of pent up energy
waiting to unwind if I ever was to cut the bench work beneath my track.
Hope
this doesn't set anyone back in their plans but these are things that I learned
by doing. I really only went to open bench work because all my infield
scenery sections and pit areas are modular, so that I can take them to my desk
and model them more easily. I'm really glad I went that route because, I
found I needed to get access under there a lot more than I thought I would, both
during and after construction.
Question
: Is the track coated with any type of clear coat or sealer or just paint?
Do you think clear coating aids in traction ? Response
from Jimmy : I tested 3 different paints on wood straight sections
that I added to my boy's plastic slot car track 20 years ago. We ran the
test panels for two years. Results will surprise you. Polyurethane
did not grip well, traction wise. Latex which guys are talking about using
today did not last back then, but the traction was good. For me, traction
and resilience won out. A mix of Flat black and Flat white Rustoleum gave
the best wear and traction over the two years. My track has one primer
coat of white Kiltz sanded (Kiltz oil, never latex since it's unsandable).
One coat of Rustoleum Oxide red primer sanded to 400 grit, one coat of pure flat
black, again sanded, then one coat of three different shades of the black and
white mix to replicate different years of paving. Then I airbrushed
speckles of tan, light gray and brown. Finally I air brushed a light black
wear pattern where the real cars would have left their mark. I also made a
roller out of a tire wheel and axle and added skid marks with diluted flat
black. Phew, I had forgotten I did all that, but the Rustoleum has been
great! Nothing shy of Gumout softens it. Stinks as it's drying
though, but I can't be happier. Guys say that MDF starts out smoother, so
the coat of oxide red Rustoleum primer sanded might be eliminated. I used
particle board which was far courser. My friend has a polyurethane clear
coated track and I'm sure the Rustoleum is giving better traction.
Question
: I'm planning to lay out my design on MDF, route the slots, then cut out the
track from the rest of the MDF. This way I will end up with a small number of
fairly big sections of track as you described in your first entry in the FAQ.
Have you found that the slight amounts of banking that you describe impact the
alignment of neighboring track sections? Response
from Jimmy : All of my 1,040 feet of slot were cut free hand with no
guide, so it was no problem for me to route 6" to 8"of uncut slot at
the joints where sections come together. This was done after the sections
were joined, banked, then glued and screwed down to the bench work. If you
leave 3" to 4"of uncut slot at each end of the track sections you can
blend the lines for routing smoothly together and guarantee that the slots
across each of the mating sections transition smoothly. The size of
banking that causes you to have to account for a revision to your design
"in blank" are the huge steep turns that we remember on commercial
raceways and hobby shops. This form of racing is great but we must categorize
them not as scale model car racers, but more the old school flying wing racers
looking for the thrill of speed. They endeavor to whip out a lap as fast
as mechanically possible with little regard for realism once the cars are in
motion. Thus the desire for huge banked turns. You can only drive on
them one way, and that's at full speed. Even though they are cool to see
and add to the speed, what they subtract is realism and an opportunity to use
the large area they take up to design in more linear feet of racing in a given
area. This is well and good for that style of slot car racing, but scale
model car racing, as on Northline Raceway, is for those who desire to recreate
actual vintage races with fine scale model cars which are on more realistically
banked turns. You can pack more racing in the same space with scale
racing, which would eliminates these huge banked turns because they are so out
of scale. A more prototypical degree of banking will rarely require you to
change the track cut out so that your finished track matches your plans.
The amount of banking that we used most on our scale model raceway is no less
than .5" of slope for every 9" of run measured anywhere along the
width of the track from the inside to the outside. We have found that if
you have less than a 1/2" to 9" pitch, fishtailing cars can put a
wheel off the outside of the track edge or lean on a guardrail or wall.
This is assuming that you use the space saving 2.75 to 3" of outside gutter
dimension we discussed earlier. Note that Northline Raceway has two banked
turns with a light banking of 1/4" of lift for every 9". At both
turns it causes the outside cars to lean too hard on the walls and Armco
railings, and the inner cars to fishtail too much. Although most of the
turns have the .5 to 9" minimal pitch, banking all the way up to a Daytona
style turn is cool and realistic, but it does use up more space. This type
of banking is possible only if the track cut out is routed, then made to have
it's apex angle enlarged because the dimension between the entrance and exit to
this banked turn gets smaller as the ends are pulled together and the banking
formed. Luf Linkert's site www.oldslotracer.com
has a great example of this on a wide routed track. Although it is too
extreme for me, it shows how it's done, and how much space it takes up. On
a narrower scale width track like ours it's easier. On Ken's Raceway Club
track, included in the Professor Motor collection of Michigan tracks, www.professormotor.com/kens.shtml
the biggest banked curve with an outer radii of 2 1/2' was banked after the
entrance and exit were firmly screwed to the bench work about 24" before
and after the start and end of the turn. This 1/2 particle board was
banked into submission after the routing was done with no accounting for a
change in the turn as it was drawn. Wedges were glued and screwed beneath
the track to pin down the banked track permanently. Off hand, I believe it
was banked at almost an inch across the 11" width of the roadway. The
whole curve itself was tipped up an additional 2" above the bench work at
it's highest point. The particle board was straining but we did it.
The light .5 to 9" banking at all the turns on Northline were done the same
way. Oh by the way, the other turns on Ken's Raceway were left un-banked
and are very difficult to drive. I would bank every turn on a routed wood
track today.
Question
: The lane gutter width, (defined as the distance from the outer-most slot to
the edge of the track surface) keeps rearing its ugly head, Jimmy. I have
read everything you have written at the Professor Motor site, and if I had to
summarize, it would be as follows : Allow as little as 1.75" gutters on the
straights, and as little as 2.75" - 3" dimension in the corners, when
using retaining walls. Most of the forums I have read recommend anywhere
from 5"-6" for a gutter width for the outside lane (for full car
rotation) and around 2.5" for the inside lane. Jimmy, the gutter size
has a huge bearing on track design and/or board size. What is your
recommendation? Would/did you allow for full-car rotation in the outer
lane? Or, are you for containing the race surface with barriers to the
2.75-3" gutter distance? Response
from Jimmy : Normally the gutter dimension (the distance between the
track edge and the nearest slot) must be enlarged at turns. Especially, since
cars fishtail more readily because faux gravitational devices (magnets) are not
attracted to wood. Some builders design huge skid aprons (5 to 6")
which I think can be avoided. Yes, the gutter dimensions you quoted are what I
used, mostly because it's important to me to fit the most track into a given
space by keeping the turns narrow. We did this by taking into
consideration the attitude of the track surface at the corners. We can
control the amount of car fishtailing by changing the banking, and inclination
of the track. Thus keeping it narrower. Before forming an opinion on
how wide the turn must be to allow for drifting cars, understand that 4 physical
things will affect the amount of fishtailing that takes place at each
turn. 1) The radii or size of the corner. 2) The inclination up hill
or down hill at that corner. 3) The rate of speed a car enters the
turn. 4) How important is it for you to get as much track into the space
allowed? The most efficient track design may necessitate a banked turn or
a concrete wall or Armco barrier at the outside of some turns to keep the layout
compact. The extreme opposite of course, is a design allowing room for a
wide skid apron dimension, which gives cars room to drift way out. For the
sake of space and realism we designed Northline raceway to avoid this by banking
turns. Cars fishtailing greater than 45 degrees to the slot may look cool
to the majority, but not only do real cars not do that, (modern rice burning
drifters not withstanding) but it is by far the slowest way to do a lap.
Not to mention getting in another racers way since a good driver keeps a solid
grip on the road. Northline Raceway has soft banking at almost every turn
to stop guys from big drifts and possibly cutting others off from doing a fast
lap. Even though the lanes are cut so that two cars can get by, if the
lead car is an idiot driver that fishtails wildly at every turn, the car behind
may not get the room to pass. So, I intentionally banked tighter turns to
keep drifting down, and it really worked. The bonus to reducing drifting
is that it makes it possible to keep the turns narrow. Remember that
nothing eats up usable track space like wide turned skid aprons! By using
1/2 chip board or MDF, a robust framework, construction glue, and drywall screws
one can torque sections of pre routed track into a grade that pitches toward the
apex of tight turns pretty effectively. It does not take much to create a bit of
banking which avoids allowing cars to drift way out. Just 3/8"
measured vertically between the outer edge and the apex makes a big
difference. Sometimes, after forcing the routed track to bank, the slots
pinch closed a bit at the surface so you may need to widen them back out with a
piece of 1/16 plastic wrapped in sandpaper. The attitude of the track
surface is every bit as important as how much apron you give an outside car to
fishtail. Banking, twisting, pitching, torquing, rising and
dropping. All these terms are used by race drivers when describing real
race tracks. Since you are building your own track out of wood, why not add
these different features to your scale track? On plastic track guys
continually drift around the same way at each turn. Why would you want the
same thing on your custom track? On a wood track, besides being able to
fit more racing into a given space by custom designing turns to fit the space,
banking them differently gives drivers even more cool features to drive through.
Question
: Will the Vintage Cox thumb controllers work well with AC on a big oval using
1/24 pro track chassis or what controllers do you recommend? Response
from Jimmy : Although this sounds bias it's a fact. I always recommend the Professor
Motor line of controllers because they have today's technology in materials and
circuitry, and give consistently superior control. I'm confident that the
vintage controllers all can be made to work on A/C without a problem, but the
added expense of buying new P/M controllers pays off in the long run.
There is no reason though, why you could not start with your Cox controller and
move up to one of the better P/M controllers later. If $ is tight, that's
the way I would go. However, just like racing our 60's cars vs. today's
robustly engineered, injected polymer cars, there is no comparison when it comes
to reliability, durability, and ease of service, or upgrade. In regards to
the Pro track 1/24 chassis, I have not found any chassis yet that doesn't run
well once the diode is added to the cars circuitry. I can't say that I've
done the revision to that particular chassis. But, I'm positive that if it
runs OK on DC than the addition of the diode into the chassis, and another into
the track circuit to ( or from ) the controller, will give you a car with
realistic control on AC. Do the same for a second car, but with the diodes
reversed, and it's polarity at the shoe switched over, and you guys will be able
to run two cars in one slot. It will not just double the fun on your
racing nights, but compound the realism and excitement twice over, then squared
again.
Question
: My track is a much faster oval than your Northline track, I would like to
add a second set of switches on my plans to allow cars the choice of returning
to the regular slots when ever they want to, rather than being forced back into
the faster passing lane at the end of the fast lap. Do you see a reason
not to allow more switching like the digitals tracks do? Response
from Jimmy : Your track may lend itself to switching back two places on the
track, but I can think of 2 reasons that it may take away some of the
realism. First, it may get choppy and hard to keep the racing going.
A second lane change area doubles the chances for that one guy not cooperating
(or upset at another driver) to disregard the lane change discipline required
for all to have fun. But on your fast oval that rockem - sockem action may
be what you like. But second, and more importantly, you know that the
drivers will learn quickly to stay in the lower faster lane on the oval and not
switch out of it. No one will take the high road, and that will be the only way
anyone can pass. The difference between cars and / or drivers is rarely
great enough to overcome the difference in length that an outside lane on a big
oval creates. My opinion is that with guys hogging the fast inside lane
and not forced to go back to the longer regular lane, trailing cars will rarely
have enough speed to overtake them on the outside. Especially because, on
an oval the cars ahead never need to brake. My opinion ... force the guys
out of the shortest way around the track by cutting the faster second slot back
across and into the regular outside slot. If drivers are allowed to choose
to stay in the fast lane, than the majority of your oval races could look like
nothing less than a fast parades.
Question
: Do you use just one train transformer for the whole track? Response
from Jimmy : Yes. We started with a small Lionel 20 watt AC transformer
and it ran 8 cars fine at full speed but it was straining when all the cars were
running slowly behind the pace car. The circuit breaker built in would
trip and quickly reset. A few times we felt slight surges if two cars went
off at once. About a year ago, I bought a used 90 watt Lionel transformer,
1950's vintage, at a train show and we now have more than enough power for 8
cars at any speed, plus we can vary the voltage from 4 to 18 volts and it has
built in circuit protection that resets automatically. All this for $28.
Question
: What model diode did you use for the cars and the controllers, and where
do you wire them in the controllers? Response
from Jimmy : We have not found a diode that does not work for the AC two car
system. The ID numbers on the sides of what we order from Digi-Key
www.digikey.com is 1N4004. We got a batch of 200 for about $20 and they
were delivered in a few days. The Digi-Key order number is
1N4004GITR-ND. Individually they seem to sell for about 17 cents
each. Of over 75 cars that we've installed diodes into, we have only had
two that were bad from the start. We have not had one go bad in a car
while racing. I'm told that diodes are heat sensitive, so solder the diode
with the minimum heat necessary. That may be what went wrong with the two
of ours that did not work. As for the controllers, the diode can be put in
line anywhere up or down stream of the controller in the black or white side of
the circuit. The controller's diode should not be put inside the
controller or on the leads between the clips and the controller. Wire the
diode for each controller in it's black or white line under the track.
This is because the diode inline with the A car controller must be in sync with
the diode in the A car. The B car diodes must be in sync with each other
also, but running in the opposite direction than those in the A car
circuit. If a diode were installed inside, say the A controller, it will
be in sync with the diode in car A and work fine. But, if that controller
with its A situated diode inside, was unclipped and hooked up to a B car
station, the diode in the controller will not be in sync with the B car.
Again, to avoid complexity, hook up the controller diodes under the track or you
will end up with a set of dedicated A and B controllers, and you will be unable
to clip any controller at any station. Note : Never connect the red
controller lead. It must be disconnected at the alligator clip or under
the track. If not, a dead short will occur when the controller is hooked
up and the car sharing the lane is energized. Lastly, we've used Professor
Motor controllers for thousands of hours of reliability and optimum
control. These PM controllers have efficient diodes built into them.
It is important to note that when using this type of controller for the AC two
car system, vs. wire wound resistor controllers, the polarity must be changed at
the controller on the B car only. This is easily done by hooking up the
black lead of the B car controller to it's white terminal and the white lead to
the black terminal. We did the flip-flop of polarity under the table so
that at the B stations the white post is wired to black and the black post is
wired to white. That way any controller could be used at any A or B
station. When using old fashioned controllers with wire wound resistors
this flip-flop is not necessary. The above sounds so confusing, but bench
test the system on a short piece of straight, and when you get the combination
right I guarantee you will get a rush seeing four cars independently running in
two slots! And, you did it yourself for very little money.
Question
: I want to plan a second place on my track that allows lane changing to give
drivers a second place to pass. Your large track only has one lane change area,
wouldn't another lane change area add to the passing? Response
from Jimmy : Actually it would create less opportunities to get by slower
cars. More critical is that it would add to the complexity. It would
reduce strategies associated with passing and blocking that we've tried to
achieve on Northline raceway. Remember that switching without the time to
think will make the racing look chaotic. Racing here really does become a
mind game with good experienced racers. The digitized, magnetized,
homogenized, lane change systems today seem too hectic and chaotic. Each
car looks more like a streaking bug, thrashing to cut each other off with no
racing strategy involved at all. I have found in 4 years of having so many
drivers coming to our track that the less complex the smoother the fun.
Even the one lane change area seems to overwhelm many at first. Note that
Northline has a 140 ft. lap, and even with that distance to try and pass many
times cars are still neck and neck when they have to funnel together at the
hairpin to change lanes. If you were to design two places on a shorter
track where cars were required to chicane down (into single file to avoid shunts
as they crossed lanes) then that leaves even less of a lap to get by your
adversary. Not to mention that most race stopping pile ups happen at our
lane change hairpin. Two places that cars can cross lanes will compound
the number of race stopping shunts. As an example of my having to reduce
complexity, I am not a big fan of microprocessors wired into the track doing all
the work for drivers, but I am having to rethink and rewire Northline's pit lane
electronics to be more automated. This because guys could not learn to
flick a simple shift lever in the right direction upon entering the pits.
This lever flicking was to put the car in neutral (as in real racing) and signal
the system for either fuel, or the longer required fuel and tire stop.
Afterward, a timer would give the team manager's green signal for the driver to
leave the pits. Drivers were prone to mess up a good race thrashing the
shift lever around. A huge amount of past work was wasted. I had relays
galore wired to the leather booted Escort turn signal levers that I set up to
look and act as shift levers. Ice age electronics my sons call it, but it looked
and worked great. Except for one thing...It was too complicated. I'm
afraid that I need to make everything that happens, when a car stops in it's
pit, to happen automatically. Oh well, good idea, but too hard for guys to
use under pressure. Moral of the story...design to the more user friendly,
simpler side.
Question
: I was wondering what you use for lap timing or how you run races when you have
two cars in the one lane? Response
from Jimmy : We start large fields behind an independently controlled pace car
to gather the 7 other cars together for a disciplined race start. The pace
car has sirens and lights that automatically go out after it drives into the pit
lane as the field comes up to the starting line for the green flag. As for
the microprocessor controlled lap counter, Infer-red sensors installed in a
recess cut into the slots, from beneath the track, detect each race car's guide
as it shoots past. This is a bit more complicated with the pit lane and
passing lane system because each car has three ways of passing the start/finish
line. A car could do a lap as it goes through the pits, so that has to be
accounted for by adding sensors through the slots in pit lane . Also,
since the cars have a second way to do the course, the passing lanes have to
have sensors in them to track cars going past the start/finish line in
them. So, for racing 4 cars there are 11 sensors tracking their
laps. 4 for the regular slots, 3 in the 3 passing slots, and 4 in the
slots through the pit lane all wired in parallel. To complicate things
further, since we run two cars in one lane, we now have to account for the
second set of race cars, or the "B" cars, with minor revisions to
their shoes. The "B" car has a 1/16" slot cut into it's
shoe and the micro processor can actually identify it as different than the
"A" car that runs a standard shoe. We tested it thoroughly and
it's amazing that, with out fail, the system can detect the two different cars
flashing past the sensor at full speed while running nose to tail.
However, the system will not work with transparent or white colored shoes.
My son Andy is a graduate electrical engineer and is still developing this slot
car tracking system that he designed from scratch. His latest changes will
also track each car's location for the caution light system around the
track. We broke the track into 8 zones and installed the same infer-red
sensors at the head of each zone to track each car as they race through every
zone. Should your car crash, you simply push an amber button and the last
zone that your car successfully passed through begins to flash yellow caution
lights across that whole section of the track. This quickly and
efficiently signals the other drivers and corner marshals that there is a
"car down" in that zone. Very important when so many cars are racing
around the track! I think Andy plans on selling the system for other wood
track owners to use when it gets finished. Building a large scale race
track has it's own reward. You will have a lot of fun. If I can be of any
more help to you let me know. Have you discovered Luf Linkert's site yet?
It's the #1 site for wood track owners. www.oldslotracer.com/index.html
Question
: We know that you use a 12 volt solenoid and return spring connected to a bent 1/8 steel rod to guide the shoe from one lane to the
other. But, when you run two cars ("A" and "B") in a lane. Both run very fast and near one another. Say car "A" is first and "B" goes through
second. But, both cars run nose to tail. How do the drivers of car A or B put on the switch and not
disturb the other car? How the does the switch "know" who wants to change the lane and who
does not want to do it? Can the A driver send a different signal to the switch than the B driver?
Response
from Jimmy : Good question. The problem of a driver holding his lane
change button down too long sounds worse than it is. Both A and B driver's
buttons are wired in parallel to the same switch. Nothing fancy is
needed. The decisions are totally up to the driver. If driver A
wants to be kicked off my track, he can just keep holding the button down as
driver B goes through the hairpin turn where the lane change switches are.
There must be discipline in any form of racing. The decisions are totally
up to the drivers. If they just change lanes blindly, they are going to
ruin the race. Anyone model racing with two or more cars per lane must
adhere to the same common sense rules that apply to all forms of racing, or be
black flagged. We are not making toy cars fly around here! We are
miniature racing. We are replicating an actual car race of a period with
the finest scale models that we can build or buy. I have seen some guys
digitally racing with more than one car per lane. The cars seem to be
flying around like magnetized bumble bees stuck to the track. The track's
electronics on some sets, does the thinking for the drivers. The only time
they do look like real race cars is when they pick them up to look at
them! The secret to a good routed track with two cars running in the same
slot with each controlled independent is that it needs to have the lane changing
area designed just past a chicane, or hairpin. This way, just before the
switches, the track necks down to force the field of cars to go through slowly
in line. Something the plastic tracks cannot provide. This not only
minimizes shunts that occur as cars cross other lanes, but it allows the time to
make a decision as to whether to stay in the regular lane or cross to the
passing lane. The way we race, if a slower car is blocking, 1) the slow
driver really should let the faster car pass. No different than what is expected
in real racing! 2) the faster car needing to pass should drop back as he comes
to the switch because he not only has to negotiate the hairpin turn slowly in
single file, but he needs to see which side the car in front decides to choose
to race on. If he drops back a bit, no one can pass him from behind
because the field of cars were forced into single file to get through the tight
hairpin or chicane. Like real racing, he sees which side of the roadway the
blocking car chooses as it leaves the turn and he takes the opposite side.
This careful planning allows him the whole next lap, to beat the other car back
to the lane switching area. Each time the cars slow and regroup at the hairpin,
or a chicane, that decision is made again. No different than what Mario
Andretti needed to do at hairpin turns each lap of every race he ever ran in. If
a driver on a track with two cars in one lane, does not race as the real cars
do, than he deserves not to race with a track such as this. He should go
and spend money to buy a digital set that does the thinking for him as he buzzes
the cars around mindlessly, in an unrealistic way. It will still be fun
for a short while.
Question :
With your idea of keeping the tracks width to a minimum I see that a larger
layout is possible, but fishtailing in the corners needs more width to the
track. How wide do you find it needs to be not to allow cars to, "lean on
the guard rail" for added speed. What dimension did you use from the outer
most slot to the outside edge of the track on your turns? Response
from Jimmy : It would
be helpful to refer to a drawing of my track to get a feel for how the following
dimensional increases to the 1.75 spacing between the outside slot and a wall
has on a high speed drifting 1/32 model car. At turns where we do not get
any contact at all the 1.75" space is increased to 3". This is
at the Carrousel, Hairpin and Daytona banking. The degree of the turn
affects whether the car can lean on the wall and increase speed. The tighter the
turn, the more the leaning car benefits. With 3" a driver can touch
the wall, but the attitude of the car is such that speed is scrubbed off. Now at
2.75" a car can lean on a wall and it's a wash, speed wise. A
definite increase in speed on big turns can be gained when the 1.75 space on the
outside of the turn is reduced to 2.5" or less. Note that this
increase in speed is gained on sweeping turns at a good clip. On sharper
turns than 18R" it gives a car leaning on the wall a huge advantage.
To not help the outside car, you can design the track edge to be <2.75"
from the outside slot but not build a wall or Armco rail for the car to lean
on. The tires will simply fishtail across a skid apron and not gain a big
speed advantage. However, the reason we are trying hard to keep the track
design narrow in turns is to create a larger overall layout. The space
reserved for skid aprons takes up usable space. For reference, the above
mentioned 3" spacing of outside slot to a wall, or guard rail, gives total
clearance. If the car touches because it is drifting that hard the driver
is scrubbing speed off. The 2.75" dimension at the last corner before
the Cork Screw and at the last part of the "D" turn before the up hill
straight makes a car at speed bang the wall or curb marker and does not really
help it. In the Esses the three turns have a spacing of 2.5" from
slot to the outside edge of the track. The middle 180 degree turn has a
wall that hard charging cars do lean on, but the other turns have curb markers
that the cars wheels ride up on so drivers need to back off or they upset the
car. At the last sweeping turn after the pit entrance, before the main
straight, the outside car gets a dramatic advantage by leaning on the
wall. This dimension is only 2.25" or less as it drives toward the
start finish line. If I could redesign my track, the only thing I would
change is this last turn. If the 2.25" was 2.75" the car on the
outside would not get such a boost from the wall. Not only should the
track width increase at turns on the outside, but the inner most slot has issues
with apex markers less than 2" away. Although 1.75" of absolute
min space between the walls of my main straight and the outer most slot have
never, ever been a problem, it's important to note that this dimension must
enlarge as the inside car reaches the next apex. Especially if it is a
tight turn because the long wheelbase cars like NASCAR or Trans-Am models drag
their rear wheels inboard of the front. This makes the rear wheels hit the
apex markers and deslot at slower speeds. At fast speeds the rear end fish
tails out so that it isn't as obvious. So my point is, that not only
should the 1.75 min spacing between the outside most slot grow to clear scenery
for fishtailing, but the inside may need to enlarge also to clear tight apexes
at slow speeds. The gap of 2.75" between slot groupings has never
been a problem. I left it that dimension thru almost every turn on
Northline Raceway. Although cars can lean on each other, they tend not to
be able to get that pendulum swing and bang hard to nerf outside cars off like
with 3.25" and 3.5" standard spacing. Works great with kids.
Question :
How was "Ken's Track" shown on the Professor Motor Michigan Slot Racing Directory
made to be 80 ft of racing in so compact a space? Response
from Jimmy : The track I built
with my Nephew Ken, (Ken's track is here : link)
is exactly 6' X 15' long. There can not be a linear inch more track laid
into a layout of that size than what we got out of that space without
overlapping roadways. The slots are only 2.75" apart in the straight
sections with 1.5" of track on each side to clear walls. That's
a total track width of 8.5" minimum needed to run (3) 1/32 scale
cars. The track has been running for over two years with no issues at that
width. Of course the roadway widens at turns to allow for drifting. These
narrow straights allow for many more linear feet of track in the same space and
the roadway looks more to scale. No lane changing was designed into it
because it was set up to be built by (3) 14 year olds. For simplicity I designed
Ken's track to be the "cookie cutter" style. There are two ways
to build a track and each should be designed that way from the start. The
simplest is cookie cutter style. The second is individual sections for the
more complex road courses. Northline raceway (Jimmy's track) was made in
individual pieces and fastened to bench work that was already built and set for
the change in typography. For Ken's track, the road way was cut by the
boys, cookie cutter style, right out of 4 X 8 sheets of 1/2 particle board
fastened to 2X4 framing with milk crates stacked 3 high for legs. To
start, the 4X8 sheets are all fastened together with 4' X 6" sections of
1/2" plywood glued and drywall screwed together from underneath. This
huge flat table top sits loosely fastened to it's bench work, which are 6 sets
of 3 milk crates, drywall screwed together, that are fastened at the top with
2X4's and 3" drywall screws . These 2X4's act as a perimeter frame
with cross members that support the particle board top. After priming this
table top, the roadway is traced on to the top of it, slots routed and then most
of the track cut with a reciprocating saw. The road course is then lifted,
banked or tipped on the bench work where ever possible. At many
places the track is purposely not completely cut out so that it retains its
rigidity yet torqued and upset enough to keep the roadway from looking
flat. It does not take much twisting to make it more interesting than a
flat road course. Using drywall screws and liquid nail glue, the lightly
twisted, undulating, torqued and banked turns are fastened in place with glued
and screwed gussets of wood that retain the roadway just the way you want
it. The change in elevation adds dramatically to realism. It's much easier
to do than it looks, thanks to the invention of the common drywall screw and
Liquid Nail Glue. The remaining infield, of the 4X8 sheet, stays in place
screwed and glued to the track framework. This will act as a base for the
2" pink Styrofoam that gets glued to it, and shaped up to meet the
undulating track edges. The scenery and it's Styrofoam base is another
story. The last hair pin turn at the long straight before the banking was
made too tight (R3.5"). I recommend that it be made larger. Actually
I would make that whole hair pin turn large enough to have it tuck under the
turn adjacent to it. One turn would need to be raised and the other
roadway go under it. But, it would then have had to have been cut from a
separate piece of particle board to make the radius of that turn any
bigger. But, that would have been too complicated for the boys.
Since it was converted from DC to rectified AC the track is dramatically
more user friendly, because it now has better conductivity between the
brushes and copper tape since the voltage almost doubled. It is powered
strictly with an AC train transformer and diodes. Because there is no need
for running two cars in the same lane, there are no diodes required in the cars.
Just in line with each controller. The AC system and Professor Motor
controllers add greater control on tight routed tracks such as this.
Question :
What are the advantages and disadvantages of running a track powered
by an AC transformer vs. traditional DC power ? Response
from Jimmy : Initially the importance of using AC over DC on Northline Raceway
was only that by rectifying the AC signal, two cars can be made to run in the same slot with independent control.
By powering the track with A/C current
(a simple, old, used, cheap Lionel train transformer) and rectifying the supply with $.10 diodes in each car, plus wiring a diode in line with the
Professor Motor controllers, we are able to send two separate signals to one lane.
Where before we ran 4
cars, now we race 7 lead by a pace car that pulls into the pits at the start of each race.
The cars run on twice the voltage for half the time which gives greater control. Especially on copper taped routed tracks.
You can make a
car creep into the pits or go balls out down the straight. Not only that, the
oxidation on the copper is no longer an issue because the 12 to 18 volts burns thru the dust and oxidized copper film.
No more warm up laps to break the copper in so that the cars don't stall. Hearing guys call out, "My car's
stalled give me a push" is down 1000%. The cars have a unique growl as they go around, which everyone says
sounds cool. However, a distinct issue is that the motors run warmer, but not hot.
In the past 18 months we have thrashed 75 cars for 18
months of hard running with no ill effects. Another thing is that that you lose the brake system.
Guys not used
to running on AC will disagree, but we do not find this a disadvantage. It's not an issue since the cars run with greater control and good drivers
know that the fastest laps are done with brakes off. A real hurdle has been that veteran slot car racers are used to gobs
of wheel spinning torque as they enter a straight. The A/C system is more prototypical in
that you must exit a turn as fast as you can to get the highest speed at the end of the straight. Because the car, as in real racing, comes out of a
corner and into a straight with reduced torque, drivers find themselves using full throttle
allot more with AC. It leaves guys not used to the lack of wheel spinning torque thinking the track needs more power. Real racers are on full throttle 95 %
of the time too! Believe me the cars on AC can go plenty fast! Racing with AC takes time to get used to but it has turned out to be
a remarkably more realistic way to run cars. Although old die-hards seem to
take a while to get used to it, the new guys never notice a difference until we switch back to DC.
As soon as we do, the cars revert to the jerky, wheel spinning, limited control that we've all been weaned on.
Everyone says that they never noticed that racing on DC was jerky, until they get used to running on the AC system with a large field of other
cars. I'm sure that it is not too unlike movie goers of the 20's who were perfectly happy with the jerky movies they thought were good enough to
enjoy. That is, until they experienced the smoother running films of later years.
After an hour of running on AC,
all agree that it is a great smooth way to run cars. Also an advantage, if racers come over with regular cars, no
diodes, you can put them right on the track and they can run perfectly one car per lane. With the same
great sound and control. Unlike unique digital cars, it's no problem if guys
come over to run regular cars. The quick addition of a simple diode allows them to participate in the races with
larger fields of cars. Any standard car can be made to run two in one slot
with the simple addition of one critically placed diode. Again, note that a
car with no diode installed in it will run great on AC as long as no one tries to race a second car in
that slot. The western Michigan chapter of GWLTRSCIOGB (Guys Who Like To Run Slot
Cars In Other Guys Basements) drove across the state to try it a year ago.
They loved it, and have been back for many more hours of realistic racing along with many other GWLTRSCIOGB's at Northline Raceway.
Question : Why are the slots bunched together in two groups on your track and
why the lane changing feature ? Response from
Jimmy : The slots are cut into Northline Raceway in two tight groupings to
allow 4 (or more) cars to race on a scale width racecourse. This passing lane system we use can be designed into any home routed track that guys are
currently planning with little or no cost. My thoughts 20 years ago was to get as much racing as I could in the
space that I was allowed. Also I did not want a wide roadway that looked unrealistic.
So, I experimented with grouping slots together. A narrower roadway allows for much more racing in the same space.
In order to understand the advantages we need to compare the design width of a typical slot car track with one slot cut around the layout (which
allows passing anytime) vs. a track designed with two ways cut around the course (allowing cars to pass only when on opposite sides of the road).
If we were to design a track to race (3) 1/32 scale cars and they required an absolute min of 2.75" between slots to get by each other, and
1.75" on either side for min clearance to walls, than the total road way width on this imaginary straight would be 11.25". ( track width at turns
should be expanded but for this comparison we'll compare the straight sections) Now lets bunch up each of the 3 slots to only 3/4" apart and cut a
second way around the track for the cars on the opposite side of the roadway.
In order to allow the 3 cars the ability to pass we must cut another group of 3 slots 3/4" apart that is 2.75" from the first group.
Hey, the total width of this straight away is now only 8.75"! A 3 car layout who's straights are 8.75" wide can have many more linear feet of
track designed into it than an 11.25" wide road, in the same space allowed!
To pass, the cars must now change to the inside or "faster" group of slots.
That is why the lane change feature is in place at the hairpin turn on Northline Raceway.
Now, design a chicane on the track where the cars must go through single file (this minimizes shunts as cars change lanes) and create a lane change
feature to allow the 3 cars the ability to run on the inside, or "faster", group of 3 slots. Design the track so that when the cars running in the
"fast" lanes go one lap around and get back to the narrow chicane, their slot is cut to guide them back into it's original slot. This negates drivers
hogging the "fast" lanes, or quickest way around. A driver who switches into the fast lane knows he has but one lap to pass
his adversary who stayed in the original group of lanes. If you are racing realistically, the slower car lets you by, or he may change lanes too and
try to continue to block you. It gets to be a race with in a race to get to the chicane first to gain control of the passing situation. Not too unlike
real racing. Now add the AC power system we use, where with a single 10 cent diode per
car two cars can run with independent control, or spend the money and go digital, and you now can race 6 cars on the same 8.75" roadway. You have a
track that looks realistic, because it is 23 scale feet wide rather than 30 feet. And, you get way more track in the same space you started with. That
is why Northline Raceway looks as large as it is. The narrow width track allowed much more track in the space that it occupies.
If you design your layout with a passing lane you now get the exciting ability to dice with other cars to gain the
lead, rather than just blindly driving by. You have designed a track that has a passing feature built in so you
can have more than one car in each slot. This doubles the fun on the same track. Without cutting the passing lanes a second car could not pass the car
sharing his lane. You are now running 6 cars for the same money (AC System) on the
same narrow width. To race 6 cars the conventional way would require a track
width of over 20 inches! You have designed the most racing that you can get into the space
allowed, with the most cars, in the most exciting realistic way, on a scale width roadway.
This is only an outline of how I use the passing lane system at Northline raceway.
It by no means is a "how too" report. I will be happy to answer any more specific questions anyone may have.
Question : How do
I build a mechanical switch and how does it force a shoe from one lane to the
other? Where on the layout is the best place for this switching to take
place? Response from
Jimmy : I modeled my pit
switching idea from a scrap book that I kept since I was a kid. I had
pictures of a huge club track in California that had a pit lane turn-in back in the early 60's.
It was my fantasy track that I
always dreamed of mimicking. I designed my own switch assembly when I began laying
out the ideas for my track. Each crude switch assembly consists of a 90
degree bent rod (.125" welding rod) that I hammered flat at the top. This flattened
end sits up along side the slot hidden in a recess. When the hammered rod would
swing out into the slot, the car's shoe would strike it and be forced into the Y
that leads to pit row. This rod is supported by two slot car chassis
bronze bushings that are set in a block one inch apart. At the lower end of the
.125" rod, beneath the bushings, is formed another 90 degree bend about one inch
long. This bell crank arm gets tugged by a 12 volt solenoid with a return spring
in line to pull the bell crank back. In a neutral state the spring holds the flattened section at the top of the bell
crank rod tucked into the recess carved out along side of the slot just forward
of the Y. If power is not provided to the solenoid, then the car will go
by the bent rod unhindered. If power is applied to the solenoid, then the bell
crank gets pulled to bring the top flattened "flag" out across the Y
in the slot to direct the car's shoe into the side that sends the car into the
pits. Very crude by today's standards. But it has been very, very
dependable so far. More effective than I had hoped for! I think the secret
to keeping 7 switches working properly all these years was to lubricate with
graphite dust vs. sticky oil. The biggest hurdle to laying out a
good lane changing feature is to design your track in such a way that the Y in
the track happens at a place where the cars need to be accelerating but not
going so fast that they can't handle the fork in the road. In this way
each car has a better chance of "jumping the gap" when power is
interrupted as the brushes cross over the Y. At the end of a turn before a big
straight would do well. Also it is advisable to design a place on the
layout where cars will be doing a minimum of passing. This is to minimize the
spectacular crashes that sometimes occur when cars drive across other
lanes to get into
the pits. If I were to do it again I would certainly look into the
efficient switching devices that are now available to model railroaders. Some
sort of combination of RR switch and a "flag" going up into the slot
would be in order. Countless hours were spent testing my system until I had a
device that was trustworthy and robust enough. Using a device that already had
the solenoid ready to work would have been the way to go.
Questions : How do I minimize the
tarnish on copper tape that affects how well cars run until it gets burnished
off by passing cars? Why did you choose to use copper tape vs. tinned
braid? Response from Jimmy : The copper tape used as the
conductor on my track was not my preferred choice because of oxidation that
occurs on the copper vs. tinned braiding. I have become very familiar with the
difficulties of getting a run started when the dust and oxidation builds up
enough to stall the cars. A side note: I had to use copper tape because on
my track the car's wheels actually ride over the copper tape of the adjacent
lane. My goal was to keep the track a true 1/32 scale width. To
accomplish this, my lanes are clustered together in two tight groupings. Both
groups of lanes have slots cut less than 1 inch apart with 3 1/2 inches between
the two groups. To allow for passing a slower car, I designed in the capability
of changing out of the regular lanes (the outside group) and into a slot that is
cut on the opposite side of the track (the inside faster group). As long
as the slower car blocking you doesn't change lanes too, both cars can battle
for position without contact for the full lap. I could not indent the
thicker tinned braiding without upsetting the traction of the slot car in the
next lane. And, the braiding was too wide. Copper tape allowed the
neighboring lane's tires to run smoothly over it. I have found two things
that help lighten the problem of cleaning off the build up of power starving
residue. But, neither procedure solves it. First a 50/50 mix of Orange
Clean and white vinegar, wiped over the track leaves the track surface clean for
good traction. It also removes some of the tarnish off of the copper. The
vinegar is used in antique restoration to clean brass and copper. The
Orange Clean is sold by the Oxy clean guy on TV. When I saw him dip a
penny in it and it came out clean, I knew I had found something. When one
uses the O/Clean straight it leaves a film that a rinsing with water easily
removes. But don't do it!!!!! Never ever, ever allow water to touch
the copper or it will increase the rate of oxidation ten fold ! I have
learned the hard way. Once water touches it, you can dry it till you rub
thru the paint. It will accelerate the tarnishing of the copper. The
vinegar 50/50 mix seems to reduce the film residue as well as clean the copper.
The O/clean & vinegar solution does not affect my track paint or the bond of
the copper tape. I used Rustoleum flat paint as my track surface and the
concoction does it no harm. I also have found that the vinegar makes a
great cleaning solution on the brushes. But beware that it can remove
decals and will slowly discolor lacquer paints. That is why I hesitate to
use straight vinegar. I don't know what the long term ramifications on the
copper adhesive may be. For troubled spots I have been known to polish the
copper carefully with straight vinegar. The second idea I found effective
is to run older vintage cars first to polish the track clean. The older
tinned brushes tend to have less problems with conductivity. Although they
still stumble around for a few laps, at least they stall less. Once they
burnish off the oxidation, the track will be more user friendly. The newer
cars like the FLY's have pure copper brushes that tend to stall once they pick
up any corrosion. Especially, I've sadly found out, on my large track,
where the laps are so long they need to be cleaned every 10 to 15 laps. Oh
well, It's still a lot of fun !
Questions : Were plans to build the
track purchased, or how was the track design developed? Response
from Jimmy : In response to your question, I did not buy the
plans for my track, I used ideas from 30 years worth of scrap book track plans.
I designed my layout on CAD and then after priming 4X8 sheets of fine 1/2
particle board with oil base Kiltz (not the unsandable water base Kiltz!) I
traced the full size paper drawings on to them. I routed it out 1/4 deep with an
1/8 bit, but I would do it 5/16 deep now because of deeper shoes . However, if I
had to do it over again today, I would butt up all the primed 4X8 MDF sheets
edge to edge across the space it actually was going to sit in the basement and
start laying out the lanes in full scale right there on the floor. It sounds
more tedious but you will not only get as much track as your space allows, you
will be able to tweak turns that are too tight or aprons that are to narrow to
allow fish tailing without problems. You will end up with a tighter track but a
package that fits more racing into your allotted space. Also you will get to
skip the tedious task of tracing your plans down with stacks of carbon paper.
Remember that any 2-D drawing won't allow for the added inches of board you need
as the track rises and drops. The best thing about home routed tracks vs.
plastic is that you can build in great elevation changes. With fine particle
board it is not hard to just glue on an extension (braced underneath) to the
portions of track that don't meet because of hills and valleys that make your
connections between sections fall short. I ended up "tweaking" so many
of my drawings that I'm sure I would layout my plans right down on the white
primed 4X8 sheets with colored markers and a pair of dividers. Then, step back
and take a look. Also note that you do not need to make perfect radius turns.
The real race tracks don't so why should you? A sweep around a bend to fit your
basement (and thus get more racing) is better than a true radius that doesn't.
When you make revisions, do them in a different color. My Cork Screw turn ended
up having 3 different colored tracks drawn on it over the original CAD design
before I got it to look and fit right. Besides this gives you something to show
your buddies before you start making saw dust. It may even entice them to
help!