There's an 8-lane lock-n-joiner track setup on auction down in the Chapel Hill, NC area. Pretty cool to look at, and could be tough to drive with all those 4-way intersections scattered throughout. It's a slotcar city.
Model Motoring Layout....8=Lane Setup
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WOW, that certainly is a sweet track.....I can't imagine how long it took to figure out the design....and to acquire those intersection pieces. :thumbsup:
Ebay ... EBay... EBay... gotta love it. 
I dispute the sellers "you won't be disappointed" claim. Sorry fella, I am disappointed. Don't be fooled by the posturing and posing of a rather mediocre inventory of common track sections around vintage posters and scenery, that by the way, don't come with the track you're being asked to pay an inflated BIN price on. There are no 12" or 15" curves or any 15" straights. The orange guardrails are 1990s vintage Tomy pieces. The 13 volt transformers are useless. I especially like the picture with the 4 lighted Tomy Turbo LeMans cars (nope they're not included either) next to the steering wheel controllers. Try that combination at home and see what happens. The 4-way intersections are a novelty that wears thin as soon as you realize the mangled remains of your costly slot cars cost real money to replace. The single 9" hump sections are an impediment to any low slung car. The AFX controllers - ho hum, cheap stuff. Lots of 6" quarter turn corners do not make for a good racing layout. This is basically a cobbled together collection of rather common Model Motoring, AFX, and JL pieces that as a whole do not command anywhere near the asking price. Look beyond the two separate tracks stuffed together on a single 4x8 table (that's "huge?") and just look at the inventory of track you'd get. L&J track is probably not something you'd want to be building a layout around today, unless you are nostalgic or can get a boxload of it for free and are willing to live with its limitations. The JL cars are easy to find and inexpensive. They don't add anything that would make me want to lay out the $$$ being asked for the BIN. They are conditional on that.
I do agree with one thing. Take a snapshot of this web page. Keep it around for future reference. When this offer shows up again you'll know to avoid it.
By the way, Tomy 4-way intersections can still be found, so there's nothing unique there either.
Track design is easy as long as you have the right tools.
I dispute the sellers "you won't be disappointed" claim. Sorry fella, I am disappointed. Don't be fooled by the posturing and posing of a rather mediocre inventory of common track sections around vintage posters and scenery, that by the way, don't come with the track you're being asked to pay an inflated BIN price on. There are no 12" or 15" curves or any 15" straights. The orange guardrails are 1990s vintage Tomy pieces. The 13 volt transformers are useless. I especially like the picture with the 4 lighted Tomy Turbo LeMans cars (nope they're not included either) next to the steering wheel controllers. Try that combination at home and see what happens. The 4-way intersections are a novelty that wears thin as soon as you realize the mangled remains of your costly slot cars cost real money to replace. The single 9" hump sections are an impediment to any low slung car. The AFX controllers - ho hum, cheap stuff. Lots of 6" quarter turn corners do not make for a good racing layout. This is basically a cobbled together collection of rather common Model Motoring, AFX, and JL pieces that as a whole do not command anywhere near the asking price. Look beyond the two separate tracks stuffed together on a single 4x8 table (that's "huge?") and just look at the inventory of track you'd get. L&J track is probably not something you'd want to be building a layout around today, unless you are nostalgic or can get a boxload of it for free and are willing to live with its limitations. The JL cars are easy to find and inexpensive. They don't add anything that would make me want to lay out the $$$ being asked for the BIN. They are conditional on that.
I do agree with one thing. Take a snapshot of this web page. Keep it around for future reference. When this offer shows up again you'll know to avoid it.
By the way, Tomy 4-way intersections can still be found, so there's nothing unique there either.
Track design is easy as long as you have the right tools.
The auction has me confused. H says it is a 4 lan figure 8. Then later he describes powering 6 lanes.
I agree there is a lot of usless valueless stuff, but I still don't think the price is too bad.
I have both Tomy and old Aurora L&J track and as far as versatility I agree the Tomy has more options, but as far as quality and the cars running smoothly the Aurora L&J track is much better.
I agree there is a lot of usless valueless stuff, but I still don't think the price is too bad.
I have both Tomy and old Aurora L&J track and as far as versatility I agree the Tomy has more options, but as far as quality and the cars running smoothly the Aurora L&J track is much better.
This is a bit off the Ebay track topic, but I was wondering if anyone here has used Faller track? It seems to have the most versatile amount of track pieces including single lanes and turn-outs. I've seen a varied selection of curve sizes and angles, plus there's a lot of scale accessories that can be added for track detail.
I was thinking about getting rid of all my present track and just going with this since I'll be doing a re-vamp of my layout this spring (hopefully), to double it's size. I would need quite a large amount, though--well over 200 pieces. It doesn't seem too pricey. Any thoughts?
thanks..
I was thinking about getting rid of all my present track and just going with this since I'll be doing a re-vamp of my layout this spring (hopefully), to double it's size. I would need quite a large amount, though--well over 200 pieces. It doesn't seem too pricey. Any thoughts?
thanks..
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Faller Track
Go for it, Boss9. On your side of the ocean, Faller track is more plentiful, and with Tomy track sweeping over the world, you may get it cheaply. Also check Ebay for a seller named 'modelrace'. He's a guy in the Netherlands who sells lots of Faller track and cars. I've gotten several things from him....he's cool. Maybe you can contact him for some direct dealings.
Go for it, Boss9. On your side of the ocean, Faller track is more plentiful, and with Tomy track sweeping over the world, you may get it cheaply. Also check Ebay for a seller named 'modelrace'. He's a guy in the Netherlands who sells lots of Faller track and cars. I've gotten several things from him....he's cool. Maybe you can contact him for some direct dealings.
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3,065 Posts
I wouldn't want any 4 ways on my layout. I don't even like squeeze track. I like a few good turns & a nice long straightaway where I can hammer down!
That type of set up might be OK linked together with a train layout.
That type of set up might be OK linked together with a train layout.
Aw, cmon. You guys don't like 4-ways? I mean, I wouldn't run my uncut Auroras in a demo derby, but I'm actually thinking about putting a stretched 2-lane figure 8 with a 4-way (Tyco track) on a door and running some beaters on it with the kids just for $4!+$ and giggles... But I do agree that the layout in the auction is nothin' special but pretty pictures. Gotta give the guy credit for good marketing, but it'd stink to get this thing home and find out how much fun it's not...
Hey Boss (and anyone else into Faller), I had a 4x8 layout made of Faller track as a kid. I liked it. I was in an old hobby store putzing around, and I asked the old guy what he wanted for this cool old track with the curbs and center lines, and he filled a huge bag with most of what he had left and gave it to me for $5.00. Before you get excited, it wasn't much variety... all 31cm and 54cm curves and mostly 10cm straights, with a few lane-change tracks and overpass supports and other odd parts thrown in for good measure. So I built a layout with it... yes, it was like having a whole layout of 6" straights, it clicked a lot. I was in junior high, what did I know? I still have a box of track with a few of the original boxes; I traded most of the odd non-track parts to a guy in New Zealand for a couple of Faller Mercedes bodies. (And the dang wheelbase and screwposts aren't even close to Tjets! Had to cut a chassis to get it to fit...)
Anyway, are you talking about Faller track that connects with model railroad type brass clips? That's what mine was, and the clips happen to interchange with the Atlas/Lionel track I use now, so they came in handy. I like that connection system very much... smooth joints and good electrical contact. If you can get lots of that track cheap, I say go for it. The only thing is that the track has those little raised ribbed traction strips just outboard of the rails, which are good for Tjets I guess, but probably not optimal for magnet cars. I ran Magna-Tractions and eventually 440s on it okay, though, so maybe it's not a big deal...
Funny, I never ran Tjets on mine, since I didn't have Tjets as a kid. I've been meaning to set some up and see how it does...
--rick
Hey Boss (and anyone else into Faller), I had a 4x8 layout made of Faller track as a kid. I liked it. I was in an old hobby store putzing around, and I asked the old guy what he wanted for this cool old track with the curbs and center lines, and he filled a huge bag with most of what he had left and gave it to me for $5.00. Before you get excited, it wasn't much variety... all 31cm and 54cm curves and mostly 10cm straights, with a few lane-change tracks and overpass supports and other odd parts thrown in for good measure. So I built a layout with it... yes, it was like having a whole layout of 6" straights, it clicked a lot. I was in junior high, what did I know? I still have a box of track with a few of the original boxes; I traded most of the odd non-track parts to a guy in New Zealand for a couple of Faller Mercedes bodies. (And the dang wheelbase and screwposts aren't even close to Tjets!
Had to cut a chassis to get it to fit...)Anyway, are you talking about Faller track that connects with model railroad type brass clips? That's what mine was, and the clips happen to interchange with the Atlas/Lionel track I use now, so they came in handy. I like that connection system very much... smooth joints and good electrical contact. If you can get lots of that track cheap, I say go for it. The only thing is that the track has those little raised ribbed traction strips just outboard of the rails, which are good for Tjets I guess, but probably not optimal for magnet cars. I ran Magna-Tractions and eventually 440s on it okay, though, so maybe it's not a big deal...
Funny, I never ran Tjets on mine, since I didn't have Tjets as a kid. I've been meaning to set some up and see how it does...
--rick
Hey thanks for the tip dlw. I might have done business with him in the past--name sounds familiar. I'll have to keep a look-out.
ParkRNDL, that pretty neat to have got all that for $5.00. The pics I've seen of Faller track looked like the connector pins were much larger than Aurora's. The type you had, I believe is exactly the type I'm talking about. It sounds like you didn't experience any real problems with it, either. I'm going to have to look into this further.
Has anyone else had any experience with the Faller track--good or bad?
thanks again
ParkRNDL, that pretty neat to have got all that for $5.00. The pics I've seen of Faller track looked like the connector pins were much larger than Aurora's. The type you had, I believe is exactly the type I'm talking about. It sounds like you didn't experience any real problems with it, either. I'm going to have to look into this further.
Has anyone else had any experience with the Faller track--good or bad?
thanks again
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33 Posts
I used to live in Chapel Hill and have bought some HO cars off of EBAY before. My EBAY name is Rawafx. I didn't know there was anyone else in the Chapel Hill area that was into collecting/racing/selling T-Jets. I have sent him an e-mail inviting him to attend one of our races here in NC.
Bob Weichbrodt
A and H Hobbies
HO Slot Car Club of NC
Winston-Salem, NC
Bob Weichbrodt
A and H Hobbies
HO Slot Car Club of NC
Winston-Salem, NC
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