248 replies to this topic

[Vay Jonynas]

The San Diego YMCA in the latter part of the 1960's:

 

 

[Zippity]

Edited: Missing photo from Post #12

 

 

 

[Bill from NH]

That photo has only been missing for nine years.   

[Vay Jonynas]

It's a nice one from New Zealand though! Not quite enough to make me pull up stakes and move but still....

 

[Zippity]

That photo has only been missing for nine years.   

 

But I only checked this thread, yesterday

 

The "Kiwi" Blue has gone and has been replaced with this Janis Nabokins 8 laner

 

[Vay Jonynas]

Even better!

 

[hiline2]

[Vay Jonynas]

Wow! How many feet is that White Lightning track?

[jtveg]

Wow! How many feet is that White Lightning track?

From the video description:

This was the 2nd largest commercial 1/24th scale slot car track in the world, and the largest in the USA measuring over 240 ft in length. This track was located at Centereach Miniature Speedway on Long Island, New York in the early 1990's.

[don.siegel]

When you're talking about longest commercial tracks, look at these: 

http://slotblog.net/...ane-track-ever/

 

Don 

[Vay Jonynas]

I really like this Strombecket track design:

 

It's basically a couple of figure 8's with one looped over the other to create a hill climb. Has anyone raced upon a big wooden track with a similar configuration?

 

[Vay Jonynas]

For decades I've thought that a crossover on a slot car track would automatically turn the outside lane into the inside lane and vice versa. That's what I thought the geometry of crossovers dictated. But today I found two counter examples of slot car set layouts issued by Lionel in the 1960's:

 

 

The outside lane stays as the outside lane despite the crossovers in both cases.   It seems that my understanding of geometry isn't as good as I thought. It's not that simple.

 

[alanb]

For historical purposes here's a few more pictures of the track that was located at Tri-County Hobby in Hildebran, NC. The track was approximately 220' in total length. It was built by Terry Throneburg. He built all the chassis for them as well, including the 1/12 cars that were raced there. These pictures were taken by me. You can also see the dragstrip in one picture and the smaller road course as well. These photos were of the last track that was there. There was an older track that they started with but that was before I discovered the location so I don't have any photos of it.

 

The track was located in the basement of an old hosiery mill located at 101 1st St Pl NE, Hildebran, NC 28637.

 

 

 

 

 

[MSwiss]

Very cool.

 

I've seen a few pics before.

 

How did you get to the inside?

 

What were the circumstances of it closing?

[Bill from NH]

I remember seeing a grainy black & white video of the 1/12 stockcars with their scratchbuilt wire chassis, Parma S16D motors, & RC bodies & tires. I think the 1/12 cars ran on every other lane. The southeast at one time ran some unigue 1/24 stockcars, but I don't recall if they ran on this track. Those I'm thinking of ran 4.5 in. bodies. a scratchbuilt brass rod oval chassis, & 16D motors. There was a time when many cars of this type were for sold. on eBay.

[alanb]

There was an entrance on the south end of the building and the main one that people used was around back on the east side.

 

Here are a few more pics with a 1/24 car and chassis and a 1/12 chassis out of the car. Those were so much fun. He scratch built the chassis and use clear remote control bodies.

 

It was more of a hobby/club track than a commercial track and I think they just had other interest. I had quit going before they closed so I don't know the full details.

 

 

 

[LtDan]

The most amazing/challenging/wicked custom track I ever ran on was a custom built track that was based on the Sebring  spde haorts car raceway in Florida. I wish I had photos, but I don't. It was built for a commercial raceway in Satellite Beach, Florida. It followed the course of the Sebring race course pretty closely, and it was absolutely flat, no banked turns at all. The highlight of its existence was a 24 hour (!) enduro circa approx.1968 (plus or minus a year), in which Ray Gardner and Team Champion come down from Georgia and kicked our butts. 

When the raceway closed some years later, the owner put the track in storage and tried to sell it. When he found no buyers,he grew tired of paying the storage charges, so he took it it out and burned it. I cried for days.....

 

I raced that track in Satelite Beach back in the day. In '65/66 we had a racing league where two guys per team raced at Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island, Melbourne. Two tracks in Melbourne every Weds evening. Great times, yes, they were.

[Mr. M]

Hi! I have lived in Melbourne since 1977. Where were the tracks in Melbourne and Satellite Beach?

[Mr. M]

And Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island?

[Flathead]

I remember seeing a grainy black & white video of the 1/12 stockcars with their scratchbuilt wire chassis.

Grainy colour footage here;
https://youtu.be/2JL36Hk5sfA

[MG Brown]

And Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island?

 

Space Coast Raceway was in Rockledge, FL, which was in the general vicinity. TheRaceway was in Cocoa but moved at some point to Melborne and then moved again.

 

Bill Pinch might be your best source of information about FL east racing and raceways.

[Mark Onofri]

I've come to regret not accepting my father's offer to take the Melbourne condo. Had I known there were slot car tracks there 🤔

[Mr. M]

The Bill Pinch story starts in 1981 when he bought Space Coast Raceway with the American Black banked track in Cocoa Beach. I was there. Asking about much earlier, pre 1977 when I moved to Melbourne.

[LtDan]

And Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island?

Merritt Island Track was on Courtney Pike, about a mile from 520. That was my home track. Cocoa Beach was in the old town of Cocoa Beach on A1A. In my time Melbourne had two tracks, one in the old town of Melbourne off of US 1, the other was close to Indialantic and it was a commercial operation aka Franchise operation. This was in 1966. Cocoa had a track just west of Byrd Plaza.