Joined
·
1,089 Posts
Hi All:
It's been a while since I've posted anything about the progress that I have been making on my 8'x17' track. Currently, I've been working on the track itself rather than the structures. The track is all wired up and running great! I run both analog and Pro-X digital on it - although not at the same time. I altered the Pro-X black box with the help of a friend so that it's a matter of flipping four switches to go from analog to digital. We followed the article in issue #20 of Model Car Racing magazine (published here in the USA). Here are a couple of pictures of the track in it's final configuration with all of the Pro-X components in place (five double lane change sections, one functioning pit lane and two Mobil receiver towers for wireless digital controllers). You can see that the structures that I've made in the places where they will be located.
![]()
![]()
The screen at the perimeter of the table is a temporary setup to keep the cars on the table when they deslot. I will "bowl" the scenery up at the edges of the table to achieve the same results when I get to it.
I've put a fair amount of time into wiring the track. I went a bit overboard on power taps. There are seven taps for analog and eight for digital. Five of the digital taps are placed immediately next to the lane change sections. One is next to the pit lane turn-out and the remaining two are located in the longest stretches of track between the LC's. I have had excellent performance from my Pro-X setup and I'd like to think that the power taps are the reason. The Pro-X black box is located in one of the four drawers I built under the table. There is also a small model train transformer that I use for building lighting and future track lighting. Eventually, the track will be fully scenic'd and I didn't want to see the black box, transformer or the analog connector track. There are four remote analog driver's stations at the corners of the table. Here are some pictures of the black box, transformer, wiring and driver's stations. There are no Pro-X driver's stations, as I am using wireless controllers for digital.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
I will use Lionel Trains light towers for the track lighting. The size of Lionel's light towers work pretty well with 1:32 scale. I will use two different types of light towers. Four eight-lamp fixtures will be placed along the front straight across from the pit building. Four or five two-lamp fixures will be located around the a parking lot that will be behind the pit building. The idea of the parking lot is to create a scene that may have taken place in the 1960's where privateers are wrenching on their own cars in between races - kind of informal. Here are the light towers that I'm going to use.
![]()
My most recent task was to make flush borders at the curves. I used 1/4" "Masonite" and shimmed it up to the track level with plastic laminate samples I had lying around. When I get to the scenery I will bring the terrain down onto the borders and track for a more realistic appearance. The track will be painted a medium to dark grey. Aside from giving the cars more room to drift, the borders will give the cars a look like they are following a racing line through the curves. Here's a close up of one of the borders.
![]()
My next project is to install SCRM lap timing software and hardware so that I can keep track of how the Pro-X cars are running. It should also take care of analog cars. I'll paint the track after the lap timer is installed and then move on to "real" scenery. The scenery will feature rolling hills with lots of trees and vegetation. The location is Wisconsin, USA. I drew a site plan that might give you an idea of what it will look like.
![]()
There is one significant structure that remains to be built. Which is a barn and silo. The barn can be seen in the middle at the top of the site plan. It will actually be cut off by the edge of the table in order to expose the interior. I intend to model the the interior of the barn as well as the exterior. I'd like to include a few racing relics under tarps between the hay bales. I'm really looking forward to making this model. I won't start it until the topography is finished.
So...that's what I have been up to. Aside from the work mentioned above, I have been doing a lot of racing on the track. It's been a great source of fun for my family and friends. I'll keep you posted with more progress posts as the work continues. It's always nice to share what I'm up to with you all. As I've mentioned in past posts, this is a great site with a lot of talented contributers.
Brad
It's been a while since I've posted anything about the progress that I have been making on my 8'x17' track. Currently, I've been working on the track itself rather than the structures. The track is all wired up and running great! I run both analog and Pro-X digital on it - although not at the same time. I altered the Pro-X black box with the help of a friend so that it's a matter of flipping four switches to go from analog to digital. We followed the article in issue #20 of Model Car Racing magazine (published here in the USA). Here are a couple of pictures of the track in it's final configuration with all of the Pro-X components in place (five double lane change sections, one functioning pit lane and two Mobil receiver towers for wireless digital controllers). You can see that the structures that I've made in the places where they will be located.
The screen at the perimeter of the table is a temporary setup to keep the cars on the table when they deslot. I will "bowl" the scenery up at the edges of the table to achieve the same results when I get to it.
I've put a fair amount of time into wiring the track. I went a bit overboard on power taps. There are seven taps for analog and eight for digital. Five of the digital taps are placed immediately next to the lane change sections. One is next to the pit lane turn-out and the remaining two are located in the longest stretches of track between the LC's. I have had excellent performance from my Pro-X setup and I'd like to think that the power taps are the reason. The Pro-X black box is located in one of the four drawers I built under the table. There is also a small model train transformer that I use for building lighting and future track lighting. Eventually, the track will be fully scenic'd and I didn't want to see the black box, transformer or the analog connector track. There are four remote analog driver's stations at the corners of the table. Here are some pictures of the black box, transformer, wiring and driver's stations. There are no Pro-X driver's stations, as I am using wireless controllers for digital.
I will use Lionel Trains light towers for the track lighting. The size of Lionel's light towers work pretty well with 1:32 scale. I will use two different types of light towers. Four eight-lamp fixtures will be placed along the front straight across from the pit building. Four or five two-lamp fixures will be located around the a parking lot that will be behind the pit building. The idea of the parking lot is to create a scene that may have taken place in the 1960's where privateers are wrenching on their own cars in between races - kind of informal. Here are the light towers that I'm going to use.
My most recent task was to make flush borders at the curves. I used 1/4" "Masonite" and shimmed it up to the track level with plastic laminate samples I had lying around. When I get to the scenery I will bring the terrain down onto the borders and track for a more realistic appearance. The track will be painted a medium to dark grey. Aside from giving the cars more room to drift, the borders will give the cars a look like they are following a racing line through the curves. Here's a close up of one of the borders.
My next project is to install SCRM lap timing software and hardware so that I can keep track of how the Pro-X cars are running. It should also take care of analog cars. I'll paint the track after the lap timer is installed and then move on to "real" scenery. The scenery will feature rolling hills with lots of trees and vegetation. The location is Wisconsin, USA. I drew a site plan that might give you an idea of what it will look like.
There is one significant structure that remains to be built. Which is a barn and silo. The barn can be seen in the middle at the top of the site plan. It will actually be cut off by the edge of the table in order to expose the interior. I intend to model the the interior of the barn as well as the exterior. I'd like to include a few racing relics under tarps between the hay bales. I'm really looking forward to making this model. I won't start it until the topography is finished.
So...that's what I have been up to. Aside from the work mentioned above, I have been doing a lot of racing on the track. It's been a great source of fun for my family and friends. I'll keep you posted with more progress posts as the work continues. It's always nice to share what I'm up to with you all. As I've mentioned in past posts, this is a great site with a lot of talented contributers.
Brad
