26 replies to this topic

[spudboy]

I am posting the following for Richard Payne, owner of Modelville Hobby in Ashland, MA.

PRESS RELEASE
June 22, 2010

Modelville Hobby, 58 Union Street, Ashland, MA

EVENT: Closing and moving to 280 Elliot Street, Ashland

After being open at 58 Union street Ashland, MA, for about 30 years Modelville Hobby will close at the end of June. The current plan is to be closed for July and August and reopen in September in a new location with more racetracks, different scale racetracks, and more parts to keep your slot cars running great, whereever you run them. The new location will have the Modified Figure 8 track that is well-known among slot car fans and racers throughout the Northeast, a 155 foot King track, and a 220 foot Sovereign (the last one know to exist). These tracks will handle everyone wants, needs, and desires for 1/24 racing. But what about the rest of the people? For those, we will have three HO scale tracks and small 1/32 track. After the dust settles there are plans for the Hillclimb to be installed along with a HO sovereign and with a little bit of luck a two-lane Pinewood Derby track for all the Boy Scouts to test out their cars before their big events.

This new location will become the home for three track layouts that at some point in time made Modelville Hobby the greatest place to race. The Sovereign like Framingham in the 1960s and 1970s, a King track like Union Street in Ashland in the 1980s, and the Modified Figure 8 like the current Union Street in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The HO tracks and the 1/32 track will let the home racers test their skills and equipment on bigger layouts than the one they might have at home.

Modelville Hobby opened in May of 1965 by Richard "Dick" Cafarelli on Irving Square in Framingham. From there he moved to 380 Waverly Street in Framingham, where he had the granddaddy of race tracks called the Sovereign or the Purple Mile. This track was a nine turn monster with a total lap being 220 feet long.

In 1978 Modelville Hobby closed because the building was sold and Dick took a breather and regrouped. But he came back in 1979-1980 when he opened at 58 Union Street, Ashland, MA. There with a King track and a Modified Figure 8 and slot car racing was again something you could do in Metrowest.

In 1989 Dick had to move the business downstairs but the King would not fit. He tried to get a HO tub track to work but instead built his own 1/24 track. In September 1990 he sold the business to Richard Payne. Richard added a new Hillclimb track in 1991 and replaced the Modified Figure 8 in 1993. He also added a portable track to do fairs and special events in 1995.

Dick Cafarelli passed away in October of 2009 and with this move Richard and Suzanne Payne hope to pique the interest of people's minds. Slot cars and raceways like Modelville Hobby are a place for kids of all ages. From dads and moms coming in with their kids or maybe granddad will bring the kids down. It might be the twenty somethings who just wants to race or the 60 year that is looking for something to do instead of sitting at home; they are all welcome. You can come alone or bring a few friends. Unlike many video games you may have to see other people when you're racing. You might come to play with your best friend and meet three other people and play with them, too. Maybe you will have to fix your car or tune it up. We can and will be glad to show you how or you can have us take care of the work for you. Maybe you're an artist and not a mechanic, well that is fine too because you can always paint you own bodies for your cars.

Slot car raceways have it all. There is no real limit on what you can do or how you have to do it. At a slot car raceway you get to apply some mechanical skills, add some artistic skills, add some eye-hand coordination, add a little social skills, and get some fun, all at the same time. There is nothing else like it in the world and Modelville Hobby at 280 Elliot Street in Ashland will be the place to run your slot cars for the coming years. So please watch the paper, check our website or even give us a call to find out when the NEW Modelville Hobby will be ready for your racing pleasure.

Richard Payne
Modelville Hobby
58 Union St.
Ashland, MA 01721
(508) 881-7616

[Mike Patterson]

Nate,

Do you know if the Sovereign track is an original American track, or a later/new copy?

[John Stezelecki]

The Purple Mile is a very original American Sovereign.

[MSwiss]

An original Purple Mile. Very cool.

A perfect track to run Retro on.

[Mopar Rob]

Bummer, I'm going to be in Boston the week of July 18th

[spudboy]

MikeP,

John said it all. A classic.

A new Gerding King, too. Exciting things are happening in the little burg of Ashland!

[Mike Patterson]

The Purple Mile is a very original American Sovereign

Wow!! Where has it been hiding all these years? Please post some pictures when the track is up and running.

[Gil Aubin]

Fantastic news, I am sooooooo looking forward to visiting!!!

[John Stezelecki]

We plan on posting a lot of photos. A legend returns.

[John Stezelecki]

Mike,

Maybe we can take another photo of you standing on the track with your trophy. But ya gotta change those pants!!

[Dominator]

I'll be heading to Ashland tonight for the final retro race at the current location. Can't wait to help ring the first race at the new location. Sounds like it's really going to be great.

[Cheater]

I'll definitely come from GA to MA to run on a Purple Mile again!

That's the track I learned to slot race on, in 1966-67 at the Harding Mall Grand Prix in Nashville, TN.

And a Purple Mile is what sucked me back into the hobby in 1988, when I stumbled upon Tim Ferguson promoting Ga Hobby Center's Purple Mile at a little diecast swap meet near my house.

My favorite track of all time...

[spudboy]

MikeP,

The track was "hiding" in a storage space in west Texas. I haven't seen it yet - don't know if Stez has. Supposedly the dry climate kept it in excellent condition. Actually the elongated donut was in use when MVH discovered it. It was attached to an American black. I saw photos of this black-purple and it looked very interesting - wish I could have run it. A cool flat track.

Dom, see you tonight.

Greg, looking forward to your visit!

[Tex]

Here's a shot of the donut for the Purple Sovereign in question. It is currently attached to what is a "black" American... that has been painted purple!

[MSwiss]

Maybe we can take another photo of you standing on the track with your trophy. But ya gotta change those pants!!

If I knew I was going to win and John Ford was going to take that cover shot,
I might of wore different pants.

FWIW, that's red arm dye on my pants, not blood.
It was a pretty friendly race.

[Mike Patterson]

Tex,

Is that track still in operation? I have a THREAD where I'm trying to catalog all of the AMCR tracks still in existence.

Does anyone know what the footprint of a Purple Mile is?

[Rick]

Mike, my Guesswould be 57 feet X 21 Feet. It was one section longer than a King and the same width. I also think that is why the donut became an eclaire, they needed those feet to make it 220.......... I believe every American Track I owned had 8 foot sections. I owned at one time or another a Windsor, a King and a Hillclimb.

[Tex]

Mike,

That track is still operational. I will be racing on it in a Texas Scale Series(TSS) race on July 10th. Once that race is over, the owner is going to remove the elongated donut(originally on the "Purple Mile") and ship it off with the rest of the "Purple Mile" to it's new owner. The original donut for the purple "Black" track will be re-installed also at that time.

[Bill from NH]

Thanks Tex, your post clears up some questions I had as to what they were actually going to get in Ashland. I had previously seen photos of the Purple/Black track in an issue of SARN & noticed the Soverign donut was used.

[Tex]

Bill,

The only thing I know for sure is that the COMPLETE Purple Sovereign can't be shipped north until that donut is removed, and THAT won't take place until after the race on July 10th. Beyond that, I know nothing of specific dates/weeks/months regarding when it will arrive at it's new home.

[Bill from NH]

Tex, those SARN photos had me wondering whether Ashland had bought a complete track or just the parts left over. Your post answered that, thanks! I had also been hearing a wild local rumor up here that the Soverign wasn't the one stored in Odessa, but was coming from a never-named other location, that obviously doesn't exist.

[Lenjet]

WOW is everybody excited or what.

My name is Peter Lentros and I own the Sovereign and in the the words of Steve Jobs: Stay Tuned. It is complete and will arrive here at my facility the end of July. There will be many surprises that Stez, Rich and I will be announcing in the next couple of months. It comes to my machine shop and we are preparing the space now. As Rich Payne says in his letter about Modelville Hobby the Sovereign is coming home to Framingham/Ashland. The original Sovereign(see picture), I had in storage after we moved Modelville to Ashland. We set up an original King but after having to move to the cellar of the building, it too went into storage.

I regret that I sold them to a guy in Jersey who lost them in a warehouse fire do to water damage.

There is much more to the story but at this point we want this to be the ultimate surprise.

www.lentros.com

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[Bill from NH]

Peter, this photo brings back some old memories. Modelville was my home raceway from 1969-75. I even worked for Dick on weekends the winter of 1973. Would you know what year this photo was actually taken? I blew it up to look at the details. I can see a man, probably Dick, at the counter. The AMC Orange isn't there & neither is the metal covered pit area in the middle of the back wall. Could this photo have been taken when Dick first moved into this storefront or was it after he sold the Orange to someone in NH? I recall Modelville racers such as Win Perkins, Chuck Ellis, Danny Oneil, Dave Kiley, Stanley S., Dick P. & a few others. I still occasionally see Win & Dick up here in NH.

[spudboy]

Tex,

Thanks for posting that photo of the hybrid black/purple. It looks like it would be a blast to race on. As cool as the Sovereign is (and I raced on one back in the day) I'd rather try racing on that hybrid black/purple. Good luck on July 10.

Cheers!

[spudboy]

Hi Peter! Looking forward to your posts and seeing you at the new store soon.

Bill - Dave Kiley and Stanley S .... oh man!