I'm hoping to get started on the rebuild of Lakeside Park in the next few weeks. It's hard to believe that this is all of the track I used for it.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4729.jpg

The track area is getting some tile put down.

Here is the pattern that I am using.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/Basementtilelayout.jpg

The progress so far,
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/BasementtileI.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/BasementtileII.jpg

I should have the tile down by the end of the week.

I'll use this thread for all of the progress of the construction.

Heck of a nice start!!!! Gonna be really nice when you get finished!!! :thumbsup:

Sweet :thumbsup:

Keep us in the loop. There's gonna be (another) great Lakeside Park now!!! :thumbsup: nd

A proper rebuild, from the ground up! Looking good T/A. :thumbsup:

There's something about the look of shiny VCT that brings out the best in a slot car room. I did the classic checkerboard, but went with a dark gray & off white scheme to tone it down a bit. My room is dual-use, slot cave and computer geek pen, so I keep it a little more on the mellower side, but still with a strong hint of the checkers. For a full blown, no holds barred slottopia, the classic black and white checkers is the bomb. Mix in some bright red, blue, or yellow as a vibrant accent color, maybe on the table border, and you'll have a very inviting and exciting race place.

Well I have got the floor and the tables done. Tables are 16x7, I also built a set of 18x7 tables for my 1/32 setup.
Here is the progress so far,
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4742.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4744.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4745.jpg

Tycoarm/Tycosuar

Wow, you've made some serious progress!! Starting over from scratch can be a royal pain, but can also be fun and lead to serious improvements too. I'm already looking forward to starting over with mine. My track is far from smooth. Being the first table in 22 years I made way to many mistakes that I'm paying for daily now. The next one will be so much better!! I just hope if and when we move I have a good usable basement to work with.

Your room looks great with the walls and floor done up!!! Great job! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I am considering a rebuild as well. Can you tell me your plans for the base above your plywood table. Is Homasote still the material of choice? Do you plan to secure the track to your table? Thanks in advance, your start looks great.

I am considering a rebuild as well. Can you tell me your plans for the base above your plywood table. Is Homasote still the material of choice? Do you plan to secure the track to your table? Thanks in advance, your start looks great.

I will be using extruded foam again, it cuts easy and is light weight.

The thread from the original Lakeside Park.
http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=193164

The first attemp for the new Lakeside Park, I'm not happy with the flow.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4750.jpg

I'm not a big fan of choppy 45 degree turns with one or two straights between them, or worse yet, at the end of long straights. On a real race track a race car driver would take those 45-straight-45 turns as one continuous, smooth 90 degree turn and find the natural line for the whole turn, not flick the wheel, straighten it out, flick the wheel again. This seems unnatural and it comes across as such even with a slot car. Drop the rear, pump up the magnets, and it's not so much of an issue, but still not smooooooth.

Here's the next try at the new Lakeside Park. This one does flow better I'm going to try get in a few laps tonight and see how it handles.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/NewLakesidePark2ndAttempt.jpg

If you're planing to host races, depending on what kind of cars you race, and the talent level of the racers, it'll be important to consider "Marshaling" the cars, ....reach, where the cars will go when they crash, barriers between track sections, etc. AND also visibility of the track for the drivers from the driver stations. Other wise, "what it is it is" & it's the same for everyone. Looks like it'll be a fun course to run.

Well I think I finally got it. I added an 9" extension on the left side of the table to help with a bit of overflow. This setup runs nice, very technical but still fast too.
I plan on a lot of elevation changes to help give it some character.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4775.jpg

I really like most of that last layout. The turns are much improved and the elevated sections add a nice element. The only thing I would do is find a way to eliminate the innermost figure 8-ish looking part. Essentially, leave a hole in the middle that does not have any track on it. The reason is twofold. With the open area your layout would be naturally amenable to some serious scenery enhancement, whether a lighted structure or maybe a lake with scenery around it. Second, marshaling that inner core of the onion would be a pain, not impossible, but definitely a stretch or PikStik candidate. Don't be afraid to use open space to your advantage. Having the longest running length isn't the only criteria for a great layout.

It's so close...

I really like most of that last layout. The turns are much improved and the elevated sections add a nice element. The only thing I would do is find a way to eliminate the innermost figure 8-ish looking part. Essentially, leave a hole in the middle that does not have any track on it. The reason is twofold. With the open area your layout would be naturally amenable to some serious scenery enhancement, whether a lighted structure or maybe a lake with scenery around it. Second, marshaling that inner core of the onion would be a pain, not impossible, but definitely a stretch or PikStik candidate. Don't be afraid to use open space to your advantage. Having the longest running length isn't the only criteria for a great layout.

It's so close...

I tried to eliminate that inner S screw, but it just didn't flow or look good for some reason. I do have plans for a lake, I think it's going to look good where I plan to put it.

Here's the latest pic of the elevations on a couple of corners.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4777.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4776.jpg

I'm trying to recycle as much scrapwood as possible to help keep some of the cost down.

I'm almost done with the elevations. I'm trying to create a Nurburgring type track with plenty of dips, hills and road. Here is the progress so far.

The Pit Area and Press Boxes will be here.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4784.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4785.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4786.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4787.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4788.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4789.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4782.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF4791.jpg

looking great, can't wait to see more.

Tycoarm,

Just plain AWESUM!!!!!!!!!!

I grew up as a kid in the 70s with my slot car track on our black and white checkered basement floor. I also would like a checkered floor in the slot room someday.

Bob...fun track and done real nice...zilla

Hell yeah...the elevation changes really make it pop....cant wait to see it landscaped!:thumbsup:

Great club-style track you're making ! really impressive.

This is looking good Tycoarm. Now that the Bears are fading, it will give you more time to work on the layout. (assuming that you are a Bears fan).
I loved your last layout and this one looks pretty exciting. The elevations do make a big difference.
Jim

Awesome!!!! I also can't wait to see more progress!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I've been hard at work on the driver's stations. There all wired now, I just need to get the taps and power hooked up.

I'm using the same method for the station's again. I used a forstner bit to bore out the holes then add some rebar tie wire for the alligator clips to attach to.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/NLPDriverStationsI.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/NLPDriversStationsVI.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/NLPDriversStationsII.jpg

Station's are on exact opposite side of the tables, this made wiring simple. The lane colors on stations 3 & 4 move and the white and red wires had to be crossed as well.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/NLPDriversStationsIV.jpg

Using rebar tie wire keeps things looking clean, it's inexpensive and besides that I'm a cheap bastage.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/NLPDriversStationsIII.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/NLPDriversStationsV.jpg

I hope to get the taps and power done by the end of the week.

I love to see well designed electric part on the tracks ! Mine are so "amateur" :p


bravo :thumbsup:

Wow!!! I'm a total electrical hack compared to that!! That looks awesome!! Mine is so bad, I refuse to even show a picture of it. Next time I'm color coding.. :rolleyes::lol:

Wow!!! I'm a total electrical hack compared to that!! That looks awesome!! Mine is so bad, I refuse to even show a picture of it


I'm happy I'm not alone :p

Wow, that layout is looking sweet! Nice curves and hills. Gonna look great all sceniced out.

Didn't think you could top the old track, but your well on your way. Great job and can't wait to see more pics.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

You've always had a knack for subtle tansitions and well thought out gradients.

I cant wait to see what it looks like when you get some color down and the contrast starts popping things out.

Well after getting all the taps hooked up and running some laps with Tjets and Magna Tractions cars instead of the high magnet cars, I decided that the track was just to slow. I really like what T-jetjim is doing with the Reach Island Redo, the openess in between track areas got me thinking, I got caught up in one of my no no's of cramming to much track in every nook to give it length.

The first Lakeside Park just had a nice flow to it. Friday night I took it all down except for the two main straights and started over, here are the results. I tested it with Tjets and Traction cars first this time, it has the same feel as the original Lakeside Park but now I have four nice long straights to open the cars up along with some open areas for runoffs, water elements a large pit area with parking and more.

Here's a few pics,
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LakesideParkRedoI.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LakesideParkRedoII.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LakesideParkRedoIII.jpg

Now it's just a matter of getting the elevation done.

I don't know why, but I am continually distracted by that girl standing in the corner. The track looks great too. My new track is coming along as well. I will post some shots when I have tested it a bit.

fishflyer that girl standing in the corner is HOT & we are all distracted by her but, in a good way!! :eek:

Tycoarm your basement is turning into one Fantastic place to hang out and race in. Everything you are doing is smooth, nice, smooth, nice, smooth & nice. Everything has its place and is clean looking.

Bob...This is Super Duper planned out...zilla

Better to find out now there's issues than after the scenery is started.. Looks a little bit more smoother now!! :thumbsup::thumbsup: All good things come to those who wait. I'd be pulling up trees now and cursing.. :lol:

A ten day vacation and I've been busy with the elevations with the re-redo of my track. There all done and it's time to get the taps back in then screwing it down.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPelevationsI.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPelevationsII.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPelevationsIII.jpg

I should be able to start on the terrain soon.

I got my 1/32 stuff back up to run while I work on the Park.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/DSCF5007.jpg

Wow!

Yeah...you got it bad...

At least I'm only addicted to one scale...LOL

Dang!!! You do have something to keep you occupied and provide a fix when needed!! Nice 1/32 track too!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

That 32nd scale is no small layout either. I know half the time I go to work on my track, I end up racing or tinkering. And that's without a second track. I do like the elevations. Looking forward to inspirational progress pics.
Jim

I got the last two taps hooked up earlier today. I'm in the process of securing the track down, I'm using small quik clamps to keep the track tight while I screw it down.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPtrackscrewdownI.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPtrackscrewdownII.jpg

I love those clamps. They are on the short list after duct tape and WD40 of things that I would include in my survival kit.

The clamping idea only works to a point and then only after you have done a thorough job of dry fitting the whole track and getting a sense of where the problem spots are going to be. No brand of set track is dimensionally perfect at the piece level, and more so, at the piece nesting level. Couple that with the fitting discrepancies that accumulate over the run of the layout and offsets and gaps in the design of the layout itself. Designs that look "perfect a mungo" in Tracker 2000 may turn into gappy messes when you layout the track on a table.

The final screw-down of a track often turns into an iterative de-gapping process. Lay out the track, check the squareness, see where the gaps are, and start tweaking and coercing the track to come up with as smooth a layout as you can. The tweaking process may involving flipping pieces around and swapping pieces. Some straights aren't straight, perhaps subtlety curving one way, so offsetting them with a straight that subtlety curves the other way may help. Replacing a 90 degree one-quarter turn with two 45 degree one-eighth turns may help. I've also found that despite your best design efforts and intentions and even with nice squared away pieces, you still have a big gap. If you were to start screwing everything down with perfectly butted joints you would end up with one big gap. But if you distribute that big gap over a series of 8 or 10 very little gaps, nobody is wiser for the wear and smoothness prevails.

Some assembly tips (I welcome others!):

1) Establish some square reference lines. Don't be afraid to snap chalk lines or use your drywall t-square to lay out a grid where it will help. The grid does not have to be spaced linearly, just put squared up reference lines where they will help you with your layout.

2) Lay all the cards (track pieces) on the table and discover where the problem areas will be. When you start butting pieces in one area, make sure you see the total effect. Tracks are like accordions, closing a gap in one area will open a gap in another. Try to figure out your high level track swapping and flipping options at this time.

3) Iterate over step 2 until you are happy with the overall lay and fitment of the track. Make sure everything that needs to be squared up with the grid is squared up with the grid.

4) When you start attaching track to table, I'd recommend using some sort of a fence, like your drywall t-square or metal/wood stock to form a fence to make sure that as you start screwing pieces down you aren't walking off in a different direction or accumulating subtle curves. This is where having many clamps and a reference grid would come in handy. If you could clamp the whole layout when it exists in a perfect dry fit life would be great. I've even seen some people use nails placed along the edges of the dry fit track to lock it in place during the screw down. I have even seen screws along the edge of the dry fit track used as THE track screw down mechanism for a semi permanent layout.

5) I'd start at one end of the table (not the course layout order), establish the first set of attached pieces on grid reference lines, and anchoring the first set of pieces in a geographical area of the layout down. As you start attaching pieces, make sure the unattached pieces are drawn into the attached pieces and everything is still squared up and gaps are being managed. The natural tendency is is attach the pieces to the table as if you are paving the track as a car would run on it. This tends to result in a big surprise at the end. Again, having some reference lines and doing an exceptional job of dry fitting should result in the same thing in the end. Conceptually, I see track screw down being more like a Tetris game with track pieces instead of a paving job.

6) I think the clamps are a good idea. The only downside being the finite limit in the number of clamps so you have to work with. The more the better. Still, be careful about keeping everything squared up and mating the parts that are screwed down with the remaining dry fit floating pieces. You don't want to get to a point of having a big gappy surprise when you get to the last piece. If or when you have to do the distributed gap thing, the clamps will not help you.

Great tips Too. I have experienced another issue down here in Florida. I have an upstairs bonus room that has some temperurature control issues and the track experiences some expansion and contraction. I have an oval window in the room that gets direct setting sun in the summer. (I now have some foam insulation board over it)
I had screwed down my Aurora L&J, only to find gaps over time and the locks popping where there was a prior tight fit. I felt like the little dutch boy. Every time I resolved an issue, a new one would pop up. Maybe if I had done some of the above steps, I could have avoided this. I have tried to shift the gaps from the turns to gradual in the straights.

I look at some of these smooth routed tracks with envy. I am far too committed to my piles of L&J track to switch.

Jim

The OSB board that I used for the table top has a grid line aready for roofing shingle applications, I used the rough side up to get a better bite for the foam adhesive. As for the track, it's all Tyco and while there is a slight gap here or there I don't seem to have the problems with the larger gaps or uneven and warped straights pieces that I hear about from the Tomy users.

It all went down nicely, I did predrill to keep the screws from wondering into the table tops

Yeah, from a durability, electrical, slot profile, and curve selection standpoint Tomy is the cat's meow of set track. But when it comes to building nested 4+ lane tracks with Tomy, be prepared to lose a few hairs and shed a few tears.

I got the lane colors all taken care of, a black magic marker took quick care of it. I'm only going to paint at the connections not the entire track this time. I've also started laying down some foam, here's a few pic's.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPterrainII.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPterrainIII.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPterrainVI.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPlakeI.jpg


The borders will stay blue and white until I get all of the outside foam layed down, then I will get them repainted red w/white.

Sweet track T/A.Looks like you have one heck of a race room.Nice job-keep the pics coming!!!:thumbsup:

Great looking track. I'd take any of the configurations shown.

I have three questions.

(1) It appears in the last pictures that the track is now flush with the table surface. Earlier pictures show it sitting on the table surface. Is that the case? If so, what did you do?

(2) Did you do anything to the track so you could screw it down? The molded screw/nail holes have very little material; too little, from what I can see, to allow a screw to be countersunk. Did you first fill the screw/nail holes (on the underside of the track) with some material before putting a screw through them?

(3) You really used unschielded rebar tie wire for your electrical connections? Isn't that dangerous as all the wires are exposed?

Thanks...Joe

Great looking track. I'd take any of the configurations shown.

I have three questions.

(1) It appears in the last pictures that the track is now flush with the table surface. Earlier pictures show it sitting on the table surface. Is that the case? If so, what did you do?

Joe,

I use extruded foam cut in sections with a band saw.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPfoamI.jpg

Next I slip a piece of track against a block of wood to get the right thickness of the track,
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPfoamII.jpg
then cut the sections into the thickness of the track.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPfoamV.jpg

I now have a bunch of sections,
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPfoamIII.jpg

After a little paint there ready to be trimmed and glued in place.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPfoamVI.jpg
NOTE: The band saw actually puts a nice rough texture on the foam, with the green paint (MOUNTAIN FORREST)it has a look of grass, while the grey painted sections get a look of formed concrete sections.

(2) Did you do anything to the track so you could screw it down? The molded screw/nail holes have very little material; too little, from what I can see, to allow a screw to be countersunk. Did you first fill the screw/nail holes (on the underside of the track) with some material before putting a screw through them?
I was going to fill them with some hot glue but I didn't get around to it. I use a variable speed drill to slowly and carefully worked them down.

(3) You really used unschielded rebar tie wire for your electrical connections? Isn't that dangerous as all the wires are exposed?
Thanks...Joe

Yes I did, the wire is pretty stiff so even with vibrations it's not going to move. The power paks don't give out that much juice so a fire risk is very unlikely.

I hope I answered all you questions, if I wasn't clear on something just JLMK.
Tycoarm/Tycosaur

Been hard at work on the track here's a little more on my progress,
The Pit area,
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPpitsI.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPpitsII.jpg

Emergency vehicle parking,
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/tycobro/LSPPitsIII.jpg

Ok... back to the track.

Joe,

I was going to fill them with some hot glue but I didn't get around to it. I use a variable speed drill to slowly and carefully worked them down.

Yes I did, the wire is pretty stiff so even with vibrations it's not going to move. The power paks don't give out that much juice so a fire risk is very unlikely.

I hope I answered all you questions, if I wasn't clear on something just JLMK.
Tycoarm/Tycosaur

Thanks for all that info. Everything was clear - even to me!

I wasn't necessarily worrying about a fire hazard with the rebar wire, but I was thinking about causing a short, especially if you store items under the table. If you go for a more robust and expensive power source, I would think this would be a concern.

By the way, what screw size are you using for Tyco track?

Thanks...Joe