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Maxi-Models - A ‘Lost’ Manufacturer
#6

The slot car raceway was the Model Racing and Drag Centre run by Laurie Simmons, the friendliest of the Southend raceways. Max must have hung out there about the same time as I did. Every Saturday I turned up with my Monogram 1/24 Chaparral which was a brick compared to many of the other cars and paid half a crown (12.5p) to trundle around for an hour.
 The track was long and complex and I never did get the hang of it. I turned up one day and it was all closed down.

 In 1988 I was involved in an attempt to set up a club with an ex Butlins Bognor AMF Queen which belonged to Laurie's son Neil Simmons. Below is a link to Neil pictures of MRDC and some pictures of a track in a bedroom which I believe are the beginnings of Estuary Equipe which was a local club where many well known 60's racers competed including Laurie Simmonds, Reg Chapman, Ron Penn, Ian Pickering and others.

The club later had a clubroom above an archway which led to some lock up garages in St Helens Road Westcliff, about 5 mins away from MRDC. On page 2 of Neil's photos the track with posters on the wall is the Estuary Equipe clubroom. There was a second room next door for the pit area. I tried to help Reg Chapman revive Estuary Equipe in about 1971 but although we had a fair turnout for a few weeks the track just wasn't suited to the Group 20s and similar that most people were running by then so attendance dwindled and Reg called it a day. The rooms were taken over by a model railway club who cut up the track and dumped it on the roofs of the garages. The model railway club moved on but I think the building still exists.

The 19th picture on page one shows the original Wonderland tracks also built by Laurie. The track in the foreground was known as the Blue track and was very fast with an almost vertical banking which ran below the drivers podium. The hump on the straight was eventually flattened out to suit the later cars. The Yellow track in the background had a series of ramps to climb to a hairpin which was about 4 or 5 feet off the ground and was very difficult to drive. Both tracks were broken up when Wonderland bought the Tottenham King track. 

https://s282.photobucket.com/user/Hurri4...t=4&page=1

 A few years ago I showed the photos to George Turner. Apparently the young lad in the eighth picture is George. He said he was better looking and less world weary in those days!
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Messages In This Thread
Maxi-Models - A ‘Lost’ Manufacturer - by CMOTD - 23rd-Nov-19, 02:13 PM
RE: Maxi-Models - A ‘Lost’ Manufacturer - by JasonB - 23rd-Nov-19, 04:01 PM
RE: Maxi-Models - A ‘Lost’ Manufacturer - by Scuderia_Turini - 23rd-Nov-19, 04:06 PM
RE: Maxi-Models - A ‘Lost’ Manufacturer - by JasonB - 26th-Nov-19, 01:36 PM
RE: Maxi-Models - A ‘Lost’ Manufacturer - by Anthony B - 27th-Nov-19, 04:49 PM
RE: Maxi-Models - A ‘Lost’ Manufacturer - by autoavia - 21st-Jul-20, 04:03 PM
RE: Maxi-Models - A ‘Lost’ Manufacturer - by DPJ - 21st-Jul-20, 06:44 PM
RE: Maxi-Models - A ‘Lost’ Manufacturer - by autoavia - 21st-Jul-20, 08:19 PM
RE: Maxi-Models - A ‘Lost’ Manufacturer - by Scuderia_Turini - 22nd-Jul-20, 08:27 AM

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