23 replies to this topic

[Rich Goucher]

Anyone into slot cars needs to visit Peter's pride and joy, Modelville Hobby in Ashland, MA, a truly phenomenal facility. Five 1/24 tracks, and separate Lenjet Raceway with a half dozen HO tracks.

Green Hillclimb was just restored by Gerding, and was a wreck when found in New Jersey.

Thanks to both Peter Lentros and Richard Payne for this slot car Mecca of the east.

[The Number of]

Amazing... how many square feet in the place?

[Jencar17]

           

[Cheater]

Bill,

I have no idea how big the raceway section is, but it is nothing compared to the square footage of the remainder of the facility which houses Lentros Engineering, the largest and most high-tech machine shop I've ever seen. I recall a single wall with ten 5-axis machining centers lined up along it.

[Bernie]

Shouldn't a raceway like this be hosting a Premier Event? Seems like a natural to me!

[Don Weaver]

That's just NOT fair...

 

Don Weaver

[Trevor Neilson]

Wow, now that is what a call a banked curve in photo 1. Is that a 90 degree bank or does it just look like it?

[Michael Rigsby]

Trevor,

 

That is a Purple Mile... and yes, it is what it seems. That is probably the only one up and running anywhere right now.

 

When I die... I want to be buried in that place... or just stuff me and put a controller in my hand and stand me next to the Purple Mile or the American Black...

[Mike Patterson]

IIRC, the bank is supposed to be 60º.
 
What a facility! I wish I lived a little closer.

[Bill from NH]

Back in 1969-71 I lived less that a 1/4 mile of where that raceway is today.

From 1970-75 my home raceway was Modelville Hobby, then in Framingham, MA. That raceway had a Purple Mile, too.

[Joe Mig]

He has an Aristocrat as well, my favorite.

[Tex]

Fantastic facility and tracks!

[Cheater]

Not sure about the 220' Sovereign bank's angle, but what I do know is that you couldn't re-slot a car in it... it would fall off!

[A. J. Hoyt]

From the far driver's station, I couldn't see what color my car was going around the bank - too far and eyes too far gone!. And you are looking down into the interior of the car from that far away!

 

This place is everything it seems to be and all tracks are generally in "race on it now" condition. It is like a museum where you can play on the exhibits!

 

My good buddy, Nelson, says that this is one place where every dedicated fundamentalist slot car racer needs to visit on a personal "haj", a definite "bucket list" destination!

 

Keep it in the slot,

 

AJ

[Fast Freddie]

I once took a trip to Maine on my way to Bar Harbour, The CAT, and Nova Scotia. The first leg was to Lewiston and from my home in Chesapeake, VA., that took 16+ hours. Ashland looks like it's another 6-8 hours. Too bad I'm not 20 years younger I'd make that trip in a heartbeat just to play around on all those different tracks; what a treat that would be.

But not now, too cold and too much snow.

[old & gray]

I stopped at Modelville during a trip last spring. It is truly amazing, not the usual business model for a slot car track. The bank on the Sovereign is a true 1960s bank, steep and tall (my eyeball guessstimate is 75 degrees and five and a half feet tall).

 

By the way there is also a 1990 hillclimb in storage.

[robbovius]

Yeah, Modelville is great! I was there last Saturday, drove through the beginnings of the latest blizzard to feed my slot monkey. ;-) 
 
Lot of nostalgia going back there for me, as me and my friends used to run cars at Modelville waaayyy back in the mid-late 1960s when I was twelve-thirteen, at their old Waverly St, Framingham, location. I recall that they had a track like the purple Sovereign, but it was a bit shorter in overall length because the Waverly Street store was smaller.
 
Another thing that's really kewl is that they've added at  a new track since I started coming back last winter, the multi-level green thing over in the corner, as well as several HO tracks, one that's a replica of the purple Sovereign ;-) .Glad to see the business thriving.
 
There's a thread around here from a year ago when I rediscovered Modelville, and went back with my old brass solder-up anglewinder car (a couple guys here identified it as a REH) that I bought at the old Waverly Street Modelville circa 1976-77. that 40-year old C-can tank still works pretty well, though it has no brakes, and I've flown it off the purple banking at least five times so far. On the upside, i've learned how to effectively re-solder the break in the rear axle tube joint that happens every time it goes airborne and crash-lands on the floor.
 
I also bought a modern Parma Flexi RTR car, which is a revelation in handling compared to the old car, though the old C-can car is noticably faster down the straight and around the banking...and due to its brake-less runing, ultimately more exciting ;-)
 
Rich is always friendly and helpful. It's great to see Modelville operating, and it's a blast running slots there again.
 
EDIT, to fix some errors...

[John Streisguth]

I see they moved the Royal. That is a very fun little track to run on... hopefully they fixed the issue on the straight in black and purple lanes. 

I had the opportunity to race a couple of Tuesday nights when I was up there on business. Of course being a former HO racer, it was a blast to run on some of the really cool tracks he has for that scale.  

Pete is a great guy and the locals are definitely friendly. 

[Pappy]

There's a thread around here from a year ago  when I rediscovered Modelville, and went back with my old brass solder-up anglewinder car (a couple guys here identified it as a REH) that I bought at the old Waverly Street Modelville circa 1976-77. that 40-year old C-can tank still works pretty well, though it has no brakes, and I've flown it off the purple banking at least five times so far. On the upside, i've learned how to effectively re-solder the break in the rear axle tube joint that happens every time it goes airborne and crash-lands on the floor.

 

Would you believe REH still has some of those old chassis for sale?

[Cheater]

Pete is a great guy and the locals are definitely friendly.

Absolutely correct!

[robbovius]

Would you believe REH still has some of those old chassis for sale?

 

I had been told they were all gone. Really? Kewl. Might not be a bad thing to have a spare.

[slotcarone]

Raced there on a Tuesday nite also a few years ago--An amazing place for sure!!

[Bill from NH]

Rob,

I recall your original post and the photos of your old Modelville car from about a year ago.

Question, where did you get your info that the Waverly St. Soverign had been shortened to fit in the former First National store? I knew Dick Cafarelli well, even worked for him during the winter of 1973. He never mentioned anything like that and neither did anyone else. Just behind the back raceway wall was a large area where Dick stored and worked on dirt bikes, his other love.

That track had wood paneled sides, not the purple Formica of the existing Modelville Sovereign. Did that make the Waverly St. track appear smaller?

[robbovius]

Bill,

It's most likely me just remembering it incorrectly from 40+ years in the past. I could very well be mashing up memories of running on the Sovereign and on the smaller track they had.

Compared to the new facility, my memory is that the Waverly Street place was much smaller, and filled up with three 1/24 tracks, with a couple HO tracks at the back of the room. Entering the door at Waverly St, the Soveriegn was all along the far right wall of the place. None of the pictures in the gallery on their website are of the Waverly Street store, that I can tell. Thanks for the clarification!
 
To be sure, the Sov is huge. It's a blast to run on.