I have a book to share
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 7:14 pm
For a lot of you guys, slots cars are as much about what you can make, build and find as the actual slot cars. You walk around a hardware store and see something that is not designed for slot racing, but it would work for some purpose you can see.
The guys that basically took slot cars to where we are were real pioneers with electric car racing. If any of you have seen any of the issues of Model Maker (the English hobby mag from the 50's and 60's) you may have seen some of the early efforts of the English guys racing diesel cars (tether cars) on a line or on a track with gutters. There were a few articles on rail racing and the design of cars and tracks. I assume you guys know what a rail car is. Rail cars were the pre-cursor to slot cars. They ran on a raised round rail about 1/2 inch high and got electric from that rail and from a wire nailed flat to the track. All these pioneers made everything, designed everything and until later years had no store bought parts of any kind.
15-20 years ago an older guy I got to know because of his love for all things hobby had a copy of the 1959 MAP(Model Aeronautical Press) book, "Model Car Rail Racing'. He loaned me his copy and I made a photo copy of it, as I found it so interesting. Recently I bought a copy from book store in England, not so much for the reading, but because I wanted to have clear pictures instead of the old grainy ones in my copy.
Since I have a "real" copy now the photo copy is extra and it's not worth anything to speak of. What I would like to do is loan it to all of you guys that are interested in the origins of our hobby and the great craftsmanship and ingenuity these early guys had.
What I will do is mail it to first guy that asks for it. If a few of you guys are interested, you can just post to this thread and hopefully each guy can mail to the next guy down, if there are several of you that want to read it. I would think 2-3 weeks should be sufficient time for somebody to read it and pass it on.
I have seen the video of Ken Wallis' slot track he built in 1942 and it is really the first system like ours, but who gets credit is another topic.
Guys that just buy plastic cars and put them on the shelf could probably care less, but if you make bodies, tires and solder chassis, then you will have a real appreciation for guys that machine all their parts, carve their bodies and make it all work!
If anybody is interested, just post here.
First rail track in America was in Kalamazoo, Mi. Must have had a good club there and a guy named Tom Cook was behind the Kalamazoo club.
mattb
The guys that basically took slot cars to where we are were real pioneers with electric car racing. If any of you have seen any of the issues of Model Maker (the English hobby mag from the 50's and 60's) you may have seen some of the early efforts of the English guys racing diesel cars (tether cars) on a line or on a track with gutters. There were a few articles on rail racing and the design of cars and tracks. I assume you guys know what a rail car is. Rail cars were the pre-cursor to slot cars. They ran on a raised round rail about 1/2 inch high and got electric from that rail and from a wire nailed flat to the track. All these pioneers made everything, designed everything and until later years had no store bought parts of any kind.
15-20 years ago an older guy I got to know because of his love for all things hobby had a copy of the 1959 MAP(Model Aeronautical Press) book, "Model Car Rail Racing'. He loaned me his copy and I made a photo copy of it, as I found it so interesting. Recently I bought a copy from book store in England, not so much for the reading, but because I wanted to have clear pictures instead of the old grainy ones in my copy.
Since I have a "real" copy now the photo copy is extra and it's not worth anything to speak of. What I would like to do is loan it to all of you guys that are interested in the origins of our hobby and the great craftsmanship and ingenuity these early guys had.
What I will do is mail it to first guy that asks for it. If a few of you guys are interested, you can just post to this thread and hopefully each guy can mail to the next guy down, if there are several of you that want to read it. I would think 2-3 weeks should be sufficient time for somebody to read it and pass it on.
I have seen the video of Ken Wallis' slot track he built in 1942 and it is really the first system like ours, but who gets credit is another topic.
Guys that just buy plastic cars and put them on the shelf could probably care less, but if you make bodies, tires and solder chassis, then you will have a real appreciation for guys that machine all their parts, carve their bodies and make it all work!
If anybody is interested, just post here.
First rail track in America was in Kalamazoo, Mi. Must have had a good club there and a guy named Tom Cook was behind the Kalamazoo club.
mattb