Track Building Questions and Answer Page

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The Track Building section of this site has attracted quite a few questions from readers. Over the last couple of years, I've replied to the questions with individual e mails.  Rather than just send the reply to the person who asked the question, I've decided to publish the ones I think will be of more general interest here.  I'll still e mail the answers to the person who asked the question.  I know a lot of people would prefer to have their privacy protected, so I'll just identify the people asking the questions by initials.

If you have any questions on track building that I might be able to help with, then please e mail me  -  info@bscra.co.uk  Also, please e mail me if you'd like to add anything to the answers I've given - or perhaps give an alternate view.

Chris Frost 

I run a small  club, we are going to build a wooden track. We intend to build a track without a bridge, is there any design we can use that makes all lanes the same length?

Click  for full answer and drawings

How to build extensions extensions to home set tracks that could be used without needing access to the underside (e.g. when used on the floor). 

Click for full answer and drawings

Hello there

My son, 13 would like to build a slot car track.  We came upon your page and learned a lot.  My question is, do you have to cut the wood into track pieces or can you just use one piece of 4x8 board and put the slots into the board in the shape of the track that you want to make.  We would like to start out small and if we are successful, then maybe we would try to build something more elaborate.  Is there a book that you would recommend that we buy to give specific instructions?  Any helpful info you can give would be greatly appreciated.  We are completely new at this.

Thanks, R

 

Answer

Using a single sheet of board is a good idea if you want a track 8 ft by 4 ft (or smaller). It's easier to build if you can avoid the complication of joints and it'll probably make a better track (particularly for a "first track"). Another way to make building easier is to have the layout all on the one level - bridges and hills add a considerable amount of extra work.

Having said that there are some advantages in smaller sections. Some questions to think about are will you need to transport the track (an 8 by 4 sheet is way too big to go in a car, but it might go on a substantial roof rack), and where are you going to store it. Also an 8 by 4 track will need more than one man to lift it.

If and when you decide to build a larger track, I'm afraid joints will probably be necessary. Sheet material usually comes in 8 ft by 4 ft (2.4m by 1.2m) (or smaller) sheets. Also track sections much larger than this are too heavy to lift and won't fit in most vans.

I cannot recommend any books on track building, in fact the reason I originally started writing magazine articles on track building was the lack of any books which were of anything other than historic interest.

Chris Frost Jan 2003

 Hi

I have just finished reading your excellent instructions on designing and building a slotcar track. I was  wondering if you could supply me with some info on constructing banked turns. I am building an 8 lane commercial track. Being a highly skilled craftsman I feel confident with this project.  Thank you for any help you can provide.  Sincerely GB

 

Answer

One approach to banked turns is explained in the track design section - the "hills and banking" section. A true banked turn is a conical surface. This can be achieved with MDF by laying the sheet on suitably angled supports - for banking of a few degrees the sheet will simply drop into place under it's own weight. The conical supports can easily set up using the triangular sheet legs illustrated on my web site ( Track building part1 Diagram C). These should all be placed on radial lines (see the photo at the top of the above web page), and the outside edges raised at the appropriate banking angle. The edges of the sheet will rotate slightly (in plan view), so a triangular section will need to be cut off to make it butt against the adjacent sheet perpendicular to the slot - This is best done in position rather than trying to work it out on paper. (To illustrate how this triangular section arises, try rolling a piece of paper into a cone) The side walls and underneath supports should be attached to the sheet which forms the track surface when it is in it's conical position - this will lock the shape in place. The straights leading in and out of the banking will be tipped sideways at the angle of the banking, the transition to a horizontal straight should be achieved by a very gentle twist in the straights (over 8 feet or more if possible). I don't recommend high banked turns. I know there are some professional builders who can get it right, but they are none too keen on revealing how they do it (One of the best known builders told me he made - and scrapped - several that didn't work properly before they found out what geometry works - you cannot expect somebody to give away that sort of hard earned experience! ). I've seen plenty of high banked turns built by skilled craftsman that didn't work - the problem is that cars deslot in odd places - it usually works OK on some lanes (usually the middle ones) but the problem seems to be how to overcome the compromise in the profile of the inside and outside lanes.

Chris Frost   Jan 2003

Hi,

I enjoyed reading your multi-part article on building a track. One subject area that you did not address Is the overall width of track sections (straights versus curves and the size of the  inner/outer apron area) and the recommended distance between the slots for both 1/24 and 1/32 scale cars. I realize that if I intend to run both sizes of cars that I should build for the 1/24th cars, but what is the appropriate distance between the slots. Another question regarding track design - how do you ensure that the distance traveled per lap for each car is exactly the same? Straights are no problem, but it would appear that for each right turn of length 'x' and radius 'y', you have to have an equal offsetting left turn of the same length and radius. I am entertaining the idea of building a 4 lane track that is capable of supporting 1/24 scale cars. regards, FK

 

Answer

The lane spacing etc. and how to get equal lap lengths are explained in the associated article on track design at the track design section As long as the lane spacing is equal and the total angle of the left hand bends and right hand bends is equal (as they will be in most designs with one bridge) the lap lengths will always be equal regardless of the radii. (There is a mathematical proof of that, but I didn't think it would be sufficient interest to make it worth publishing!) Good luck with the track. .

Chris Frost Jan 2003

Hi,

I've been researching custom slot car track building.    There is plenty of good information and ideas for me to work from  except perhaps when it comes to specs for a good power supply. I've visited plenty of sites which list specs, but many seem contradictory, with voltage requirements of anything from 12v to 30v and current draws of 2A to 30A per lane.. regards, CG April 2011

 

Answer

The power requirements for slot cars are very much dependant on the type of slot car. If you could tell me rather more about what sorts of slot car you are planning to run, I should be able to give a better answer on what you need. The following should give some idea of what you might need.

VOLTAGE

Cars will run with a range of voltages. Higher voltages produce more power which makes the cars quicker on the straights and usually more difficult to drive round corners. Reliability is reduced at higher voltages, but this isn't normally a significant problem until several volts above "normal".

Adjustable power supplies are often used, this is convenient as it allows a reduced voltage to be used to make the cars easier to drive for beginners or at public exhibitions. For these purposes the voltage may be adjusted to as low as about 7 volts.

In organised racing most slot cars are run on a voltage between about 12 and 15 volts. For the higher current cars, regulated supplies giving either 13.8 or 14.2 volts are most commonly used. (Power supplies with these settings are widely available, apparently the original reason is that those are the standard float charge voltage for the two common types of lead acid battery.)

Home sets are often supplied with unregulated power supplies, the voltage they produce changes with load, a nominal voltage in the range 12 to 16 is common.

An exception is the faster HO scale cars which run on a nominal 18 volts. (I think 1/24 scale home set type cars made by Carrera are also intended to run on a nominal 18 volts)

I've read some people use standard adjustable power supplies with a 0 to 30 volt range set to supply 18 volts, presumably that supply was chosen because it happened to be best value for money for an adjustable supply to deliver up to 18 volts. I'm not aware of any system using as much as 30 volts supplied to the track.

CURRENT

The current needed for each car depends on what sort of motor is used. Motors take most currents instantaneously when starting from rest, high currents in low speed acceleration and lower current at high speed. Power supplies need to be able to deal with the short term peaks without shutting down. 2 amps per car is generally adequate for home set type slot cars, the higher performance cars need 20 amps per car or possibly a bit more.

Hope that helps

Chris Frost 

Hi 
Our club track has the  start line a quarter of a lap after the lap counter strips.  How do we get the race control system to record races correctly.  AA February 2016

Answer  Click for full answer 

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