29 replies to this topic

[Jeff Fischl]

Was wondering if anyone races slot cars on Friday nights at Trains & Lanes and if so what times, or any other night. Website just has hours of operation.

 

Thanks,

 

Jeff

[John Streisguth]

I think everyone in the area knows the situation there, which is that they themselves are not going to organize any racing.

 

I suggest you head down to Fast Tracks in Bechtelsville, PA. They have an active program, and starting Sept 24 will be racing Retro Coupe. I plan on getting down there most weeks for this. 

 

On Friday's they race dirt mod FCR and NASTRUCK flexi. 

[stemmy]

Would be nice if they raced at TnL. The King is in racing condition; just have to get people to show up. I was told if some kind of racing starts up and generates steady weekly racing the red Engleman will be reworked and ready for racing.

Jeff, usually I'm there Fridays and so are a few others. Stop by and turn some laps.

And just so everyone knows the place now has heat and A/C and I keep the shelves stocked with plenty of Retro items.

[JerseyJohn]

Sounds like they need to stock up on Retro chassis, Blair... LOL.

[stemmy]

Yeah. Need a few more R-Geo kits.

 

Anyone have any info on Outisight bodies? I've tried to order just about every body he has for Retro through ERI and they didn't have any.

[stemmy]

The engleman was vacuumed on Friday and some braid repairs were made. Today I cleaned the tracks surface and put down spray glue. Ran each lane in and made some more braid repairs. Tomorrow I will be there to clean some of the braid and run some more laps. This track is fast and fun . Stop by and turn some laps on the countries oldest engleman track. Truly a retro track.

[John Streisguth]

So are they actually staying open past 6:00 these days?  I also noticed they closed up at about 8:30 on Friday night...

[tonyp]

Actually I think that is an all tech track not an engleman.

[John Streisguth]

Yes indeed, it is an Altech, but I think Stemmy was referring to the "style" of track. 

 

IRRC, wasn't Altech also made by Engleman, just a cheaper line of tracks?

[tonyp]

Not sure.

[stemmy]

Yes it is and altech. And they open until 830 Thursday Friday and Saturday. Every other day they are open until 6. Not much I can do about the hours

[Uncle Fred]

I actually ran Group 7 and 27 on that track in 1997. 

[stemmy]

I ran some opens on it about a year ago and some 12's. It's a blast

[John Streisguth]

I ran on that track in 1990 with the Keystone USRA series.  It was my first slot race in 25 years.  Except for Grp 10, it was all wing cars, but group 12 was flexi chassis with C can motors, much less expensive than the so-called "entry level" of today.  I remember the braid in that bank was pretty much wiped out....the track was probably in worse condition back then that it is right now. 

[old & gray]

I seem to remember when the Keystone series visited in the mid 1990's someone fell through the track when they were trying to get across. I had missed the race but remember reading the after race report.

[Uncle Fred]

I was there!

[Uncle Fred]

That was the USRA Keystone series. We were running Group 27 at the time and after 4 heats a turn marshall climbed on the track and his foot went right through the track wiping out red, white and green coming out of the bank.  We have a 2 Hr lunch break while Mark Bliss repaired the track good as new!

Edited by Uncle Fred, 16 September 2014 - 10:17 AM.

[eddec]

In 2004/2005 & maybe into 2006 there was a really good weekly program that ran USRA rules Grp10 NASCAR and GT1 running mostly on the Engelman  - later we started alternating between the Engelman and the King as that was about the time  the King was brought in.  Ralph Lyons of T&L took good care of the tracks back then.  The Penn/Jersey series had a few  it's series races there too.   Tough to see a facility with 3 tracks (there's the Oval too)  sit without a regular racing program.  

[John Streisguth]

I know how you feel Ed...

 

I was going to say more, but I'll just shut up now.  If you can't say something nice...

[tonyp]

We ran a retro race on the king once. It was fun. I always liked to go there when we were racing RC to see all the models I built as a kid.  

[John Streisguth]

I will say one thing for them...they probably have one of everything!

[stemmy]

Id love to do some racing on Fridays or Saturday. The tracks are a lot of fun to drive and very technical. Feel free to stop by Friday nights. Myself and a few are usually turning some laps. Does anyone know were the altec was before tnl.

[John Streisguth]

Since that track was already there in 1990 when I got back into racing, it's been there more than 24 years for sure.  It may have been in the barn across the street, which is where they had slot tracks before the first section of the current building was put up (the single story white section).

You would probably have to ask the owners as to when the acquired it.

[stemmy]

I'll talk to greg about it Friday. Does anyone know the maker of the track and how long they were in busines. Would love to know the history of the track

[John Streisguth]

I'll check some old Car Model magazines tonight. IIRC, they were a subdivision of Stan Engleman's company.  I took a quick look and by 1970, the number of advertisers in the magazine were less than half of what they were 4 years prior.  My guess is the track was built around 1967. 

 

You should take a look under the track, especially where the driver's panel is...there may be some markings.