Track Design
Choices
I've drawn countless designs over the years and finally settled on one. Then, after laying out the bench work for it, decided that I needed a major revision or I'd be cramped in my small basement. The funny thing is that I actually like the one I hastily threw together better than the one I thought I'd settled on a long time ago. Moral of the story: I tend to obsess and over-think things. Or, do I...?
Choosing to build a permanent track raises several interesting questions. What kind of cars do you like to run? What type of look or era do you like? What area of the world is this track supposedly in? Is this a track you can live with for a long time?
Design work
One of the challenges when designing a wood, routed slot car track is getting what is in your head onto paper and then onto wood. Some racers instinctively build amazing tracks without ever going through this process, however, some need to see something more concrete before committing to building it.
Enter James Harlan Design, an avid slot car racer with one of the most amazing tracks ever built. James is a graphic artist and routinely designs tracks for a number of racers. His work can be seen on the AC2Car website among others.
James' usual design service provides finished CAD files that allow one to have their track CNC routed. However, that type of work while beautiful and perfect as it is, might be out of the budget of some, or a person might simply want design help prior to building the track themselves. For this person, James now offers his design services and provides templates for you to route your own track!
Beginning with a design on paper seems easy enough. More importantly however, is knowing the exact dimensions of the track and tables themselves. James takes these measurements and designs from the customers and begins a process that allows the customer to see not only the design, but the lane spacing, copper tape path, and overall fit to the parameters of the tables. It is an invaluable service to one that wants to ensure that there is a solid design prior to firing up a router for the first time.
After several emails or calls between James and the customer, a plan emerges. Several variations might occur as the customer attempts to get the exact track they are hoping to create. If the track calls for different lane spacing, squeezes, cross-overs, or functional pit lanes, James is able to work with all of these elements.
Initial Track Design (click to enlarge)
I've drawn countless designs over the years and finally settled on one. Then, after laying out the bench work for it, decided that I needed a major revision or I'd be cramped in my small basement. The funny thing is that I actually like the one I hastily threw together better than the one I thought I'd settled on a long time ago. Moral of the story: I tend to obsess and over-think things. Or, do I...?
Choosing to build a permanent track raises several interesting questions. What kind of cars do you like to run? What type of look or era do you like? What area of the world is this track supposedly in? Is this a track you can live with for a long time?
- What kind of cars do I like to run? In my case I love vintage Trans Am, LeMans, and Grand Prix. I do run a few newer LMP and GT cars, but not enough to build around them.
- What type of look or era do I like? Having answered the first question, I’d like to model a fictional vintage track that looks like a real T/A race might have taken place at.
- What area of the world is this track supposedly in? As the T/A series came through Colorado at the Continental Divide Raceway (CDR), and I live in Colorado, I wanted to model the scenery after this area. My Track is actually named the Palmer Divide Raceway as I live within a 1/4 mile of the Palmer Divide, and less than 15 miles from where CDR used to be.
- Is this a track I can live with for a long time? I kept the old PDR for 8 years, so I don't think this is an issue.
- Do I want crossovers or any other special track features? I've always been a fan of a few items on tracks: squeeze sections, lane cross-overs, and functional pits.
Design work
One of the challenges when designing a wood, routed slot car track is getting what is in your head onto paper and then onto wood. Some racers instinctively build amazing tracks without ever going through this process, however, some need to see something more concrete before committing to building it.
Enter James Harlan Design, an avid slot car racer with one of the most amazing tracks ever built. James is a graphic artist and routinely designs tracks for a number of racers. His work can be seen on the AC2Car website among others.
James' usual design service provides finished CAD files that allow one to have their track CNC routed. However, that type of work while beautiful and perfect as it is, might be out of the budget of some, or a person might simply want design help prior to building the track themselves. For this person, James now offers his design services and provides templates for you to route your own track!
Beginning with a design on paper seems easy enough. More importantly however, is knowing the exact dimensions of the track and tables themselves. James takes these measurements and designs from the customers and begins a process that allows the customer to see not only the design, but the lane spacing, copper tape path, and overall fit to the parameters of the tables. It is an invaluable service to one that wants to ensure that there is a solid design prior to firing up a router for the first time.
After several emails or calls between James and the customer, a plan emerges. Several variations might occur as the customer attempts to get the exact track they are hoping to create. If the track calls for different lane spacing, squeezes, cross-overs, or functional pit lanes, James is able to work with all of these elements.
Initial Track Design (click to enlarge)
 Original PDR Drawing I made |
 First PDR CAD design from James |
 Final PDR CAD design from James |
 Finalized PDR copper tape layout |
As you can see in the final design phases, several of the squeeze sections have moved around a bit, a few more passing areas have opened up, the inner and outer lanes now crossover and back, and the pits are completely changed. After looking at the original design, I realized how tight the pit road entrance was going to be. In addition, with the pit buildings I want to build, I would have had virtually no paddock area to work with for scenery. So, it was changed to a 1950's-1960's LeMans or Spa-style pit right off the straight. There were three functional pit "boxes" that were designed to allow the driver to come in for repairs or fuel.
As you've noticed, there are several past-tenses in the previous paragraph. Sadly, the original crossovers and pits proved problematic and have been changed. Not due to James' designs, but rather my routing skills. The crossovers worked great at speed, however during the routing process, I managed to "bobble" the router slightly and one of the lane's interchange was shallow. If a car was being driven at slow speeds the car would often change lanes to the wrong lane. If driven extremely fast, the car would often hit the point of the interchange, resulting is several broken guide flags and the mounts. I filled both crossover areas with Bondo and re-routed those to be normal straight-through lanes. Additionally, I'd never finished off the pit area due to the fact that the benchwork interfered with the placement of the lane switch gear. On top of that, I again "bobbled" the router on one of the switch sections that upset cars that came onto the short straight that comprises the Start/Finish line. I simply pulled up that section and re-routed to as straight lines and routed guide rests for the now non-functional pit lanes. While disappointing, no one in two years of driving on the track had actually ever asked to use the pits, and I've been able to re-do that area to look more like a 1960's era Trans-Am pit track instead of the LeMans style. You can see these changes on the Routing Section of this website.
Squeeze Sections
I'm a huge fan of seeing cars tuck behind each other realistically on the racing line. Having multiple cars running side-by-side at 4" of spacing works well for club racing, but doesn't look correct in my eyes on a heavily landscaped and realistic looking track. My squeeze sections are numerous and allow the outer two cars to run side-by-side, with the middle lane either having to act as a blocker or a follower. It forces some strategy in racing the track and the feedback from everyone has been very positive, even from those used to club racing on an evenly spaced track.
Back Stretch
When I first posted the design of the PDR on the Internet, the second set of comments I received after the "What the heck are you thinking having so many squeeze sections...?" was "What the heck are you thinking putting a "kink" in the middle of a 25 foot back stretch...?" Both valid questions, but having come from the HO world where Tomy G+ cars are fast enough to bury themselves into a sheet rocked wall at the end of a long straight, I wanted to slow things down a bit. Partially this is due to the fact I want to drive the track and partially to keep the impending damages due to missile-fast cars to a minimum. Whatever the reaction on the Internet, the drivers that have actually been able to visit the PDR have all said that it was the correct move to make.
Templates
Once the design is solidified and agreed upon, James "cuts" the track up into parts that utilize as much of an 4' x 8' sheet of MDF as possible and prints out sheets that are glued to the MDF as a template. The templates are then delivered in a large Postal tube and are ready for use.
I've received a number of emails requesting how to contact James Harlan and how much this process cost for my track. James can be reached at the following:
Email: jmghf1@gmail.com or through his Website at: http://wlf1ring.blogspot.com/
Completed Track Templates (click to enlarge)
As you've noticed, there are several past-tenses in the previous paragraph. Sadly, the original crossovers and pits proved problematic and have been changed. Not due to James' designs, but rather my routing skills. The crossovers worked great at speed, however during the routing process, I managed to "bobble" the router slightly and one of the lane's interchange was shallow. If a car was being driven at slow speeds the car would often change lanes to the wrong lane. If driven extremely fast, the car would often hit the point of the interchange, resulting is several broken guide flags and the mounts. I filled both crossover areas with Bondo and re-routed those to be normal straight-through lanes. Additionally, I'd never finished off the pit area due to the fact that the benchwork interfered with the placement of the lane switch gear. On top of that, I again "bobbled" the router on one of the switch sections that upset cars that came onto the short straight that comprises the Start/Finish line. I simply pulled up that section and re-routed to as straight lines and routed guide rests for the now non-functional pit lanes. While disappointing, no one in two years of driving on the track had actually ever asked to use the pits, and I've been able to re-do that area to look more like a 1960's era Trans-Am pit track instead of the LeMans style. You can see these changes on the Routing Section of this website.
Squeeze Sections
I'm a huge fan of seeing cars tuck behind each other realistically on the racing line. Having multiple cars running side-by-side at 4" of spacing works well for club racing, but doesn't look correct in my eyes on a heavily landscaped and realistic looking track. My squeeze sections are numerous and allow the outer two cars to run side-by-side, with the middle lane either having to act as a blocker or a follower. It forces some strategy in racing the track and the feedback from everyone has been very positive, even from those used to club racing on an evenly spaced track.
Back Stretch
When I first posted the design of the PDR on the Internet, the second set of comments I received after the "What the heck are you thinking having so many squeeze sections...?" was "What the heck are you thinking putting a "kink" in the middle of a 25 foot back stretch...?" Both valid questions, but having come from the HO world where Tomy G+ cars are fast enough to bury themselves into a sheet rocked wall at the end of a long straight, I wanted to slow things down a bit. Partially this is due to the fact I want to drive the track and partially to keep the impending damages due to missile-fast cars to a minimum. Whatever the reaction on the Internet, the drivers that have actually been able to visit the PDR have all said that it was the correct move to make.
Templates
Once the design is solidified and agreed upon, James "cuts" the track up into parts that utilize as much of an 4' x 8' sheet of MDF as possible and prints out sheets that are glued to the MDF as a template. The templates are then delivered in a large Postal tube and are ready for use.
I've received a number of emails requesting how to contact James Harlan and how much this process cost for my track. James can be reached at the following:
Email: jmghf1@gmail.com or through his Website at: http://wlf1ring.blogspot.com/
Completed Track Templates (click to enlarge)
Routing templates produced in CAD
Now that you've seen the method to my madness, head on over to the Routing Section to see it put into practice!