[sportwagen]

After lurking in the forum for a few months, I felt it was time to share my project.

Westview Speedway
Scalextric Sport
5'x 10'

Track length was 19m when the track planner in RMS crashed.
Lots of R4 and R3 curves with some R2 to pinch into R1s for fun.
6 power taps per lane.
Still running wall warts and Scaley controllers.

Up at the Ceiling

The frame is aluminum "u" channel. The table top is foam insulation.

Coming Down

Viewed form the backside of the Grand Curve.
The risers are made of foam core and Lego.
Only true friends are comfortable sitting under the 80 pound counter weight.

At the Start

The Beetles prepare for battle heading up through the grand curve.
I started tuning my Blue one first. Then my 6 year old wanted hers done. Apparently I learned something on the first attempts as hers is .2 faster per lap.

The Drop

The rise from the start is quite gentle. 4 inches in 12 feet or so.
Going back down is a bit more abrupt 4 inches in 22 inches.
It can catch out the non mag cars.

Parabolica

The cars climb once more to tackle the tight inner lanes of the Parabolica.
From here it is a gentle drop to the short straight that leads to the hairpin.

Photo Op

Everyone was out of the paddock for this shot.
Hairpin in the back ground.

Underground Parking

One unexpected benefit of having so much of the course elevated was generous undertrack storage.

It has been a lot of fun to build. A long way still to go. Lighting planned. Power supply and controllers on wish list.

It feels like I've picked up where I left off with my Strombecker set some 30+ years ago. Only the track supports are a lot more stable.

Thanks to all in the Forum for the help in getting the dream this far along.

Regan

 

[Brad Korando]

Nice layout Regan. I'm always impressed when I see a ceiling suspended layout. Do you have plans to add scenery to the layout? I have two sons that each have cars faster than anything I have. I discovered why when I looked in the bin where the magnets were kept! Not a very sophisticated method of tuning a car, but I don't think they care. They just like beating my pants off every time we race!

Thanks for sharing your work. Please provide updates as the work on the layout progresses.

Brad Korando

 

[sportwagen]

QUOTE (Brad Korando @ 5 Aug 2005, 22:33) Do you have plans to add scenery to the layout?

With 3 over passes, my first scenic treatments call for bridges and bridge abutments.
I am planning on scratch building two bridges. One cable stayed and one steel arch bridge.
The third will likely be a Marklin Straight Ramp Bridge.

I don't see adding a lot of plaster due to weight considerations, but as the layout is almost all track I may not need to add a lot.

QUOTE (Brad Korando @ 5 Aug 2005, 22:33)I have two sons that each have cars faster than anything I have. I discovered why when I looked in the bin where the magnets were kept! Not a very sophisticated method of tuning a car, but I don't think they care. They just like beating my pants off every time we race!

Sophisticated or not, it is an effective means. Only the tech inspectors and the also-rans really care how the winning car was prepared.

QUOTE (Brad Korando @ 5 Aug 2005, 22:33)Thanks for sharing your work. Please provide updates as the work on the layout progresses.

Brad Korando

No Brad, thank you for sharing your work. Inspirational. I'm all ready working on drop shadows on the bridge abutments based on some of the ideas you have shared.

Regan

 

[zipp]

regan,
That is a long lap in a small area, great use of space

And all stored neatly away, up on the ceiling, Brill.
The track design is really good, a lot of thought has gone into that. Excellent planning.

Looks like a lot of fun!!
A little bit of lightweight greenery, and i think you can safely say, you've got a cracking layout. nice one.

i look forward to seeing some more pix, when you have done the bridges ect.

 

[lowrider]

Very neatly done Regan.
The thing I found most amazing is that you've still got one MG/Lola with the rear wing intact. You need to try harder with that one!
Regards,
Lowrider.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[sportwagen]

zipp

It is quite a long lap.
Lane 1 is 66 feet 6.5 inches
Lane 2 is 15.5 inches shorter.

2 years of planning and fiddling to get this far.

Thanks for the kind words.
Regan

 

[sportwagen]

QUOTE (lowrider @ 6 Aug 2005, 10:22)The thing I found most amazing is that you've still got one MG/Lola with the rear wing intact. You need to try harder with that one!

It has about one more off left before it joins the Knighthawk wing in the spares bin.

If any one was selling Lola head lamp lenses they could be making a killing.

Regan

 

[sportwagen]

Wow.
Has it really been that long since I posted these pics.
I thought I would have weekly or at least monthly updates. Here is my semi-annual update....

There has been some interest expressed in details of the pulley system.
I thought I would take some shots of the pulleys, cables and lift points.

I got this shot taken of the counterweight tied down when the track is up.

Hardly anyone has seen this view as the weight is tucked behind the couch when the track is up.

I was moving on to the upper pulley and the join between the counterweight cable the 4 lift cables when the batteries in the camera died.

Will be adding more soon.

Regan

 

[Jesus Loved To Slot]

WoW this is an old post.

 

[h00ch]

Yes, it is. But I for one am glad he has come back to post some pictures for us to show how he made his pulley system.

 

[sportwagen]

Warning: Contains lots of details on a manual pulley lift system, and little else.

Straight up from the counterweight is this pulley and the ring joining the 4 lift cables to the single counterweight line.

The four cables then run along the ceiling to a double pulley past the far side of the track.
The cables make this detour so that they would be enough for the table to reach the floor if I ever wanted or needed to put it all the way down. From the double pulley the cables go to four single pulleys above each lift point.

Here is the view from underneath the far side. This is the same lift point shown in the first "Up at the ceiling" image. Right hand side at the back.

Near the top of the image the cable runs from the table lift point to a single pulley.
Then over to the double pulley and off to the ring that joins to the counterweight line.
The double pulleys are one rafter closer to the centre of the table than the single lift pulleys.
The cable in the middle leading to the double pulley is coming from a lift point on the other side of the table and also heading to the counterweight.

Here is a shot of one of the lift points on the near side.(Closer to the counterweight.)

The cable goes over the single pulley, across the table to the double pulley and then back across the table before joining to the counter weight.

All the hardware came from Rona or Home Hardware. IIRC nothing was rated for less than about 450 pounds and the table weighs under a hundred.
Though it is nearly balanced with the counterweight there is enough friction/inertia in the that the table can be "parked" at any height. I use 4 safety chains to secure the track when it is up. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that any one will stop the table from coming down.

There it is. 4 lift points to 4 single pulleys to 2 double pulleys to a single counterweight. 4421.
It was much simpler to build than describe. I did do a mock up with string before I cut the cables.

With the indugence of my wife and daughter, the pulley system lets me convert the living to the race room in the time it takes my computer to boot up.

Hope this helps and encourages anyone considering such an undertaking.
Regan

 

[Dr. Slot-a-Lot]

i like the underground storage garage.

 

[scaleymatt]

That underground storage is a very good idea!!

Matt

 

[h00ch]

Thanks for all the great pics Regan. I still don't quite get how it all fits together though? Are those cables under the track? Do you think you could give us an overview diagram showing the whole setup? Thanks again!

 

[sportwagen]

QUOTE (h00ch @ 22 Jan 2006, 08:29)Are those cables under the track?
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Good eyes! There are cables under the track. They have nothing to do with the pulley system. Two cables form an "X" on the underside of the table.

They were intended to control the flex in the frame. I don't think they are doing much but I liked the look of them so I kept them. They kind of remind me of the wires on the wings of a biplane.
The table is legless. When lowered, the track rests on a couple of saw horses when I'm working on it or on low stools when racing.
QUOTE (h00ch @ 22 Jan 2006, 08:29)Do you think you could give us an overview diagram showing the whole setup?
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I don't think a diagram that I drew would help much. I may work at a school of art and design, but I never studied at one. Instead I'll offer a couple of wide shots that may provide the big picture.
Here is one of the cables and the "W" they form.

And here is one that I hope shows all the elements. The counter weight, the double pulleys, the single pulleys and the lift points on the table.

Regan

 

[Dr. Slot-a-Lot]

nice job! IT looks great but think about how much it would suck if someone cut a wire holding it up!

 

[h00ch]

Awesome, thanks Regan. Those last couple of pictures really help. I think I understand it all now and hopefully I'll have pictures of my pulley system soon!

 

[sportwagen]

QUOTE (corvettemaniac @ 24 Jan 2006, 05:33)it would suck if someone cut a wire holding it up!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is not easy stuff to cut. I thought the guy in the hardware store was going to have a heart attack when he was trying to go through it with bolt cutters. The wire has a breaking point somewhere above 1100 pounds. The cables ends are both bolted and swaged. I'm quite certain it is not going to fall. I have on occasion found myself sleeping under the track rather than on the couch.

A more likely catastrophe will be that someone will not understand that the table top its self is made of blue stryospan insulation with a crushing point of ~40 psi and either climb up on it or really lean into it when marshalling a car. Then there will be tears. The house rule is, "If you have to reach, don't lean over, use the reacher."

 

[sportwagen]

QUOTE (h00ch @ 24 Jan 2006, 07:38)hopefully I'll have pictures of my pulley system soon!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Looking forward to seeing them!

 

[sportwagen]

I was having good fun driving my Scalextric cars around my bowl of spaghetti layout but I was getting frustrated that some of the cars I owned were becoming shelf queens. The Fly and Slot-it cars were languishing on the shelf. They were just to hard to control. With a pair of Scalex walwarts and the stock Sport controllers, some of the cars would need 80% or 90% throttle before they would move. It was like trying to drive using an on/off switch instead of a controller. Not a lot of fun.

So I made the investment in some infrastructure.

First some Ninco Vario16 controllers...

And then more power...

Trackmate PS 3010. 0-30 Volts. 10 Amps.

The cars that were a handful to drive have now become enjoyable. Very enjoyable. I'm now doing so many test laps that construction has ground to a halt.