52 replies to this topic

[Cheater]

Bob,

Look at the first picture John posted in the thread's opening post. The other four drivers panels are just visible at the exit of the high bank.

[Daytonaman]

Gus,

Just checked out that post on OWH thread "Where did all the old socal traacks go. The post by "fxgeorge" spoke of a pink Engleman next to the bathrooms at a C&B hobbies in Hayward, CA. Is this town close to Sacramento?

Thanks,

John

[TSR]

Hayward to Sacramento is roughly 95 miles. Not that close.

[Gus Kelley]

Hey John!

PdL's response is correct, that's a different raceway. There were a couple of very large tracks in that area way back then also. In fact, two were much larger than this track.

Gus in Sacto

[Daytonaman]

Gus,

Is Fred a member of this blog? If not, can you contact him?

Also, some have said this may be an All-Tech track. What are some of the identifiers of All-Ttech tracks, and did they have a catalog or other type of sales materials?

Thanks,

John

[Cheater]

John,

Fred Hood's Slotblog display name is "crash codger", but he doesn't log in much. In fact, he doesn't use a computer much, I am told.

[BrandonR]

My favorite part about this track was when people come off the bank and didn't lift.

[Gus Kelley]

Hey Brandon!

When this track up was running here in Sacto, It was very exciting compared to what I run today. About 1 in 10 launches ended up atop the restrooms. Always had to blip the bank.

Gus in Sacto

[BrandonR]

There was a trash can about two feet past the other end and two feet back from the drivers stand. I saw at least two cars go in it.

[Daytonaman]

I just got another confirmation that this was indeed the 308' track at C&M in Sacaramento!

I would like to restore this track to its original configuration. The track was still in operating condition and was running when I took it down 1 year ago. Does anyone have any pics in Sacramento to show what lengths or sections were taken out? Was the track ever shown in any publications at that time?

Thanks,

John

[GaryG]

Very cool thread! Do we know the builder of this pink-sided track?

[Cheater]

John was at our SERRA™ race today and we talked about this subject.

I believe the current thinking is that this is an All-Tech track.

[Daytonaman]

Just another word on verifying that this is the track from C&M in Sacramento. I spoke with Jeff Chalmers today, who bought the track in South Carolina in 1986. He said that the tracks (2 of them, the Engleman? and another king type track.) were set up in a large warehouse type building in North Augusta, SC. The tracks had been for sale in an issue of Scale Auto Racing News in 1986. The king track was in bad condition and was never running in Jonesboro after the tracks were brought there.
Gus Kelly had said that the big track was red and the other track was smaller . According to Jeff, the big track was red when he got it , and I remember on the backside next to the wall, the formica appeared to be worn and a red color with grey paint over it. Another post stated that the pink formica was added after the track had moved to Manchester. Could it be that these two tracks were the same two that were in Sacramento, and both were All-Tech? It could be that the smaller track was in fact an All-Tech "Big Ben" that was so similar to a king that someone unfamiliar with the differences could have mistaken the two. Any comments Gus?

John

[Gus Kelley]

Hey John! The primary track we're talking about had pinkish red sides. The other track had med to dark blue sides. the blue was not a king or other American Track.. It was longer than any American track. It did not have a donut as part of it and was in the 260ft range for lap lenghth. I finally spoke with Fred Hood friday night on the phone. He says that any pictures he took did not survive and others told him the lap lenghth of your track was 330ft. Gus in Sacto.

[Daytonaman]

Hey John! The primary track we're talking about had pinkish red sides. The other track had med to dark blue sides. the blue was not a king or other American Track.. It was longer than any American track. It did not have a donut as part of it and was in the 260ft range for lap lenghth. I finally spoke with Fred Hood friday night on the phone. He says that any pictures he took did not survive and others told him the lap lenghth of your track was 330ft. Gus in Sacto.

Gus,

Thanks for your reply. The reason I brought this up is that most everyone thinks this is an All-Tech track. However ,Edwardo has stated that All-Tech did not make a track this big, and all their tracks had tubular steel legs like American, among other things. He seems to think it is a custom track built by a local cabinet shop that got into the slot track business. This may be true, but before I invest in the restoration, I would like to get as much info as possible. The red I mentioned earlier was indeed a pinkish tone. Ron Hershman posted an All-Tech promo spec photo of a 220 Titan
that appears to have boxed tapered wood legs like mine. Check his post on page 6 of "king track dsigns" under general slotracing.

Thanks,

John

[Edwardo]

John,

Here's a photo of a genuine, honest to goodness 220' All-Tech Titan. Everything about this track looks factory to me except the driver panel. I say that because it's black, and every other All-Tech I've seen has the drivers panel the same color as the track sides.

Please also notice that this track still has its factory metal legs as well.

[tonyp]

Trains and Lanes in PA?

[Edwardo]

That's the one, Tony. To my knowledge, that's the only surviving All-Tech left in the country.

[tonyp]

We had a very good Retro race there on their blue King. We were going to come back and run on the 220 but whomever was in charge of the slot car side of the business did not have any interest in holding any races. It was a shame as it was centrally located for a lot of people at the time.

[Edwardo]

Yeah, that is a shame. Retro cars on that track, would be a blast.

[Daytonaman]

Stopped by the storage space today to check on the Sacramento Monster. Can't wait for the chance to bring it back one more time. Many thanks to all who responded to my inquiries about the origins of this great track. Without your help, it probably would have passed into obscurity without recognition of what it really was. I would like to especially thank Gus Kelly and his friends on the West Coast who had personal knowledge and experience on the track.

Thanks again,

John

[Uncle Fred]

We had a very good Retro race there on their blue King. We were going to come back and run on the 220 but whomever was in charge of the slot car side of the business did not have any interest in holding any races. It was a shame as it was centrally located for a lot of people at the time.

They ran a USRA race on that track (220) in 1997. I ran Gr27 and Gr7 which was a lot of fun. The highlight of the day was after the fourth heat in the Gr27 race when a turn marshal put his foot through the track. The cars stayed where they were for 2 hrs while the track was repaired. We all went out to lunch!

[DOCinCanton]

John, I talked to Bill Pinch and he remembers you. What are your plans now concerning this track? If I remember correctly, you were planning on moving to Florida. Whats up, because it would be awesome to run on your track.

[Daytonaman]

John, I talked to Bill Pinch and he remembers you. What are your plans now concerning this track? If I remember correctly, you were planning on moving to Florida. Whats up, because it would be awesome to run on your track.

Dan, Good to hear from you again. After we last communicated I got in contact with Bill Pinch. He had already secured his new building and did not have room for the very large track. He mentioned also that the Orlando area already had four track locations, which seemed to me close to saturation in that market. In the meantime someone here mentioned the possibility of partnering here where there is a lot of retro interest. Since then, this has apparently fallen through because of lack of funds. I don't know how far Mims is from Orlando or Cocoa, but I am still open to relocating to Fla. I would need a large space with at least 90' of width or depth to accomodate this large track. If you know of someone of good character who would be interested, let me know.

Thanks,

John

[Michael Jr.]

Do we know what ever happened with this unique track? Has it survived?