A friend in Huntsville Alabama sent some pix to me and I wanted to share.....

ho trains and slot cars

Awsome! Thanx Bob.

One of my dreams has been to combine a now dormant train hobby of half a lifetime with the re-birth of my slot habit. I'm gettin woozy....head swimming!

I know Ujoe will be drooling too. Easy big fellah!

beautiful layout!i would also like to be able to do that one day,when we have more space...we shall see first if my son gets into the cars.thanks for sharing these with us!

Your friend has put some serious time into this layout Bob. Nice stuff. Thanks for posting this up. Always looking for ideas around here!! nd

And they play so well together! Great pix, THANKS. :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr

Thanks for posting those pics! Some very realistic touches to that layout. I especially like the banged-up chain link fence on the side yard of the service station. Great work!:thumbsup:

Unbelievable!!! :thumbsup:That is so cool Mr. Beers!!! That is what I was looking to do, but the limited space here completely prohibits anything close to that... :( It must be a joy to run, and with that tunnel a job to clean the track, but worth every minute of cleaning! Someday I hope to have a place to call my own, and it'll have a basement like I used to know, instead of the dungeon I have here. :rolleyes:Thank goodness the TM let me have the dining room!! That layout is awesome. I never did master the use of junction turnouts and service roads. Maybe next time...

Uther(LED)Joe

your friend is lucky, great layout. nice detailed work!

There is one other wrench that got thrown into the works with my table I forgot to mention, and it sort of explains how plans change. My original plan had circuits for running about 8 to 10 cars at once on seperate loops, and plans for running 2 cars on the same track with sensors to switch the junction turnoffs if the faster car was closing in on the slower one.

Having 3 kids in the house who wanted to "race" killed that plan. I also intended to use hill tracks to have the main 4 lane drag dip down under RR bridges and double back to the other end of the table from underneath. Since the kids can't seem to run the cars without mishaps every other lap on a slightly obscured visibility set up, I knew they couldn't handle the half hidden version.

Then the reality set in with magnatraction type cars not being able to navigate bridge tracks (getting stuck on the crest), traction issues of T Jets on the bridge tracks (especially going up directly off a 6" curve), and when I saw the cleaning issues involved and the thought of crawling under the table to remedy deslots and cleaning, I killed that plan. Maybe someday I will be able to do the table of my dreams, but until some sort of miracle happens, all I can do is accumulate track and make wishes...

This being set up in an rented house is another issue in itself. As much as I want a fully scenic'd table, the reality is sooner or later it'll all need to be ripped up to move out of here. And thanks to poor table assembly practices, it will need to be completely ripped up. Too late to fix the issue now, but at least I learned a lesson..I think.. DOH!!

Excellent looking combo setup! I love it. That track really highlights the essence of what it takes to build a highly scenic'd track in a small amount of space. It's all about creating a series of dioramas, where each "scene" captures the reality of some aspect of the real world that you are trying to portray in miniature. The city scene, the race pit scene, the tunnel scene, the interaction between rail and road scene, etc. This kind of layout can captivate you because there are so many subtle nuances and places to discover, with each one evoking a special feeling in the observer. That track certainly pulls it all off in grand style. The real joy is that a track like this provides as much satisfaction for the creator as it does for the observer. I'm sure this was a labor of love.

Inspiring layout, can't remember seeing a better meld of L&J and trains. UtherJoe is right, needed is a commitment in time and solid immovable space with no kids (or large black longhaired cats) dabbling in scenery change.

I belong to a local model RR club - for old O gauge, and ho scenery and realism. My favorite activities are the "layout tours", and there are some beautifully detailed ho towns and countryside scenes begging for a highway or a race track! None here, and I don't have what is necessary to begin on something to rival that. Bob, does your friend in Huntsville open his layout up to a club? I'd join up and plan a trip up that way so as to be able to see how that whole thing comes off!

Q: Is there a track diagram/overview available? HO train track is easy to work with, what with flex track that works, but the use of various size L&J curves, turnouts, and single lane is something to see! I'd like to know what was required. What is the overall size of the layout? Daydreaming is one thing - I'd like to see the big picture.

I second the motion if at all feasible. I'm exceptionally curious how the slots intermingle with the trains, and really interested in the slot track plans. The minute I start going off into tangents with junction turnoffs my mind goes blank. Just going into another loop I can grasp, but beyond that my old brain just can't come up with any new tricks..

Highly detailed road and rail has always been my dream. I built one with just a loop for the train circuit. I used junction tracks to allow for T-jets to veer off the road circuit and onto the city section. The T-jets encountered bridge tracks, bumps squeezes, intersections and railroad intersections for all four lanes. About a month ago, I tore up all of the junctions and city portion since it was a pain to keep it all clean, the cars frequently came off through the intersections and the difficulty of marshalling between buildings. I have revised the layout into strictly a road course (much inspired by Kastelguard) and am re-doing all of the landscaping. As much as I liked the visual aspect of the city and the train, it had to go.
That being said, I love the pics Bob sent and would love to turn a few laps on that track.
Jim

I completely understand the issues with the oddity tracks from the bridges to the crossings. Kids are hard on the street lights, and I'm running out of replacements.. My layout will stay as planned for now, and I'm thinking 2 layouts next time... one for the kids, and one just for me. I just hope the next place we settle has the space and is a bit more permament than this place is. Renting stinks!! LOL... One lesson I have learned with the old L&J track.. You must run something every day on every lane. Even a few laps. If you do so, the cars will keep the track clean for you. Let it sit 3-4 days and plan on cleaning...

I just got a chance this last weekend to see this track in person and all all I have to say is it is even more impressive in person! This is one of 3 tracks at this gentlemans house. He has a drag strip and a 4 lane double cloverleaf Max Track. They are a great group of guys and I hope to be over often and get to know the guys better. They run every other weekend and are a great group of guys. Gotta love the internet! Thanks Bob for sharing with the rest of us.

Your friend has a skill. Very nice scenery!

I just got a chance this last weekend to see this track in person and all all I have to say is it is even more impressive in person!

Are the single lanes functional? Are they optional as you run the circuit or built into the layout as part of the normal flow? nd

btw... This layout seriously rates a video tour!! :rolleyes:

Yes, all the turnouts (single and double) are functional. There are four RR crossings. The layout also has one of each of the Aurora trackside pieces (grandstand, judges shack, pitstop). My son (5 years old) had a great time driving a Repco slimline around the track for about an hour. The detailing is very well done, and the track is incredibly compact and well planned considering it was done by hand and not using a computer program.

dave

I'd love to see a slimmy running the circuit. If there is ever a chance to get some video.... please do!!! nd