Digital Diary of the Well Mountain Mad Man

QUOTE (PSRRFH @ 4 Mar 2010, 10:13) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Rails/fence are old Scalextric Red and orange ones cut down and held in place by the flagpoles(Wooden barbeque sticks painted white)
-Lars
So if I read you correctly, you are saying that OLD Scalextric barriers/fences can be used with Sport/Digital track?
Can they be clipped on or must you use poles/stakes to secure them to the table surface?

Thanks.
Cheers!


PS, wonderful looking layout BTW. Love the In-to-In lane changes and see you put the sensor track in between so it is not just 2 esses back-to-back. Very smart.
Cheers!

Thanks, Lars.

Cheers!

QUOTE (ronMcRain @ 4 Mar 2010, 23:26) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Amazing stuff .. as always Lars! Love the S-section/"Shauns esses" in the first postings .. A digital convert, are you now?

Oh .. and in case I haven't mentioned it, I'm very [VERY] envious on your curiosity, determination, endless energy .. dare I say, obsession .. to always try out new "tracks", paths, concepts, whatever. Always a pleasure to read about them and get amazed by them!
-- ron --

A digital convert...hmmm it's all slots... I guess the real question is how we play with it, and make it work to suit our needs. I've never been into religious wars, but take interest in whoever or whatever tells a story or burns away on pure energy. Even though I might not agree with a subject I still try to understand what motivates people. I guess it's kinda like, you have to know your enemy in order to beat him.
Besides I don't see analog going away anytime soon.

Apart from the obvious joys of doing controlled slides round a well designed corner, I think that for me, the planning/composing and building of a track and the landscape, is the best part of this hobby. Houses, buildings and the little people are a bit too fiddly for me so they don't get as much time :-(

-chips

QUOTE (PSRRFH @ 4 Mar 2010, 21:26) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Well I made some scenic borders for my new S-Section, the locals call it "Hole 19" as people who spend the night at the "Well Mountain Golf Resort" often loose it here.


Right Left entrance


Kind Regards
-Lars

Nice use of the lane changers for the racing line there Lars.
Black marks on the ripple strips well done as well

Regards Mel

okay this rail slice 'n'dice adventure is getting addictive. And when you can't afford any expensive lanechangers it's good to have a solid stash of other trackpieces

I think this one is nice.
Here we have a curve cumbo.

half straight standard R2 3 R1 and a standard R2

and here we have a funky squeze
I only transformed the outer lane and ony transplanted the rail so borders can be used on it and it can be taken apart in the midle with working lugs and extended with some straights maybe.
the outer lane is a inner R4 inner R3 outer R1 and a half straight


I've never been a big fan of the 180 R1 so heres my rewamp with a Pinch Cliff entrance piece and a puma paw Exit piece into a Lane Swerve chican


and here is a collage of an experimental curve combo 1 lane out of the parabolica into 2 lanes through the hairpin up the squeeze and round the squeeze curve.


chipsy

you rock! stay away from religious wars and keep having fun and posting pics

two... five... zero... zero... zero...

inspirational stuff... really enjoying the pictures you're posting

Do have a piece of track that isn't modified into complete awesomeness?

Lars,
Remind me again, do you use the exit flippers on the "Shaun-swerve" inside-to-inside lane change or did you manufacture your own?
If the latter, is it hard to do?

I just love the "Shaun-swerve" but don't want to spend a fortune on the LCs.

Also, had a brief thought that the unused ends of the LCs (the Out-to-in bits) could make a faster lane change and thus not waste any pieces.

Your skill and fearlessness at cutting track amazes me.

Keep going!

Cheers!

Thanks all I hope it's useful to some BUT and I repeat this,

BE CAREFUL WITH THE SHARP KNIFE. !!!!

Let the knife do the work and not your muscle.

I do not take responsibility of what you do to your fingers while doing it
Other than that it's pretty much a visual mind game when you get started.

QUOTE (sealevel @ 6 Mar 2010, 01:35) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Lars,
Remind me again, do you use the exit flippers on the "Shaun-swerve" inside-to-inside lane change or did you manufacture your own?
If the latter, is it hard to do?

I just love the "Shaun-swerve" but don't want to spend a fortune on the LCs.

Also, had a brief thought that the unused ends of the LCs (the Out-to-in bits) could make a faster lane change and thus not waste any pieces.

Your skill and fearlessness at cutting track amazes me.

Keep going!

Cheers!


Yes one of my exit points are home grown, 1 standard R2 and a outer R3 combined with hotglue. A cheap and easy one directional solution.
Having flippers at both ends opens up for bi-directional driving which can extend a layouts lifetime tremendously.

any un-used ends from changers are excelent for squeeze type curves/ 2 to 1 entrance points/exit points
A nice thing(The Holy Grail) would be an aftermarket sensorboard, and I'm shure some solenoids can be sourced from somewhere to move the flippers.

I had 3 curve lane changers and 2 X lane changers to start with and I think I've up'ed the driving experience/value considerable and even though I've blown(for now) a board in the bi-directional high speed curve it still works as a high speed racing curve and works a treat.

QUOTE (Ember @ 6 Mar 2010, 03:00) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>We need you working at the design front of Scaley.

Dear Mr. Mrs. Scalextric
I'm looking for a job with travelling every other week/working in my Homelab here in Denmark the others so I can take care of my son.
I do have some ideas for a enhanced track program(Call it PRO maybe and get those electronic whiz kids aboard as well) and some expansion packs with some smack for your dollar(GBP)

I will pretty much work for food and sensorboards + Solenoidsets

Kind regards
Lars

I'm waiting for their call any day now

-chips

QUOTE (PSRRFH @ 6 Mar 2010, 18:50) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Dear Mr. Mrs. Scalextric
I'm looking for a job with travelling every other week/working in my Homelab here in Denmark the others so I can take care of my son.
I do have some ideas for a enhanced track program(Call it PRO maybe and get those electronic whiz kids aboard as well) and some expansion packs with some smack for your dollar(GBP)

I will pretty much work for food and sensorboards + Solenoidsets

Kind regards
Lars

I'm waiting for their call any day now
Ahh but the frequent travel/commute should not be a necessary thing. Design work would largely be done trial and error as you do now, but once you had it right you'd have to commit it to a CAD package and email it to the powers that be. How cool would it be to be paid for having fun. All the futurists have been promising such things with globalism and 'net growth. But strangely enough if never seems to be we plebs that benefit. Oh well.

Watching all your chop shop work on the track pieces does make me wish for the courage (and spare track) to give it a try. Trouble is, my history with sharp impliments is not good. Of course, the other issue is finding spots to fit any creations in the existing track.

Like so many others though, love watching your continued experiments and creations.

Embs

Lars .. I was about to state previously, that it seems you "work" on plexi parts like we could perhaps do with modelling clay. Most impressing!

QUOTE (hankscorpio @ 6 Mar 2010, 09:38) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Why can't we have chemically blackened rails... they do it for the model train wheels... imagine track with no big silver streaks down it... now i'd pay more for that!
That's been up before, though I don't remember when .. And as far as I know [and also as an former electrician] the blackening or rails is only for enhancing the "looks". Not conductivity. The rails blend in better to the scenics and some guys paint them rusty, even. I recall having some of that chemical stuff ages ago, but can't remember how it worked. Foul chemicals, no doubt.

But still, the conductive area [the top of the rails] has to be VERY clean. Bright & shiny! And the pick-ups [usually against the wheels] on model trains are very tiny, and the wheels are the "braids", so to speak. They might be coated with some stuff, or be of brass or some alloy. But they still have to be very clean when in contact with rails. There could be a lot more tinkering to that, conductivity-wise, than in slot cars & tracks, I'd say. There a lot more breaks/dead spots on a model railroad yard than on a regular slot track ..

But anyways, if someone comes up with a solution, how to "hide" the rails on slot tracks, I'd be interested to hear it!

-- ron --

QUOTE (PSRRFH @ 7 Mar 2010, 17:35) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>ohh btw. Mr. Scorpio Nice idea with the black rails. Is it something the train people do themself or is poisonous ? so they have it done in CHINA
And I was just wandering about your opinion about the curve cumbo what lane will you choose??(Taking the inside lane is the only way to allow drivers to take both the hairpins at full speed.) Chips'n'Dibs

They chemically coat the wheels of the trains so they don't look shiny but they still "conduct" and yeah of course its done in china... all toy trains are made in china!

I think the inside lane from the lane changer is defo the way to go... The r3 inner lane is the fatest always and it avoids the sharp swing on the flat crossover my choice every time... though i must admit with 4 cars on lap one the mayhem there could only be considered..... fun! I have a secret behind my lane changer position on my GT1 layout... will explain more once its mounted on the wall.... and i finally stop bleeding!...

Dibs Lars, keep it up... Admire what you do always.... although i'm not sure Mr Eccleston would let an F1 car near that track surface... but it looks cool!