[KensRedZed]

I've always disliked magnets in HO cars. Now it doesn't matter if the car has traction magnets or not. Unless of course they make wood magnets. 

This is on a 3' by 7' foot base. The track is 3/8" inch MDF. Burnishing is next followed by wiring and power.

   
   
   
   

The track should have power later today. I look forward to running a few laps. MicroScalex cars with braids will be the first test cars. I need to install braids on everything that doesn't already have them. HO proxy racing here with Andy got me started installing braids on HO cars. 

Thank you very kindly for looking.
Ken

[JasonB]

Brilliant. What a great little layout.

[Kevan]

Great  track Ken.

Is there room for two 1/32 cars?

[Gpa113]

Great looking track Ken  

That will be a blast to run some quick laps on,  have fun!

Pip

[KensRedZed]

Great  track Ken.

Is there room for two 1/32 cars?

Thank you very kindly to everyone for the positive comments.

Kevan. The track is too narrow for 1/32. But it's slightly wider than normal HO. 1/43 should be a tight fit, but also work. I have a bunch of 1/43 cars too.

[KensRedZed]

The track lives!

I asked the builder for a bit more lane spacing than regular HO. You can still take the other guy out in a corner if needed. 
 
1/43 cars are about an 1/8th of an inch apart. It doesn't get any closer. It's NUTS! 

[KensRedZed]

A friend asked me to show him how the wires are connected under the HO track.

The copper tape goes through two thin slits in the track.

   

The tape is folded flat under the track, and a wire is soldered to each lane/line. The wires go to a quick connect speaker plug.

   

The wires go from the speaker connector to the Trackmate driver's station. Then two wires go from the driver's station to the power supply. It's all marked on under the driver's stations.

   
   

[KensRedZed]

Here's how the 1/43 cars look on the track. Spacing is close. However, you can pass if you don't mind clipping the guy next to you a little. 

I had to change the plastic guide pins to 3/32" dia steel rod. I also had to add lead weight since the magnets don't do anything. Now the cars are fast(er)!

   
   

[KensRedZed]

A quick update.

The original HO track had some radius issues. 1/43 cars would lock up part way through the corners. The builder said he could repair the track fairly quickly. So the track went back for some upgrades.

I'm guessing my friend had some problems with repairs. It took much longer than anticipated to sort the track out. In the end, the old track is no more. It's been about 21-months since the track was brought back for repairs.

That being said. A totally new track got picked up last Monday. No more tight corners. Slightly wider lane spacing too. This track is amazing!

   

My friend came over a few days later to get most of the basic work completed. The track runs now. Out of all the HO cars I have. Two HO cars we're prepared for my track long ago by Steve-E-D and Cozwurth (I am forever thankful). They were the first cars to lay some tracks down on the new pavement. It was an amazing first test. Both 1/43 and HO run great. I still need to paint the borders, fill in the inner track spaces, etc.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

It's hard to detect because of the borders. But there's a few degrees of banking on the large outside curve. The cars can go a little quicker through that curve. It's a hoot.

One thing I've noticed is that all the cars need weight added. Very badly I might add. It looks more like winter driving with really light cars. Slow motion slides, etc.

Now I can start working on more cars to make them track ready.

Thank you for looking,
Ken

[rallyhub]

Hi Ken,

Very nice and smooth track. Will you also add some scenery?

Hub