Anyone Seen This New Concept?

fifer Jul 5, 2015

  1. fifer

    fifer TrainBoard Supporter Advertiser

    3,016
    316
    53
    I had a fellow Youtuber send me this and I find the concept quite ineresting. What do you think?



    Mike
     
  2. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    67,560
    22,735
    653
    Reminds me of the 1960's, and hobby shops with slot car tracks. You paid for time and ran.
     
  3. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

    4,397
    3,028
    87
    Interesting, but the one thing that strikes me is how do you setup DCC with boosters.
     
  4. wpsnts

    wpsnts TrainBoard Supporter

    1,002
    817
    36
    Great idea. Thanks for sharing the video Mike.
    I too remember the Slot car tracks from the 60's growing up in San Francisco Bay Area.
    Being open 24/7 I hope that security will not be an issue. The displays of vintage models would seem to be easy targets.
     
  5. fifer

    fifer TrainBoard Supporter Advertiser

    3,016
    316
    53
    The slot cars are exactly where he got the idea and I did see security cameras up in the corner of the room.
    Thanks Guys , Mike
     
  6. SYROUS

    SYROUS TrainBoard Member

    345
    20
    14
    Looks like a very interesting concept. Been working with slot cars rc cars and boats and plains. Just a matter of time for trains I guess.

    Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk
     
  7. steamghost

    steamghost TrainBoard Member

    814
    15
    20
    Not really a new concept; it's pretty much the slot car world's system as noted. My geezer memory recalls all the slot car tracks in shopping mall storefronts associated with hobby shops. They still exist, but there are way, way fewer than in the 1970s. So it's a limited concept that nowadays works in limited places.

    I can already see where one person buys a membership but lets all his buddies come in and run. The whole place can be taken up by one paying member. Maybe people in that area are more upright than that, but all it would take is one #@%&$*. Better would be a smaller member's fee, a security deposit and a charge for running time per track. So, back to the slot car concept? How to regulate the runtime fee without a person being there 24/7 is beyond me, but there could be timers for the electricity -- tennis courts have coin-op boxes for timed lights at night, card payments could be made via phone like with modern parking meters.

    There's regular DCC for O and the incompatible Lionel system. Two people can run on different tracks, sure, but if the room has enough runners in different scales, guessing with enough members to justify rent and maintenance, there's going to be conflicts on who gets to run. On a Saturday, I see a maximum of 9 trains (not 9 members) running at once on the main lines. There's bullet train speed vs. drag freight speed. It might be more like only 3 members being able to run at one time. And once on, members are not coming off until they're good and ready.

    There must be only a few N scalers in the area if a shelf layout in the remaining space is all they get. That would be a deal breaker for me right there. The rest has lots of running length, but my back is already hurting seeing duckunders that will have to be negotiated sometime. Dunno about wheelchair access being so good there; the other belly-bumpers have to be able to pass each other and I see tight spots for that.

    Nonetheless, good luck to 'em.
     
    mtntrainman likes this.
  8. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

    2,879
    7,585
    71
    This could be a good solution if you have no other place to run your trains. Schlepping an entire O scale train, or two, plus controllers/power supplies, back and forth to the track seems like a lot of effort, though. I would have tried to include some sort of set-up track/yard arrangement - where one person can be unpacking/packing up his trains while another is running on the layout - as there often is with an Ntrak layout.
     
  9. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

    9,982
    10,821
    143
    Had the same thought. You pack up your trains. Put em in the trunk of your car. Drive 30+ minutes to get there. There is already one guy running his stuff roundy-round. There is another member sitting there with his trains...waiting his turn. That puts you 3rd in line. Will you even get to run your trains once you get there ? Maybe 3...4...5 hours later...if you are lucky.

    I suppose its why we run n scale. Heck you can make a roundy-roundy on the kitchen floor with Unitrack if you dont have a spare bedroom to build your empire in ;-) I do feel bad for the guys in larger scales...sorta.
     
    FriscoCharlie likes this.
  10. steamghost

    steamghost TrainBoard Member

    814
    15
    20
    An excellent idea. It would give you chance to do a check before running, too.

    And just think, it would make your family happy if all your train stuff was always in a trailer. :rolleyes:
     
  11. fifer

    fifer TrainBoard Supporter Advertiser

    3,016
    316
    53
    It would seem there may be some bugs to work out or maybe he has more ideas. If a person paid $600.00 a year for a membership , why on earth would he let friends run on his dime? The old slot car tracks were not without some of the same crowding issues as well and we carried all of our stuff back and forth.
    I think this would also give some much needed exposure to the hobby as well.
    IMHO
    Mike
     
  12. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    67,560
    22,735
    653
    Very true. There were times when a person could not run at all. I carried my favorite car with me to school, then hustled down town to run it, after the last class of the day. Then caught a ride home with my father.

    Seems like there is potential there.
     
  13. Ike the BN Freak

    Ike the BN Freak TrainBoard Member

    1,367
    128
    30
    Definitely not new, stores in Japan have layouts where you can rent a mainline for a period of time. Saw this for myself when I visited the Kato store in Tokyo a few years ago.
     
  14. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

    9,982
    10,821
    143
    I can see 'reserving' a time slot to run your trains. That would seem like a simply solution to that part. JMO
     
  15. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

    22,210
    49,632
    253
    I guess you can't use boosters and just run one district the whole way round.
     
  16. Keith

    Keith TrainBoard Supporter

    4,595
    2,072
    88
    Guess I'm gonna have to check this out!
    It's maybe a 30-45 minute drive for me, depending on traffic and/or weather.
    Or the time of day! Might give me a reason to get my 3 rail stuff out and be able
    to exercise my equipment, since I have no real layout to run on. No space!!
     
  17. subwayaz

    subwayaz TrainBoard Member

    3,222
    106
    44
    That is the same thing I was thinking about; Slot Car Track time rental. Neat idea
     
  18. jpwisc

    jpwisc TrainBoard Member

    1,766
    452
    35
    I think it is a cool idea. I think it would be fun to have a "Track Authority" to reserve your run time. When your authority expires, your equipment needs to be off that track so the next guy gets his Track and Time.

    Seeing some 100' long trains would be worth the price of admission! I've made a 24 foot long train in N and it was fun to watch snake around the curves. It would be good jsut for breaking engines in too.
     
  19. Ike the BN Freak

    Ike the BN Freak TrainBoard Member

    1,367
    128
    30
    I think it would be cool to have something like this here in Vegas, being we don't have basements, we're stuck in the garage for layouts, and garage environment isn't always the greatest...and not all of us can be like Chris and take over half the house for a layout.

    Sure I can run some decent length trains on the layouts when the NTrak club gets together, but the "big" layout only happens once a year and its at Southpoint.
     
  20. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

    4,397
    3,028
    87
    That is an awfully long track to just use a controller to power in any gauge
     

Share This Page