Automobile traffic on a Layout? i.e. slotcars

[Plymouth71]

Hi. I'm pretty new to model railroading, however not to some of the skills required. I have been building models and dioramas for years, and I'm pretty good at scratchbuilding if I do say so myself. I have a couple of small children, including my 5 year old boy. We have been playing with slot cars for a while, and playing with Thomas trains even longer. I have an N gauge track planned as we live in a 2 bedroom condo and space is an issue. I figure I'll build a trundle track for under his bed.

I am starting to plan for something bigger. We are currently looking for a house and I'd like to make an HO model railroad layout and work in a slotcar track. I'm aware of a couple of companies offering crossing tracks. Has anyone here tried this?

My initial plan is to make a separate slot car track for racing(more for me and my friends) that would be suspended from the ceiling with pulleys.

I'd like to build a train layout with at least a double loop and plenty of turnouts. Maybe even a roundhouse. Of course it will depend on the room available to us, possibly a garage, but I'm pretty sure the boss will gove me some basement room. My son likes to pretend there are destinations on the track, like restaurants and grandma's house. I'd like to have some roads through the countryside and maybe a small town.

 

[John P]

There was a British system back in the 1960s called Minic Motorways, which did interact with model trains. Some people apparently still have systems running:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8SeiMkkEVQ

But more likely you'd want to look at the Faller car system. I won't give a link; you can find lots of stuff with a search.

 

[sd24b]

Hi. I'm pretty new to model railroading, however not to some of the skills required. I have been building models and dioramas for years, and I'm pretty good at scratchbuilding if I do say so myself. I have a couple of small children, including my 5 year old boy. We have been playing with slot cars for a while, and playing with Thomas trains even longer. I have an N gauge track planned as we live in a 2 bedroom condo and space is an issue. I figure I'll build a trundle track for under his bed.

I am starting to plan for something bigger. We are currently looking for a house and I'd like to make an HO model railroad layout and work in a slotcar track. I'm aware of a couple of companies offering crossing tracks. Has anyone here tried this?

My initial plan is to make a separate slot car track for racing(more for me and my friends) that would be suspended from the ceiling with pulleys.

I'd like to build a train layout with at least a double loop and plenty of turnouts. Maybe even a roundhouse. Of course it will depend on the room available to us, possibly a garage, but I'm pretty sure the boss will gove me some basement room. My son likes to pretend there are destinations on the track, like restaurants and grandma's house. I'd like to have some roads through the countryside and maybe a small town.

If memory serves me correctly, I think Walthers does slot cars and maybe Bachmann. Phil

 

[Jim 68cuda]

This subject comes up fairly regularly.
Try looking at these threads and viewing the links that are posted in them.

http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24191&highlight=slot+cars

http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26409&highlight=slot+cars

 

[Iron Horseman]

I am starting to plan for something bigger. We are currently looking for a house and I'd like to make an HO model railroad layout and work in a slotcar track. I'm aware of a couple of companies offering crossing tracks. Has anyone here tried this?

Yes, I have. In late grade school and junior high that was one of the activities me and friends would play. Two people on the cars and one on the train. If the train could knock a car off track the train driver switched to be that car driver.

The problems with HO slot cars are:
1. They are not HO scale.
2. Unless one wants the car track or the train track go up or down a grade there must be two crossings in the layout.
3. With both items on a single layout neither can really be good. I had one where I got a pretty good slot-car track, but the train was just a loop. As soon as one gets some intersting railroad tracks going the slot cars are reduced to a loop.
4. This is all for fun because the slot car track running through "scenery" just doesn't look right. The cars don't look right.
5. If one does put good scenery around the slot car tracks and the cars are used for racing, then the cars flying off the track destroy trees, structures, cows in the field, passengers in the station, etc.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

Its true that most slot cars advertized as HO, are not HO scale. They are actually S scale (1/64 scale)or maybe even larger than S scale. The earlier Aurora Thunderjet Model Motoring cars from the 1960s, at 1/76 scale were alot closer to HO (1/87 scale) than most HO scale slot cars today.

 

[Lionel fan]

All my slot cars, as well as my large collection of hot wheels cars are all in 1:64. We use hot wheel cars on our annual Lionel Christmas town layout, but they aren't right.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

All my slot cars, as well as my large collection of hot wheels cars are all in 1:64. We use hot wheel cars on our annual Lionel Christmas town layout, but they aren't right.

If you haven't bought HO trains and track yet, and you want the scale to match your existing slot cars and other vehicles, then you may want to seriously consider S scale trains.

 

[funnelfan]

You should investigate the Faller Car System, blows slot cars out of the water and is actually HO scale.

 

[otiscnj]

A few months back somebody, on some site I watch mentioned slotmods.com. Would love to see what these guys could do, if you told them, say in 1:43 scale to 'can you add some O gauge/scale trains to the design'....

I had an AFX set that ran up until about 2001. Went to Carerra 1:43 in 2008. Still modeling in HO and N, but also have some 'Lionel.....'

 

[Plymouth71]

Thank you for all the replies. I appreciate them.

My son loves his slotcars

For that matter so do I. At this point I'm still torn, but until I have a house to actually build in, I will likely make a small layout in N Gauge that will fit under his bed.

I have looked at many beautiful slot car tracks and some have incredible scenery reminiscent of model railroads,

http://www.doyleperformance.com/dotnetnuke/Raves/KastleburgRaceway/tabid/154/Default.aspx

but a great point was made. Boys will be boys, and some slotcars can be uncontrollable at times. I have had to do more repairs to slot car bodies than I care to admit. I can only imagine having to repair scenery on an ongoing basis.

I think I will (space permitting) build a nice model railway layout alongside a corner, with N Gauge to allow for as much area as possible. Yeah, I know I could go smaller, but I'm getting older and I'm not looking forward to bi-focals as it is. No offense intended!!

To feed the slot car monster I call my Son, I'l lower the slot track by pulleys from the ceiling. I think at this juncture it is the most likely scenario. Again, things can change.

Thanks again for your input. BTW anybody have any slot cars they would be interested in getting rid of? I know a little boy and his sister who would like to add to their selection.